Activity for Gabriel C.
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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A: Can putting nails in trees cause longterm health problems for the tree? Trees can be remarkably resilient. As explained by Davey, a tree care company: Healthy trees are tough, and when they’re drilled with a nail or screw, they’ll start a process called compartmentalization, which means they naturally heal the area around the wound and protect the rest ... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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A: Trail marking material that will last a few years If you want the quickest way to mark a trail, you could go for forestry marking paint. Some brands will advertize around 5 years of permanence. It requires careful placement of your marks so they are visible along the trail but this is true for any type of marker anyway. The advantages are: No need... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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A: What are these grayish plants with little white "hair" in Joshua Tree National Park? Your description of white hair suggests something like dead Old Man Cactus (Cephalocereus senilis) individuals, or something of the same genus, Cephalocereus. I don't know how abnormal this location would be in southern California. It is said to thrive in hardiness zones 9b to 11 in the US so it migh... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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A: What kind of Rope for a Bosun's Chair Look for any type of line that is meant for running rigging on a sailboat. These lines are made to work with pulleys or block and tackle systems, they have very good strength with more than adequate working load limits, and they can withstand the weather for quite a while. The main idea is to have a ... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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A: Topo map server out there somewhere? I personally use several WMS layers (Web Map Service) in GIS software. Many are free to use, some are licenced. Here's a short list that might interest you: CalTopo: has USGS and NRCan scanned topo maps, tiled into one layer Quebec 20K topo maps: 20K topographic cover of the Quebec data. Very preci... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: How to split 3-5 people into rope teams for glacier travel? I went ahead and fished out my copy of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, which happens to be the 50th anniversary 8th edition. The reason there isn't much detail in the list you quote is that it's in the primer chapter. In chapter 17, Glacier travel and crevasse rescue (p.375), you have to g... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: How can I reduce the pressure of backpack straps on my collarbone, perhaps by fixing padding to the strap? To accomodate the shoulder straps sliding over the collar bone without displacing the padding, I'd build a sleeve of some kind. Especially biking, the straps will want to move around if you go in and out of the saddle. Just to try it out, you could make it entirely of Duct Tape which would make for ... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: What’s the main appeal for climbing outdoors? There is a simple explanation that transcends the idea of rock climbing for the sake of it: Some people have other motivations that require rock climbing as a skill, for example peakbaggers. If you need a certain level of proficiency to reach the top of a mountain - let's say climb a 5.8 crux in the... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: Risk of category three sunglasses when skiing Yes, you are putting yourself at danger if you use such glasses, but there's a caveat. It's highly depends on location (basically the amount of atmosphere the light has to cross): closer to the equator, the light is stronger higher in altitude, the light is stronger Julbo, the lens manufacturer, ... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: As of 2019, why do mountaineering courses still teach how to use a paper map? I'll answer both as a geomatician who makes maps (both paper and digital) and deals with GIS data for a living. I'm also a mountaineer, trail runner, backcountry skiier, and outdoorsman with extensive experience both of GNSS receivers and paper maps. Reading skills First off, reading maps is a skil... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: How warm should a down jacket be in a layering system? First of all, you shouldn't consider wearing a down jacket under a mostly non-breathable shell. Down loses most of its insulating properties when damp or wet and, assuming strenuous hiking, having it inside your perspiration saturated outer shell will only degrade its performance over the course of y... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: Is sleeping on the ground in cold weather better than on an air mattress? Effectively, it isn't much better to sleep on an air mattress that isn't specifically made to insulate from the ground than on the ground itself although it does make a slight difference. The main takeaway is that you should always avoid sleeping directly on the ground so even a poorly insulated air... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Systematic and random error of GPS or barometric altimeter. How to optimally use GPSMAP 66s? A short answer to the question What combination of settings can I use? None. If you unit is not faulty, you are stuck with your problem. The long answer follows. First off, it would be important to note the difference between what the terms accuracy and precision mean in the context of measurements... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Fact or Fiction: "If you want to keep your feet warm, wear a hat." (and the various explanations for it) I'm trying to answer in a more empirical way than through scholarly articles but I think it's a good method to prove it to yourselves that wearing a hat does affect other body parts. While there is a common agreement that your head isn't particularly special in terms of its ability to lose heat comp... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: First Time Skiing - Only my feet were freezing Try thinner socks. If you're too tight in the boots, you'll be cold. It seems counter intuitive but blood circulation is what keeps you warm, just like what @Fenophter wrote in the comments. An aerobic activity like cross-country skiing gets your blood circulating pretty wildly and you'll be surprise... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Is a slackline, ratchet, and tree protector alone enough equipment to setup the slackline? To the question Is a slackline, ratchet, and tree protector alone enough equipment to setup the slackline? The answer is yes, provided the kit is built for that purpose. In actuality, you could set it up without bark protectors, but that's frowned upon as it will hurt trees (some more than oth... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Is there any evidence that the small canisters (10 liters) of 95% oxygen actually help with altitude sickness? TL;DR summary: There is no evidence that these particular products help with acute mountain sickness. It's difficult to answer the question because the manufacturer for the linked product makes absolutely no claim to the effect that their product helps with altitude sickness. The only direct prais... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: GSI and similar plastic camping cookware: safe to use over fires? While I worked in outdoors retail, I saw the evolution of GSI's line. The Bugaboo had at some point a very bad but well-known flaw where the plastic lids (polycarbonate then some other molecule when BPA was banned from cooking apparatus) would actually melt. It wasn't a rare occurence, we'd get a few... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Require advice on power conservation for backpacking trip I did use my phone as a mapping device a few times when I forgot my dedicated GNSS receiver at home (for peakbagging day-trips where I need to reach a specific point often under forest canopy and without easily identifiable landmarks). The battery doesn't drain exceedingly fast but the more I look at... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Does an ice chest packed full of frozen food need ice? The short answer is that you need to get rid of all the air from inside your ice box. So no, frozen food by themselves won't work. The easiest way to deal with this is to let an outfitter prepare the food. Even for a private unguided trip, you can get outfitters to do all the logistics work from put-... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Can butane be transferred from one pierceable canister to another when its below the boiling point of butane? No. There is a safety system in the newer C206 canisters that should prevent you from emptying a pierced can, unintentionally or not. It remains to be found if this works at low temperature and pressures though. However, the C206 GLS cartridge has a new integrated flow reducing system, the Gas Lo... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Boots: Does light damage affect waterproofing? No. If the boots have a Gore-Tex membrane, this is a PTFE film that is sandwiched between the inner lining and the upper. Light going through a glass pane is mostly harmless. For example, most of the UV light (UVB) is blocked by glass. The only issue a pair of boots left in a display might have is co... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What is this square plastic thing with small black flat glass marbles in the Uintas? Without having more info on the specific parameters of the study, it's hard to know exactly what they were looking for. Either water or snowpack characterization might be very likely subjects. I'm wondering if they used black pebbles specifically because they are black, which would suggest their ab... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What type of lizard is this grey and orange one I found near the Grand Canyon? That's definitely a desert horned lizard although I'm not expert enough to identify the sub-species. This lizard is commonly called the horny toad, which is a pretty awkward name. Whoever thought this would be a good long-lasting brand name learned their lesson when Horny Toad changed to Toad & C... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What type of insect is this orange-camouflaged creature? That is a species of longhorn beetle called Aristobia approximator. There are two or three different species that live in my region but I wasn't familiar with this particular one which is quite impressive looking. Since it seems to feed on teak, this has to be an Asian species. (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What kind of bird in Michigan looks like a cardinal with black wings? It's most probably a scarlet tanager although he'd be super early, that's for sure. (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Specific Chinese carabiner QA? The main issue is that fraud and misrepresentation is rife in the chinese manufacturing sector. When I was working in outdoors retail, I saw a couple press releases where Petzl was facing counterfeiting from China. The copies were visually identical, down to the packaging and tags. Of course, when t... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Skis versus snow shoes - when to choose which for travelling the backcountry? First off, I want to make clear that this applies to skiing and snowshoeing as a means of long-distance travel. It doesn't directly apply to skiing in specifically for the descents. Skis are better for: Lake traveling: The snow on frozen lakes tends to be firmer and this enables the ski's inheren... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Garmin Fenix 3 - Temperature spikes result in abnormal elevation changes I would expect an aneroid or electronic barometer to do exactly that. Without any compensation, anything that affects pressure will yield changing readings. Be it pressure differentials caused by being on the leeward or windward slopes of a ridge in high winds, or temperature changes due to time of d... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What is this white substance some climbers smear on their legs? All answers will always veer on the side of speculation, but there are a few points which make a likely candidate for this specific case: The Nose is on south-facing El Cap, directly in the sun; November air temperatures in Yosemite are between 57°F(14°C) maximum to 30°F(-1°C) m... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What basic body position should I be in during a downhill ski run? From what you describe as being taught, the basic position seems to align with the concept of being relaxed and in an active stance as opposed to being stiff and static. This makes it so you can respond to changes like bumps and ridges more adquately and in turn retain more control than if you were b... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Can you "kick and glide" and climb without skins in Alpine Touring ski gear? I haven't tried it myself, but I know of someone who sometimes waxes the entire base of his AT skis with grip wax instead of putting his skins on. It works perfectly fine for exactly the same conditions that would work with cross-country skis, so a gentle uphill will work. His first descent might be ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Keeping water from freezing while cross country skiing With a hydration pouch, if body heat keeps the reservoir ice-free, the best option is to simply blow into the tube so water retreats into the reservoir after each sip. It sounds annoying but I had a leaky mouth valve that drenched my shirt for over a year and the process became a reflex after some ti... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What counts as climbing a mountain? As a peakbagger, I often have that sort of conversation. First you need to define your terms. What constitutes a mountain, a summit, a high point - all those matter. I have "climbed" high points in farm fields that are on such flat areas that we can't even know for certain where it's actually highest... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What gear should I carry along for winter emergencies? The safest concept is to always plan for the worst case. Of course, best practice varies according to context. Whether you're going solo or in a group, the equipment will change. Same goes for the different seasons. But generally, plan for slightly more than what you expect; i.e. if you're going on a... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Finding out if a road is paved or not I have taken a look at the basemap published by the Austrian government. While my knowledge of German is very ancient, I was able to glean some info from the legend and GIS layers. After looking at orthophotographies (aerial imagery) superimposed on the basemap, I feel confident that most minor road... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What kind of material was used to make traditional stove jacks? I fished around and found a few pictures where I am suspecting no stove jack is even used. This here is a picture of medical tents in Washington during the civil war and from what I can see there are more than a few tents with what looks like stove pipes coming through the walls. Of course the photo... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: is it safe to use a 4mm cord for French Prusik auto-block friction hitch when rappelling off parallel 10mm dynamic rope? I would say no. 4mm is just too small. That's really accessory cord at that point. Considering it's only about the ability of the cord to constrict on the rope and block, the diameter is always a tradeoff between having lots of grabbing power and being easier to loosen after having been loaded. The... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Yellow Overboot Repair You could use a combination of stitching, to stabilize the cut edges, with a generous application of Freesole or Shoe Goo both outside and inside. Both are flexible enough to hold and the stitching will help prevent shearing at the cut. Here's a nicely illustrated guide from Aquaseal (another brand ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What type of boat is this with a single mast and a square sail? It's a military Cogue/Cog/Koggen with fore and aft archery towers. Cogues are the only medieval single mast square rigged sailboats of this style. (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Down is escaping my jacket, especially over a wool sweater Down will inevitably pierce through thin fabrics (an thicker ones too, just less frequently). It's in the nature of quills to do so and even if very fine, there are quills nonetheless. The lighter the denier of the fabric or the looser it's woven, the easier the down will get through. Short of havin... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What is head/lift indication in a digital compass on a sailboat? When going upwind, a header is when there is a wind shift towards your bow, which would make you deviate further from your original heading provided you don't adjust trim. A lift is the opposite. Here's a nice illustration. After checking out the product, I think I understand what it does: When yo... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How necessary it is to have an SUV with AWD for trailheads in Collegiate Peaks, Upper Ark River Valley? I have been an obsessive eastern peakbagger for almost a decade. That means a lot of the summits my partners and I now visit are lost extremely deep in the woods of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Quebec. Most of the summits I now climb are bushwhacks the entire way from the trailhead, and those t... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Would a lightweight 2-person tent or medium weight 3-person tent be better for near freezing weather? In my experience, different tents aren't incredibly warmer than others. As @paparazzo said in the comments, even winter tents aren't designed to keep warm, just shelter you from the elements. Your last paragraph, which is how you're basing your choice, makes two questionable assumptions: It's a ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Etiquette of playing musical instruments on popular hikes Following @CarlLange in his original comment: The ultimate trail etiquette would be Leave No Trace ethics. If you read the Be Considerate of Others section, you'll find relevant info (emphasis added by me): Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience. Be courteous. Yi... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What sort of glue (if any) to use to fix replacement tips onto carbon fibre trekking poles? I have Komperdell all-carbon trekking/skiing poles on which one of the points got loose. Since I preferred Black Diamond baskets, I punched the second tip off the other pole and replaced both. I used good old regular two-part epoxy that can be bought in those dual syringes, like this. Just pour some... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Primaloft vs Advanced Skin Warm Well, both are synthetic fibre fill. They are likely to be very similar, but there isn't a lot of technical info on composition and performances for those materials. Even on the manufacturer's website, you can't find spec sheets for Primaloft. At Salomon, this is the most detailed info I could find, ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What could I keep in rucksack hip pocket? In my 2-3 days outings backpack (45L), I wasn't sure what to put in the hipbelt pocket. Then I noticed my 0.3 Adventure Medical Kit fits in there quite nicely. It's really just the basics like bandages, gauze, and plasters but those things can be dealt with a backpack on. Before that I had a pocket ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Can I use a trail camera to identify a roadside litterer? I personally would rather just set an action camera to record over the timespan the litterer usually comes by. Consumer trail cameras don't usually have great definition - worse than action cameras anyway - and the tossing might go unnoticed while with video, you'll grab several frames per second. Yo... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What are lawful wilderness activities in Canada? It really depends on which province you are moving to and how far you are willing to go from urban centers. First off, stay away from any private property. While my activities can sometimes bring me to cross some private land, I am only passing through on foot and there will be no trace of my presen... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |