Posts by ab2 MonicaNotForgotten
Many years ago, I was reading a book in which the Chamonix guides of the 1940s and 1950s were featured. It could have possibly been Annapurna by Maurice Herzog, but I just don't remember. Several...
Chubbs, the alligator in the question, is 15 feet long, according to the OP's link. OP's source and mine: Sports Illustrated. According to this source The state's [Florida's] biggest alligato...
My question is prompted by the answer of @Aaron to this question; his answer referenced Geraldine's Largay's death on the Appalachian Trail. Ms. Largay was hiking alone on the AT in Maine. She g...
I looked first at bears to get a handle on this question, because it is well known that bears get a significant part of their caloric intake from berries. I should have looked first at berries! ...
I agree with the recommendations on jackets, so I won't repeat them, but no one so far has mentioned layering. When hiking in very cold weather or visiting Boston in the winter, I layer a Patago...
There is a summary of the Bombard voyage in Surviving the Extremes by Kenneth Kamler, MD, who started his explorations into extreme environments through climbing. On one of his Everest trips in 19...
I doubt that there is anything about your body chemistry that is a cougar attractor. But, if you are a petite person, a lion will see you as easy prey. And, if the stalking occurred at dawn or du...
Doctors are not omniscient. They miss things. Some are sedentary, and they don't understand how important a full recovery is to an athletic person. Everyone, when going to a doc, needs to thin...
Splitting logs takes energy and skill. If you are unskilled, a survival situation is a bad time to play around with an axe for a nonessential reason. If you don't have much food, and do not have ...
I thought I knew every pest in our woods and on the trail to Great Falls National Park, and had been bitten by all of them, but I have never encountered chiggers. Not in our woods, not on hikes to ...
The roadside in our semi-rural area is relatively litter free. With very few exceptions, it can be easily picked up with one hand, and is not gross. But one litterer is getting to me. He (or s...
Forest fires seem to be more numerous and larger, and the forest fire season is getting longer. Some of these fires are caused by arson. For example, from USA Today: The man suspected of ign...
I agree with the answer of @Charlie Brumbaugh about having a dedicated set of clothing to cook with. I also agree with @James Jenkins that you smell more like a person than the food you are cookin...
I've never had a stamina or ache problem with rowing a row-boat or paddling a canoe, although my limits have declined with age. However, my arms and shoulders tired very quickly the few times I tr...
It is not clear whether you are motivated mainly by scientific curiosity or mainly by a desire to ensure comfort in the wild. My answer assumes the latter. This answer adds only one point to Char...
It would not be wise to take a leaking inflatable sleeping pad on any trip where you actually need a sleeping pad, and cannot hike out and replace it easily. The pad is already leaking. You have...
The source, Commoners of the New Forest referenced by @Liam in his answer to the question How do you become a New Forester Commoner? implies that for the New Forest to become a mature forest would ...
By a strange coincidence, your Question and the September/October Technology Review arrived today, with an article titled Super Suit. When divers carry out rescue missions in frigid waters, sta...
We have found that almost any place that is interesting to hike, and especially backpack, does not have cell phone reception, or at best lousy cell phone reception. To which I say hallelujah! I d...
Several decades ago, we were three days from the trailhead with no food. Let's not get into why that happened, please. It is too embarrassing. We had to slog through snow for two days, but on th...
Wood ash As @Monster said: anything that stops light from reaching your skin. The OP her/himself suggested mud. All you need to get wood ash is a campfire, which you probably want anyway, ...
The situation: you are backpacking and are above timberline. Streams are ubiquitous, you are well equipped so exposure is not a problem, the entire party is uninjured and healthy. But a large, r...
The OP asks our advice because .... I am a bit appalled by the idea to throw away an otherwise intact tent which wasn't used that much. This is really a question of how far down the trail ...
The OP asks: How do I attain the ultimate parasol experience? First, get a beautiful parasol, one that Madame Butterfly would be proud to carry. Second, develop your evasive techniques, raising a...
Omura's whale is definitely smaller in length than the blue whale. The New Bedford Whaling Museum says: Length as an Adult: Male Omura’s whales are approximately 33 feet (10 meters) and fema...
