Posts by berry120
Related to this question, if I'm camping and hiking on my own, I'm obviously at more of a risk than if I were with someone, and some key tasks will definitely be harder with no-one to assist (such ...
In short - be sensible. Make yourself easily seen and heard, don't walk near somewhere you hear gunfire, and where possible stick to open areas on clear, marked paths. Of course, I'd also question...
Personally I'd recommend soft plastic type water bottles if they'll be frozen (though still check that this is ok with the manufacturer.) I've heard some people recommend Nalgene bottles for this, ...
Mix the water in with lots of crushed ice - or even just use crushed ice to start with rather than water. I prefer this approach over just freezing the bottle outright because I find it easier to g...
With these maps it's all about elevation - just remember a few main points: Each line represents a constant elevation (height) - so if you walk along that line you'll be walking flat. The numbers...
Of course, the best way is to prevent mold on a tent from occurring by airing, cleaning and storing it appropriately. When doing this I've never had any issues. However, there may well be cases wh...
It means the rope is rated for X falls where the fall factor is 1.77 and the weight is 80kg. In layman's terms it's a pretty big fall with a pretty big guy, the sort of fall that if you took you mo...
Has anyone got any good tips on how to (cheaply) waterproof a geocache or letterbox? Those pill pots used to work brilliantly - one inside the other - but now they seem to be rather hard to come by...
Read the cache page closely. There may be hints in other places as well as the obvious encrypted hint - the cache description, title, and previous logs may all pose clues that would help you on you...
After a bit of digging I found this, which covers some in Europe (not extensively as I first thought!) It's worth pointing out that while for some (and probably most people here) wild camping mean...
I've heard that while adder bites are venomous the number of people who have died from them are extremely low. If you're on a trek and you're bitten is it safe to continue for a couple more days be...
Your best bet is to try and position yourself face down, with your feet at the bottom, and then arc your body to put as much pressure on the hands, feet and knees as you can. As pointed out below t...
At a casual look, grass with a bit of surface water on it can look very similar to a potentially deadly marsh, and in many rural places there can be lots of both after it's been raining! In dry wea...
There's some truth to it in that moss prefers shady areas rather than directly sunny ones, so (in the northern hemisphere) since the north is the generally more shady part, you'd assume moss will b...
There's no safe wood I've found that's made food taste really bad - generally if it does taste absolutely foul I'd be wary that something else was up. In the grand scheme of things though, it depe...
Yes, some sources create toxic smoke/fumes, notably: Oleander Rhododendron Poison Ivy (smoke can cause lung damage in some cases) I'm not sure of a comprehensive list, but be wary of any poison...
As I understand it, water purification tablets (Chlorine, in this case) are just chemical tablets sealed in foil. So what causes them to expire? Are they still safe to use after their expiration da...
If I find myself caught in a sand storm, what should I do? Should I sit it out, or try to keep moving somehow? Can this depend on the severity of the sand storm?
You could do a lot worse than strip them and get in a sleeping bag with them, and indeed this used to be instructed as standard first aid for hypothermia. However, as far as I'm aware this has now ...
If I'm hiking in the wilderness and my shoelace breaks, what's the best way to go about fixing it assuming I have no spare?
We didn't always have the weather forecast available everywhere, and there's times when it would be useful to be able to be able to take a good guess at weather conditions in the near future by loo...
Are there any good hints, tips and ways you can use to navigate around and find your location in thick fog (apart from a GPS)?
Use tweezers, grip as near to the head as you can, and pull gently and evenly but firmly - it should come off cleanly. If it doesn't then be sure to remove the head rather than just leave it in the...
Make sure to thoroughly clean and air it before storing, especially for long periods of time - this will get rid of any damp and thus should help prevent mould. Aside from that, make sure to keep i...
What are some good techniques to use (materials, knots, etc.) for building a raft by gathering wood in the local area? I'm talking about something to sail on still or slow moving bodies of water, n...
