General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I'm going to start mountaineering. Is there a recommended size per height/weight for ice axes for general mountaineering?
After answering this question, I am wondering when it would be useful to cook with a solar stove. It certainly wouldn't make sense in an area that is constantly overcast or when speed is of the es...
We have a bird feeder in the garden and fail to attract Blue Tits. Which food should we put in there?
Dealing with water rescue, it is valuable to have an easily thrown rope nearby. There are specific items made for this, such as this throw bag with 50 ft. of high visibility MFP rope by Scotty. Ho...
How would you store via ferrata equipment between season? Temperature, humidity? Is there any additional maintenance required?
I stumbled across this link the other day which seems rather ingenious and was wondering if anyone has tried such a contraption whilst hiking? If not, do you think it would be effective? I'm tempte...
Obviously, the solution to this problem is to pack food that everyone enjoys eating. However, according to Murphy, this doesn't always happen. Also, sometimes the best tasting food is ruled out by ...
In my other question Can you eat dock leaves? How can they be prepared? @ThatIdiot says: ... the stinging nettles are one of the best forage foods out there. So how do you prepare these? W...
Usually when I require light inside the tent I just prop a torch (flashlight) up somewhere, if it's bright enough then up at the roof of the tent the reflected light gives a nice ambient glow. Has...
I have taken some hard cheeses onto backpacking trips quite successfully without spoilage, but I have not dared taking more than I can eat in about 3 days. Eggs I have not dared to take. I am inter...
Are there any techniques to cooking food camping in the wild by harnessing the sun's energy (rays)? We have all heard of solar panels being used to generate electricity, but are there any techniqu...
On a multi-pitch route when all climbers have reached the belay point, what is the best way/what considerations need to be made, in order to swap lead? Obviously the leader will need to be tied int...
Are there any good hints, tips and ways you can use to navigate around and find your location in thick fog (apart from a GPS)?
For outdoor hiking, backpacking or camping trips, I always hear people saying Cotton Kills. That means don't wear cotton anywhere (underwear, shirts, pants), and no cotton blends. Usually it's give...
I live at a lake with my company in sight just 2 km (~1.2 miles) away. To get to work I have to cross the city, which is not only expensive in terms of money, it also costs a lot of nerves. That's ...
Recently i was forced to take a long nap in a particular set of toilets at the top of a particular peak after missing the last bin down. I had no bivvy gear, but the toilets were heated and i was ...
In climbing, a double fisherman's knot is used to tie together two separate pieces of rope. How would I tie such a knot?
When hiking with a new pair of boots or if I haven't been hiking in a while, my feet might get blisters. How can I treat a blister and keep hiking? Are there things I can do to prevent getting ...
I've seen ice do a lot of strange things, but I've never seen it do this before: Ice Circle spinning on Middle Fork Snoqualmie River (Vimeo). What causes ice circles to form?
I just started climbing and I am wondering if it's safe to use my body harness and the 2 carabiners from via ferrata kit - they are 25|10|8KN resistant - for climbing too.
I have an ultraviolet water purifier. It uses ultraviolet light to kill 99.9% of all viruses and bacteria in one litre of water in 90 seconds. I was wondering: if UV light can purify water, then ...
I'll start with two examples of what I don't want. Two years ago, we bought a double Kathmandu airbed in some camping shop in New Zealand. It wasn't cheap, and it was really good for a month of ca...
When melting snow to obtain drinking water, what is the most efficient strategy if one needs more water than results from one pan of snow? Most efficient for me is using a minimum of fuel, not nece...
A few different types of seals (Pinnipeds) are common in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Some live and breed there year-round. Others migrate through on their way elsewhere. We're planning a trip to th...
I have a friend who climbs with another group. She recently had her first couple of experiences as lead climber (sport climbing). I'm concerned that she doesn't have the required theory for lead c...
If someone were to get an open wound in the back country, say a knife slipped while cooking dinner and sliced the person, how would you treat that? We already have one question about using whiskey...
What is a "top cap" on a climber's haul bag and how does it work? In Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (and also at neilhopkins.us/mountaineering-guide-2/aid-climbing-equipment) is A to...
I've always loved going camping, from the age of about 6. I've also always loved watching Bear Grylls' various TV shows from a similar age. Already you can probably see where this is going! I fini...
For the last 4 years or so, my day to day walking/hiking shoes have been a pair of Tevas that I picked up from REI (Riva Event Model: 4103). I'm on my second pair now and they've both lasted about ...
I'm just curious which animals would peel bark off a tree like this: It's a riparian setting in the Mid Atlantic region. I was thinking maybe a beaver?
My arm is currently in a sling with a separated shoulder from a mountain bike accident, so I'm trying to learn how to do everyday tasks one handed. Shoelaces are proving annoyingly difficult. What'...
Its always been cool to be climbing a mountain and look down, and realize that you are high enough that there are clouds below you. Here are some pictures from Wikipedia of what this looks like. ...
In this question with good answers, we can read that while being significantly effective for some cases, ankle support from boots/higher shoes does not have an important effect when hiking. I was ...
I consider buying a jacket made from wool. The fabric is some kind of felt. I hade one when I was younger, but since these jackets are really expensive I would like to know how they perform compare...
I am going to make a trip on a river in an inflatable rowing boat. The trip is going to be two days long: one day down the river and the next day - back. The question is how I should spend night. ...
I'm working on a problem in bouldering where the swinging of my feet take the grip away from my fingers and throw me off. Specifically, I am in a bat-hang, and need to reach an edge hold about 3.5...
Or may be it is an ascending device... There are two movable part, both on one axis. I tried searching about various descending devices, but I find mostly descriptions of Petzl things. This ma...
I'm pondering a longer-term hike in Northern Quebec/Labrador. Autonomous style, sky or snowshoe (TBD) with a sled etc. Right now, considering going Fermont, going south to Sept-Iles (possibly follo...
Can I spend the night alone in a tent in a forest outside Stockholm in -20°C without risking my life? The backstory From the end of January, I'm starting my studies in a suburb of Stockholm. I'...
I'm going on a campout this weekend and the temperature isn't supposed to rise above zero degrees Fahrenheit (0°F) the entire time. I've been in subzero weather before and I didn't last long, even...
I'm going on a campout this weekend and the temperature isn't supposed to rise above zero degrees Fahrenheit (0°F) the entire time. I've been in subzero weather before and I didn't last long, even...
More and more, I see people hiking with very light-weight shoes. To me, they look like regular sport shoes and they look to be lacking thick soles, waterproofness, or ankle support. I thought thi...
Last time I was on vacation in Italy, I decided to go barefooted for a run on the beach in the evening. Lovely idea, wasn't it? It was not! The beach felt like a volcano! Which gear or techniques...
We know we need "Climb High and Sleep low" to prevent Altitude Sickness. Now the question is what can affect the acclimatization process? Example: Bring luggage/bag/etc when climbing high. Wil...
I have a pocket transit and on the back are a bunch of numbers. They can be seen in these images here, here, and here. What are these numbers used for?
Some background. Whilst car camping down in Weymouth recently I was unfortunate enough to encounter a stomach bug (we initially thought it was food poisoning but later realised it was a bug as my o...
The last weekend when I was coming back home from a trek on Sunday noon, I got a news about this accident that took place. The place was on the way, so instead of choosing to rest at home, I chose ...
There are 59 National parks in the US. Of which 49 are in the Continental US (lower 48). There are 52 weeks in a year. I would like to take a year and spend about a week camping and exploring eac...
I am a little confused by this answer about whether or not cotton "kills". Cotton is clearly a poor choice for an insulating layer in wet environments since its insulating properties are heavily d...
I did read through the wiki page, but I am sort of confused now. Is Letterboxing the same concept as what we usually call a Treasure hunt?
