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There's a whole bunch of standard map and compass techniques you can use without a GPS. If you know your location before the fog came down, then you're not lost - you just can't see so far. Change...
I like being out alone. Generally you have more time for introspection, for getting calm and enjoying what’s around you and inside of you. Of course there’s times when you have to deal with yourse...
You don't have to go on a solo trip to experience a little solitude. For example, you can go with a group, and when you're planning the trip, plan for a day during which you will go off on a solo h...
Have an emergency kit, and a first aid kit. Keep both of these on your person at all times, but at a minimum, keep the emergency kit on you. People have died less than a mile from camp because t...
A trick I've seen recently is to strap your headlamp to a solid water bottle with the light pointed into the base of the bottle. Lay the bottle on the side and you have a substitute for a lantern. ...
For compasses, it will depend on the model. You can get globally balanced compasses like the Suunto M3 Global, but Silva compasses (probably the most common in Europe) tend to be balanced for the N...
They are marked on OS 1:25K Explorer maps as "Byways open to all traffic". But it's a good idea to research your route beforehand as some (like the Monk's Trod) are now closed by traffic regulati...
A stove that handles multiple forms of fuel is well suited for this sort of travel. I think the go-to one is the MSR Dragonfly which works with white gas (aka naphtha), kerosene, unleaded auto fue...
I enjoy being alone, but I'll bring a book and some music for when I'm in my tent. You'll definitely get the "gee I wish someone was here to see this with me" moments, but you also get to avoid wa...
The National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation says: Preventive Measures First, let it be said that there is no sure prevention. Necrotizing fasciitis has been known to be spontaneous. A...
You state that you wish to avoid bringing a hatchet. This implies a use on wood. If you want a small knife to use in this manner, look at these designs. If you want a big knife that is a functio...
Doug Ritter has what appears to be a pretty good summary of matches on his site: Equipped.org Also, here is a video review of a "stormproof" match kit from REI from someone who knows what he's doi...
The Arizona Game and Fish Department shows a mountain lion hunting season from August through May. The International Union for Conservation of Nature gives the puma conservation status as Least Co...
Peter Mathiessen's The Snow Lepoard. I actually read it after (not before) trekking from Pokhara to the Dolpo region in Nepal, but I think it meets your description of a book that "just makes you ...
I went camping in most of the the stans (not Afghanistan), China and Iran, and we used an alcohol burner. It's obviously slow, but worked well. We used rubbing alcohol as fuel, which we could buy i...
I use a suitcase, and try to let the sleeping bags take up all the space available to them inside. It's a good use of space that you probably aren't using otherwise, and protects them well.
Ad 1, 2: I'm surprised by what you say about being scared lone in wilderness. I have exactly the opposite feelings - like returing home. I can enjoy the trip very well being alone, I can be in cont...
The key differentiator between tarps and more modern tent material is the breathability and wicking you get from modern materials. Modern tents are very effective at passing moisture outside, but ...
This happened to me too - once we took a plastic tarp with us instead of a tent. Terrible storm catched us. But we sweated under the plastic tarp so horrible that we preferred to stay out on the ra...
The issue with the bottles isn't so much the "bottle" as it is the pump. On an MSR bottle, a pump screws into the top, then a specific MSR-style hose (from a stove) attaches to the pump. On a Trang...
One important part of planning back country trips in the West revolves around bears. I'm basing what I write on my trips to Sequoia and Yosemite (which only have black bears), but it should be rel...
Gelled alcohol has problems even in its "native" setting of a Sterno can. Gelled alcohol burns at a lower temperature. A standard Sterno can take 20 minutes or longer to boil water and is typically...
You cannot tell by simple observation if a cord is as strong as it should be. Even if the cord was originally manufactured to the correct specification it may become invisibly damaged by chemical ...
Based on last Wednesday (May 16th) in the Carneddau (Snowdonia, N Wales), I'd be well prepared for temperatures below freezing at night in Scotland, even in May. I camped at Ffynnon Llyffant (at a...
You can. Bear spray is a more humane option; however, you do ask about legal repercussions. You can shoot pretty much any animal in self defense in the USA. After you shoot the animal it is importa...
