Posts by ab2 MonicaNotForgotten
You have a wonderful goal! It is good that you understand it can take time to work up to this trip. I recommend that you think in terms of several years, not decades, because (a) after 50, most p...
I recently talked with a young geologist, some of whose field work is in the Arctic. We mostly talked about the science, but the geologist mentioned being certified (not sure of this word) to act a...
I won't discuss the aspects that the other two answers have covered well. I am very near-sighted. For my non-sunglasses, I have what are called "progressives". I think this is what you are cal...
We were hiking in Colorado a couple of weeks ago (i.e., mid-June). One day, I took Trail A and my husband took Trail B. As he rounded a bend, he saw a moose on the trail about 50 feet away. He s...
Partial Answer: Needs Input from Others Following the suggestion of @OddDeer that scavengers would eat a possum playing dead, I did a bit of searching. The information in this source suggests tha...
See The New York Times, Nov 5, 1991, After a Plane Crash, 30 Deadly Hours in the Arctic. The four-engine turbo-prop aircraft with a wingspan of nearly 150 feet -- a jack-of-all-trades plane w...
According to an article on caribou sex identification by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Only the white rump without a [black] vulva patch or the presence of a penis sheath should be u...
We used to have lots of crows in our area -- Northern Virginia, outside DC. Then West Nile virus struck roughly 15 years ago, and crows disappeared from our area. According to the Centers for Dis...
Odd Deer's latest archery question brought to mind a historical novel I read some time ago which featured a mounted archery contest. (The novel was otherwise forgettable.) Wikipedia, mounted arche...
We have never had a tent with windows, only 2-person backpacking tents. I agree with DudeOnRock's answer, and will add only one point. The door, when unzipped, on a small backpacking tent is equi...
This question is not a duplicate of either (1) Ice skating on a frozen lake -- how thick should the ice be?, which only asks how thick the ice should be; or (2) How to determine the thickness of i...
I learned to ice-skate on a lake in Connecticut. My father built a warming fire in an old barrel (oil barrel?) and a group of us would skate, warm up, skate, warm up and repeat, for hours. How do...
I agree with the answers that recommend notifying the managers of the land. In addition, if the area is served by a packer, I would notify the packer. The packer might be able to take the trash ou...
It is understandable why it is tiring to walk faster than one's normal pace in order to keep up with someone younger and/or fitter than oneself. Simple physics: one is exerting more energy per uni...
A noted authority (Ben Crowell) stated in a comment on What sleep quality do you get in the outdoors? A properly pitched tarp works fine in a heavy rain. It just requires practice to set it u...
Check out the website http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildcond.htm As of March 3, 2016, the website said this about General Conditions under the heading Wilderness Conditions Be prepare...
Yesterday, I saw a snake smoothly glide over about 30 feet of rough gravel in our parking area to get to the woods. It showed no sign of discomfort -- but I am not sure I would know what an uncomf...
The Relevant Highway Data Source: National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Quick Facts 2014: (VMT is vehicle miles travelled) Combining the data for 2014 for passenger cars ...
A traveller to a country with different customs is well advised to read up on the customs of the people of that country, and to learn how the residents expect polite people to behave. Everywhere, ...
See the question and answers in What order of response time can I expect if I hit the "911" button on my SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker? We've scorned such wimpy behavior (carrying a satellite pe...
Today's Washington Post reported that the state of Massachusetts plans to establish a sanctuary for timber rattlesnakes on an off-limits 1,400 acre island in the Quabbin Resevoir, 65 miles west of ...
This is an addition to Aravona's excellent answer. Plastic litter poses especial dangers to wildlife. See here, posted by Defenders of Wildlife. In the Ocala National Forest of Florida, a bl...
As my other litter question stated, I live on a semi-rural road, and about twice a year pick up litter from the verge. Others pick up litter too, but there are swathes of floodplain land, conserva...
My husband and I have just spent 3 person-hours picking up litter along a one mile plus stretch of quasi-rural road, both sides. We have been doing this twice a year for a long, long time, but thi...
What makes the most sense in terms of effort, cost, etc? (1) Assuming you don't have small children: It is no more effort -- actually, it is easier -- to pick up your luggage at the carousel ...
