Activity for ShemSeger‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Picking length for all-terrain touring XC skis Your height is less important than your weight. When fitting for modern XC skis, the best thing to do is actually stand on the skis and test their flex. You want skis that will make contact with the ground in the kick zone while you're standing on one foot, but suspend the kick zone while distributin... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Headlamp and flies The easiest thing to do would be to take the lamp off your head and walk with it as a torch in hand. That'd take some of the attention away from your face. Next I'd put on a bug net over my face, and finally I'd walk while waving one of these in front of my face: Electric Fly Swatter: You'd be ama... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is this wet/oily residue all over the rocks in my yard? Desert Varnish There's a Wikipedia article on it right here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertvarnish In a nutshell, Desert varnish (also known as rock varnish) is a dark, thin (usually 5 to 500 μm thick), layered veneer composed of clay minerals cemented together by oxides and hydroxides ... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What knot tightens under pressure and is difficult to untie under tension? Slip knot will work fine, but if you want a more secure knot then I would probably recommend the Poachers knot. It's essentially a slip knot tied with a double overhand instead of a single. (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Appropriate terms for activities like camping, hiking, trekking, mountaineering, wilderness survival? I think the term you're looking for is Outdoorsmanship. An outdoorsman is an individual who is interested in the pursuit of many if not all outdoor sports and recreational activities. An extreme outdoorsman would describe someone who takes more risks in the outdoors, such as alpinists, backcountry su... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Portable ladder for sailboat? Simplest thing I think would be to buy a climbing aider/etrier: It's light, it packs up small in your bag, and they're pretty easy to come by, you can just order one from a climbing shop. All you'd need to do is loop it over the mooring cleat and drop the other end in the water. The economical... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Making a compass from magnet and needle -- which end is north? Even in an overcast jungle, the sun still cast's a shadow, they'll just be more diffuse and not as ray traced, but if there is light, it is possible to determine which direction it is coming from. The only caveat being at high noon right on the equator during equinox when the sun is literally directl... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How much flotation does a canoe need? Short answer: As much as you want/have room for, evenly distributed in the bow and stern, but the minimum is only how much is necessary to prevent your boat from sinking. As far as getting back in your canoe, if you can flip your canoe and get it half empty while solo then you're actually doing pre... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I get comfortable sleeping on my side (backpacking)? I'm a side sleeper as well, and I've found that the gaps in my x-frame help give my hips and shoulders a little extra room when I'm on my side: (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Alternative Gooseneck options for small home built sail boats I made one of those rigs once out of wooden poles and and a tarp for a sail. Instead of a gooseneck, I just lashed a round ring to the boom. It's not super stable, but it was cheap and easy. (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: When making camp in the mountains, which direction should I face my tent? Depends on where you set it, where I'm from the wind is almost always the determining factor, when you're in thick trees and wind isn't a factor, then you set your tent wherever it fits. Which direction you're facing depends on the terrain and your exposure. When we went camping a couple weeks ago, ... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it possible to use a flint and steel with wet tinder? No Well, it's probably not impossible depending on how wet, but I can pretty much guarantee you're going to spend more time striking your steel trying to get the wetter stuff lit than if you were to take the time to find or prepare dry tinder. You're wrong to assume that everything is wet. Everyth... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What should you do if your sleeping bag gets soaking wet at night? I'm going to assume that you're too deep into the bush to bail and get back to civilization, and that your bag is all that's standing between you and hypothermia. In this situation, you have to get your bag dry. First, prevent yourself from getting any wetter. You have rain gear, that is good. Get i... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Would it hurt anything to leave a canister stove attached overnight? No, go ahead and leave it on, you'll likely save fuel that way, be it a very small amount, but you do lose some fuel each time you take the element off of the canister. You don't need to take it off if you're not packing it away. (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Where to get replacement parts for a Ugly Stik GX2 I'd recommend contacting an Ugly Stick service department directly and asking them if they can send you a replacement part, there's a chance your rod may even be covered by warranty: http://www.uglystik.com/UglyStik-warranty-service.html IN THE U.S. Shakespeare® Customer Service 1900 18th Str... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to keep small rocks and stones out of hiking boots? Like Russell said, gaiters are what you need, there are many varieties, most are meant to help keep your feet and pants dry while moving through the bush, but in your situation I'd probably recommend a pair of trail running gaiters: They're built exclusively for keeping sand, dirt, and rocks out ... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Approximately how long does the Telluride Via Ferrata route take? The thing with Via Ferrata routes is how long you take often depends on the size of your group, their fitness, and how comfortable everyone is with heights and using their gear. I've seen people at a crawl on some simple via ferrata lines that provide some assistance on high exposure parts of popul... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Safety in re-slinging old trad gear Climbing accidents very rarely are a result of mechanical failure, and almost always a result of human error. Traditionally, climbers built their own climbing gear as you've mentioned, I personally know a few old school climbers who years a go used to climb with machined nuts they found in their ga... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Where can I find good topographical maps of Peru? The University of Texas Library has some decent 1:100,000 topo maps of Peru for free download: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/peru/ Sample (Machupicchu): (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to rappel with a dog? Your dog needs a climbing harness: I have a friend who goes everywhere with their dog, and they have a pro-rated harness for them. You need to get your dog a harness, and tandem rappel with them just like you would another person, or with a heavy gear bag, by clipping them into the same point on y... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Question	—	How do you boil water without a proper container? Suppose you don't have a pot or any other fire proof container to boil water in, but you need to boil it for safe drinking water. How else can you boil the water? (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Identification of bugs on porch Those are Cicadas, they live in the ground for years and crawl out only to moult their skins as adults and mate. They have an obnoxiously loud mating call, I'm sure you've heard it, they'll often emerge from the ground all at once, there are some places where they come out like clockwork every fi... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you smoke salmon in the wild without a smoker? You make a smoker, all you need to carry with you is some tinfoil. Best tasting fish I ever had was cooked in a tinfoil smoker out in the woods on a winter camp, we lashed together a simple rack like shown below: Our fish fillets went on the rack, then we wrapped the whole thing with tinfoil (tin... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Question	—	Will a Rocky Mountain Goat attack a person? We went to Gargantua this weekend, I've been going at least once a year for the past few years, and it's not uncommon to see rocky mountain goats up at that elevation, but this time around we ran into a family of nine, some of which were hanging out right in the cave entrance. Just inside the c... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to walk on the hot beach or rather hot sand? Barefoot Shoes Also known as minimalist shoes, the theory behind them is to give you as close to a barefoot feel without actually putting the soft, soft flesh of your terribly urbanized and unadapted soles of your feet at risk of damage. My favourite barefoot shoes are Vibram Five-Fingers, I wear e... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Roof rack system suitable for both bicycle and kayak? Yakima Rack You could easily do 2 kayaks and 2 bikes at the same time on your car, like so: ...with room to spare. I can fit a 17.5 ft canoe, two mountain bikes, and a tandem mountain bike on the top of my car with 66" crossbars, I'm confident you could tighten the setup shown above and fit two... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Putting electronics inside a surfboard? You'd install it basically the same way you'd install fin boxes and foot strap inserts (youtube example), surfboards aren't much more than a big block of styrofoam wrapped in fibreglass and resin. Simply put, you need to cut through the fibreglass, and hollow out a spot to put your electronics, and s... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does it harm deer when I walk on their trails? No, human smell is only potentially harmful to small fawns, a doe may abandon her infant fawn if it smells of human. At least this is what we're told as kids when we're hiking a trail and encounter a baby fawn. Their defence mechanism is to lay perfectly still, and they will, even if you were to sit ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What can I do to discourage people from littering in the back country? Honestly, the best way to discourage people from littering is to be vocal about it. People are less comfortable leaving their trash lying around if someone voices their disapproval. And less likely to do it again in the future if they've been chastised once in the past. Rhetorical questions like, "H... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is a so called "Weiderost" (cattle guards)? In North America they're called cattle guards, or Texas gates, and they are everywhere (where I'm from at least). They're intended to replace a conventional gate by discouraging livestock from crossing, while also accommodating vehicles by not making them stop to open and close a gate door. They are... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the smallest island that will support one person indefinitely? ...is there minimum size/configuration of an island that it is likely you could survive indefinitely? No, at least not if you're in a location where you're not at risk of dying from exposure to the elements, but considering most uninhabited island are in the South Pacific, I think exposure is ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you make an emergency water filter and purifier? Gravity Filters Cone Filter Much like Charlie's gravity filter in a bottle, this filter is essentially the same, only using a cone of tree bark in place of the bottle, and using extra filtration layers instead of a coffee filter or bit of cloth: Tripod Filter Using a shirt, or bag with a hole... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How do you make an emergency water filter and purifier? How do you make an effective water filter using the natural elements of the great outdoors? Suppose your only source of water was dirty and questionable at best. How could you make it potable without having to boil it and using only what mother nature has to provide? I've never made one before, bu... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it an acceptable Leave no Trace practice to bury ruined food? Food waste does not impact the environment negatively (with perhaps meats being the exception). What's food for you is also food for all the little critters out in the woods. Rodents will eagerly clean up all the burnt oats, the flour will quickly turn to soil, and all other ruined food will attract ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Slingshot resources The Pocket Shot! If you want a slingshot for backpacking, then this is the one I'd recommend: It looks unconventional, but I think it's genius, best part is you can store all your ammo in it and it packs away super small! Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kY5ku1kEM You can even... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to stash firewood without it getting wet? Don't chop it. If you haul in your wood unchopped with its bark still on, then it'll stay dry enough on the inside. We found a pile of wood buried in the snow at one winter camp, and had no troubles getting a fire going with it. Don't worry too much about it getting wet; just leave it stacked in a s... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Extending a two bolt anchor with one sling? I took some kids out climbing last night at a small crag popular for top roping, but I wasn't too impressed with their choice of anchor placements, or lack of additional hardware considering their placement. On one of the routes, if you were to clip into the bolt hangers, you'd be unavoidably crossro... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Canoeing in a thunderstorm What are your chances of getting struck by lightning in a canoe? I've done a lot of canoeing on stormy lakes before, but when the thunder comes what is the real risk of getting struck by lighting? My thinking is, if you're on a mountain lake surrounded by mountains, the lighting is much more likely... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do hikers cross fast-flowing rivers without wading staffs? I've crossed a lot of fast flowing creeks and rivers in the Canadian Rockies, some deeper than my waist. The technique I use, and teach others to use, is to walk facing upstream, and walk sideways, leaning into the flow of water. It ultimately comes down to balance and how sure your footing is, I gre... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Handling IT-Band Syndrome when hiking I struggle with my IT bands, first time it hit me I was deep in the backcountry on the top of a saddle ridge, and it was a 14km agonizing hike down to the nearest cabin. You can't really stretch your IT band, it's not a muscle, it's connective tissue. It's connected to your tensor fasciae latae, bu... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What to do when a snake blocks a narrow trail? In this situation, if you wanted to preserve the life of the snake, I would have recommended you used your poles to pick it up, swing it out over the gorge side of the trail and place it back on the ground behind you. You may have also had success using the basket of your pole to hold it's head down ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Knot to attach gear to a beam I come form a coal mining town, in the mines they call the change rooms the 'dry', because mines can be very wet places and the 'dry' is where you'd dry out your clothes. Before they started putting ventilated lockers in the drys, they used to hang their clothes on hooks under baskets that they'd rai... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Identify what bit me by the mark it left (note: potentially graphic, but also beautiful, photos) Your bite/sting mark is missing something very essential in order to qualify it as a bite or sting mark, and that is: a mark from a bite or a sting. Had something bit you or stung you, then you would be able to see a little hole or pincer mark in the middle of that very colourful bruise you have. Co... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What to do when a moose blocks the trail? I've encountered moose on several occasions. The first was when I was a boy while walking through the woods on the way to school, I was on the trail through the woods that connected to the upper part of town when I came up behind a big moose. I stopped, backed away slow, then as nonchalantly as possi... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What do I need to consider when rock climbing at night? Depends on your headlamp. I use a Petzl Ultra Vario headlamp for caving that can cast a beam 200m, so when I've got that on I can see pretty much the same as climbing during the day. I've climbed at night before, there wasn't any real significant difference. We happened to be climbing during a full... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Top Rope Anchors - is a figure-8 on a bight stronger or just easier to untie than an overhand knot? Doesn't really matter for top roping, you've got so much rope out when you're top roping that when you take a fall pretty much all the force is absorbed by the rope, your anchor is holding only a little more than the body weight of you and your belayer most of the time. Mountain guides will tie an ... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Knot to tie a hook onto the middle of a line Dropper Loop Knot Tie Dropper knots at the points where you want hooks. Tie your hooks to a short length of line and put a perfection loop in the other end. Connect the hooks to the short lines to the main line by first feeding the dropper loops through the perfection loops, then the hook... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Will an opossum wake up from pain stimulus if playing dead? When an opossum is playing dead, will it keep up the act even if an animal decides to start eating it anyways? Or will it wake up once it's flesh starts getting ripped open and try to fight back or flee? (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Quick release knot for attaching kit Girth Hitch I think the knot you're using is appropriate if the idea is not to lose your kit, another knot may run you the risk of losing something because it came untied without your blessing. If you're using cheap cord, then don't bother with the knot if it's giving you grief, just cut it at the... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Rapelling an overhang I was thinking about this question while rappelling over an overhang this evening with my little girl and payed attention to exactly what I do: Plant your feet on the edge of the overhang, keep your legs straight, and let the rope through your descender until your body has cleared the roof. Think... (more)	—	over 8 years ago

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