Posts by Sherwood Botsford
Cause of dew: You have a local surface that is below the dewpoint. It has gotten enough colder than the air, that water condenses on it. Dew is heavy on clear nights (more surface radiation cool...
Edit: A comment pointed out that I didn't answer the question. Dry cotton is a good insulator, and most cotton t-shirts are thicker on average than synthetic shirts. A typical cotton tee in dry ...
Intro: You can get wet from sweat or wet from rain, or a combination. The waterproof breathables depend on the outside surface being not wet. So the outside layer has to shed water. This genera...
I've owned both. I've also used CPVC and Royalex canoes on trips. Aluminum is noisy. You don't have to tell people that you hit a rock. They will hear, even over the roar. It's cold. If you s...
I've had this happen on trips a lot. (You take 20 teenage males into the bush...) There aren't that many pathogens that thrive on people. Your biggest problem is not the lake, but the sleeping b...
In terms of heat loss, they are marginal at best. However.... I had aluminum coated emergency tarp -- silver on one side, bright orange on the other. I found that sleeping under the stars that ...
Routine is your friend. Tent pegs: One person picks up all the pegs. Start from the front and go around. Count the pegs. Cup & spoon: Top right pack pocket. Rain gear: outside top pocket. ...
Agree with Charlie Brumbaugh Manufacturer's figures are based on smoke and mirrors, bragging rights, and what someone thinks would be possible in good conditions. I tell you that loading a canoe ...
If you are normal weight,then I would strongly suggest wearing whatever runners you wear day to day. Your feet are happy in them. Your body mechanics are used to them. I would never recommend 5...
Some good answers here: Gotchas that can get the unready: A contour interval of 100 feet or 20 meters is common on mountain maps. Even a slope that shows an even gradient can have lots of stairs...
A tarp is significantly warmer. On a clear night the surface of your bag is radiating into interstellar space. Not much radiation back. With a tarp, you have one absorb/reradiate layer which wi...
If she is easily doing 10 km now, then a one shot of 15 km isn't unreasonable. Yes it will be a challenge. You may have some tears toward the end. Tips: Assuming typical alpine country, -- lots ...
Part of it is the distance from the sun to the horizon. In the tropics the sun path angle is nearly at right angles to the surface. Sunsets are short. The time between 10 degress above the horiz...
As a kid carrying papers in Idaho I had the over the head ear muffs that were acrylic synthetic fur inside and out. They were certainly good to 0F, probably to -10 F. Features I looked for: ...
River crossings: I've done a couple dozen three week trips on the Canadian Shield, most in Northern Saskatchewan, but also northern Alberta and the N.W.T. I think the following will be applicable...
The link to the image of your pack is broken, so I'm going to generalize. I still prefer my external frame pack (hard to find nowadays) I will gladly live with the extra pound to have pockets, and...
Your solution isn't a bad one. Adding whatever fleece you have under the raingear would help. Putting your feet in your pack will help keep them warm. Much depends on other factors. How cold is...
Here's the way I would go about it: Firstly, don't worry about efficiency. Heaters by their nature are close to 100% efficient. All the energy is turned to heat. That said, thermostatically con...
The usual place this happens is a finger, ear, occasional other places. If you are close to town, and have good insurance by all means, tape it in place to minimize movement, and go see a doctor. ...
I have not seen this protracted to the scale of weeks. This is a common effect in my experience, but I've never seen an effect beyond a few days. I used to do dog sled expeditions in the Rockie...
Materials to consider: Counter tops: Formica on marine or pressure treated plywood. Working with formica is fairly straight forward. You need a battery laminate trimming tool. HDPE. High dens...
The issue: hard gunk on the rope decreases flexibility of the rope. Fibers may break when the gunk spot is flexed. My suspicion: Kernmantle ropes will suffer less than conventional laid ropes. ...
I have routinely done week hikes with sufficient creek crossings that we didn't even try to keep dry feet. (Coral Creek has 22 crossings in 3 miles. Most of the trails in the area have at least a...
As the elevation increases, the boiling point of water drops. This makes cooking times increase enormously. You may want to essentially ignore cooking, and rely on cold food, and warm drinks. T...
Other jurisdictions: When I was younger I would drive part way from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Lake Louise. I'd go to 2 o'clock Creek which was on Abraham Lake. There I would pull off the road...
