Posts by Sherwood Botsford
The advice on Kamik etc is good. A: I buy them 2 sizes larger than my normal size. This allows me to wear 2 thick pairs of socks inside the already thick felt liners. B: Verify that you can r...
Towing doesn't work well. The trailing canoe will tend to swing wildly from side to side. This is a chronic problem when towing a swamped canoe to shore. This may be affected by how the trailing...
A comment on recent answer suggests that kernmantle ropes are more easily damaged than a conventional twisted rope. This is contrary to what I learned very long ago. So far I've been unable to f...
There's a tradeoff: Sealed leather doesn't let water in, but doesn't let water vapour out either. This results in liners getting soaked sooner. You can reduce this somewhat: Apply your choice of...
As a reference, see Patterson's "The Dangerous River, Adventures on the Nahanni" book. He would prospect for gold, and had a camp a good ways up the river. His boat was in effect a 30 foot long 5...
There are two approaches you can take: Wear heavier shoes that wear longer, or wear lighter/cheaper shoes and replace as needed. I'm interested that you wear shoes out. I typically get about 500...
I'm on holiday near Sechelt right now, and have been hiking the trails and powerline right of ways. On several occasions I've come to the end of one trail, and can see the start again on the other...
For horses I've seen various numbers but 125 to 250 seems to be the range. This depends on the breed, the difficulty of the terrain, and the length of the trip. Horses need a lot of time to graze...
If you aren't drifting, then one item that would be useful is a log. This is as simple as a chunk of wood and a line. Time how long it takes for the log to reach the end of the line. This gives ...
I'm taking inventory on my tree farm. The temperature today is -7 °C with a light breeze. Windchill of -10 °C. I figure that there are lots of people who have this problem. Writing a journal, desc...
Sorry, but this is a 'how long is a piece of string' question. Variables: Size and shape of the canopy. (Yes, sides will require greater weights) Nature of the site (exposed, sheltered) Speed o...
Don't worry about padding anything. I worked as the outdoor equipment manager for St. John's Cathedral Boys' School. We had 120 kids in the school with a 3 week canoe trip at the end of each sc...
It's not that bad. First of all, distinguish between hypothermia and frostbite. The latter is when your flesh actually freezes. Water crystals do a lot of damage. It is extremely painful when ...
Various sources say 5 to 10 micrograms/deciliter of blood is the usual point of concern. In adults symptoms show up at around 60. Children are developing so the lower 5 is recommended as their ma...
From experience, traveling under a full moon works well. Warning: The shadows are inky dark. You will still need a torch or headlamp, but in the open you can turn it off. I have done winter tri...
Try and see. Standing dead poplar burns very well, as does standing dead spruce. Standing dead birch produces a short burst of flame from the bark, and then smoulders with little heat and extreme...
When car traveling we freeze pop bottles mostly full of water (2" header air space) A 2 liter (2 quart) bottle takes a fair amount of time to thaw; it doesn't spill and make things soggy; and you h...
I'm taking a different tack. I have slept both in and out of a tent on many winter nights, and I will not use a tent unless there is significant wind or precipitation. Here's the problem: The te...
Part of this is learning to pay attention to what your body is doing. I had a friend on a dogsled trip who was soaked when we reached camp: He could wring water out of his polypro underwear. Me,...
Locally one of the forms of firestarter our hardware store sells amounts to coarse sawdust mixed with candle wax. Break a piece in half to get a rough edge to start. You can make your own from old...
The old style pocket compasses worked just like that. The problem: If you use a compass without using that arrow -- just using the degree marking on the dial, your error will about triple. I...
National Forests In the U.S. you have a huge system of national forests. Many of these have extensive trail networks. Many have parts that are too rough for economic logging. Go remote Places ...
Stage 1. You come around the corner and see the strainer. Backwater. The technical term is a backferry. You want to move slower than the water. Move the stern over a bit in the bank you want t...
A reasonable compromise is any pop bottle -- one designed for carbonated beverages. They are several times as strong as the water bottles. I've never managed to break one. I have a polyethylene ...
Any amount of insulation helps. There are 3 main areas of heat loss. Head, sides of chest, and groin area. Any form of fabric will work. Yes, even cotton. (Cotton's problem is when it's in the...
