General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I've asked this question on Worldbuilding.SE because of what I need the answer for and I learned that: Depending on the climate, I can store the firewood outside with no protection; Firewood shou...
I am considering taking a pilgrim's path - Olaf's Trail - in Norway (about 3 weeks). However, I don't want to do it for any religious reasons. I just saw this trail in pictures and thought: "What a...
I am considering taking a pilgrim's path - Olaf's Trail - in Norway (about 3 weeks). However, I don't want to do it for any religious reasons. I just saw this trail in pictures and thought: "What a...
I seem to have accumulated a good number of carabiners that, while probably still safe, I won't climb on anymore. They might be worn, of questionable origin, or just plain made obsolete by an upgra...
Generators, fuel cells, solar panels and other power supplies tend to be sold with Watts as the energy value. Some of my electrical devices list amps, how do I convert amps to watts?
Gasoline generators are notoriously noisy (some are more quiet) and smelly. Many areas like US national parks have restrictions on the use of generators. Fuel cells are used in many space applica...
When sailing a traditional twin mast ketch, what are the recommended crew requirements? Let's assume the following for simplicity: Captain has 6-pack maritime license. Captain and passengers t...
National Park Service, Yosemite, Current Conditions says: Big Oak Flat Road (Hwy 120) closed into Yosemite Valley; no access to Yosemite Valley via Hwy 120 Alert 1 , Severity ,closure ,...
There are many surfing fin designs available for modern surf boards. What are the criteria for selecting: Tri-fin Bi-fin Mono-fin No fins And why would I want to have larger or smaller surfing ...
I have heard references to gelcoat being a water proof application for a fiberglass boat hull. I have always considered fiberglass as inherently water proof. There are several industries surroundi...
I was wonder how long it takes plastic to biodegrade and if there is anything a person can or should do to facilitate the process for plastics in the outdoors. I know that optimally "Carry in, Car...
Obviously it is hard to surfboard without any decent surf. I know in England the best surf is near the South West, Cornwall and Devon being famous for it (Woolacombe and Newquay), but elsewhere I'...
Is it safe to go backcountry hiking in the Tundra's of northwestern Russia, e.g. the Kola peninsula, such as the Khibin mountains? There is some heavy industry around there; can one safely go aroun...
All outdoors activities precautions include taking note of the weather forecasts for the day. However, I have seen those forecasts be terribly wrong in many places, even for a two-hours ahead pred...
a little related to this question: How many "Munro" revisions has there been? Leads me to wonder do mountains change height? or is this because the equipment is more precise these days? I unders...
I am not a very good swimmer. I don't swim regularly either. When I swim and relax for an less than an hour, I start getting cramps, specifically in Toes. What could be the reason?
My favourite backcountry ski area has a really long approach along a groomed trail. I started putting a bit of kick wax on the base of my skis so I could make better time on the flat instead of ski...
Does anyone know of a good way to find topographical maps for either download or purchase?
One of the terms in orienteering/navigation is "handrail feature". What exactly does this term mean?
On of the terms used in orienteering is "catch feature". What exactly is a catch feature and how would a catch feature help one with navigating in the outdoors?
I hiked the AT this summer and the PCT three years ago, and it's looking like I may have the chance to return to New England for about a month sometime in Dec/Jan. Does anyone have any recommendat...
This time of year, you see a lot of canoes and kayaks going down the road tied to the top of cars. Some of them not as smartly anchored as others. One of the configurations that I see a lot is t...
I'll be going on an multi-day deep sea fishing trip where we are expected to catch between 150lb to 400lb of fish each (Yellow Fin, Ably, Dorado). I'll have a 3 day drive back home across the Midwe...
I've read a few books about gathering wild mushrooms as it's something I'm interested in exploring, and all of them stress the importance of using a wicker basket to transport the mushrooms so that...
There are numerous compact and travel guitars that exist, some of which are designed specifically for outdoor pursuits like backpacking. This is one I've been considering. Being a musician, music...
I am planning on purchasing a kayak for next year, and am trying to strategize on how to transport my boat. I have a small 4 door car no rack and my wife has a slightly larger 4 door crossover styl...
Large glass bottles just don't strike me as a "good idea" for hiking. What options are there for carrying wine and preserving the flavor for a couple of days while hiking?
I just came back from a backpacking trip in an alpine area. I was cleaning some kitchen items (pot, spork, pan, etc) with some remnant food particles that were coming off. I use a very small amount...
Somebody told me that Gore-Tex products would be hazardous waste. Is this true? If I want to dispose of them, what should I do? What are the dangerous substances? Is this true for other breathable...
I have used several different products and none of them work that well. Bottom line, is there a product that will subdue the offending groover? So a groover is a river toilet. On multiple day rive...
Blaming it on my roommate all the way. He goes for a 3 day hike, whenever he is back, he is tired, thats obvious and evident. The night he comes in, he goes to washroom (for poo) and his poo smell...
So I was watching this video, and got to the part where this guy and girl are discussing and demonstrating whose method of peeing off the portaledge is scariest. Then I of course thought to myself,...
So, I recently posted a question on hiking with a baby - my wife and I used to hike a fair amount, and we would like to get cracking again soon, but with our 7-month daughter. I'm currently trying ...
We plan to go on a three day hike (two nights). The amount of food is no problem of course, but we want to avoid defecation while on the trail. Which kind of food comes into question? Edit: It's...
I saw this article recently. I also know that human solid (not sure about liquid) waste is collected in buckets on river trips down the Grand Canyon. What are some basic guidelines for determinin...
So of course the common standard for proper burying of solid human waste is burial in a cat-hole, and generally this means one hole per instance per person. This is what I practice and teach on per...
I am looking for sustainable alternatives for carrying out human waste. WAG bags, though convenient, sadly have to end up in land-fills. I am looking for a system where the non-biodegrading compone...
It is commonly known that loading your carabiner in three directions is bad, as it reduces it's strength. This is apparent when talking about belay stations, as e.g. described in this blog post by ...
Is there a website that water meters on rivers report to? I am planning a white water river trip and I am worried the river will be dry. I know there are meters on the river but accessing them or f...
I've had limited success finding hiking boots that really fit me. Therefore, I'm thinking about custom-made ones. But, I'm not sure how to think through this decision. What are the advantages and ...
There is canoe trail, in the interior lagoons of Presque Isle State Park PA. No gas engines are allowed, travel is bidirectional, like a bike path most travelers make a two way trip on the same pa...
I'm confused about whether these headings refer to the direction of the source of the wind/swell, or the the direction they are blowing into. My understanding is that they are talking about the sou...
Disclaimer: I'm not even sure if this is an appropriate question for this forum, but I lack the requisite reputation to ask for a judgement call on meta. I'm in the very early stages of planning a...
I am planning for a trek in coming winters. Thats not a regular or a trodden trail, its more of an optimistic approach onto a mountain. All the information that I have says that I was never a route...
I've been getting into making maps with compass and a ruler and just triangulating positions of objects. I would like to start making topographical maps but how? How did they make them before the m...
I have a Green Trails map at the scale 1:18,000 and a National Geographic map at the scale 1:35,000 and I can't find UTM corner rulers for either of them. Shouldn't maps from such popular map make...
Recently someone mentioned a piece of equipment to measure distances. They stated that it was used in military. I think it was called "pace counter". What exactly is it and how does it work?
In a previous question, I had asked for help in finding a GPS app with certain features. That led me to find Gaia GPS and it has been great, no complaints. However, I had a situation recently. I f...
I am planning to walk the 87 mile length of the Ridgeway National Trail (South England) in two days at the end of April. I shall be walking about 47 miles one day, from approx 6am to 9pm. I'll be...
I like to make maps in my kayak, so I need to know how far away I was from the last point, so the only way I know of is dead reckoning, and being in kayak its not that accurate. So my question is:...
