Posts by theJollySin
Your life will not be at risk from used shoes. No. But you will run a serious risk of getting athlete's foot. This happened to me and it took six months to get rid of. Beware.
Last weekend, we had a nice hike up Price Peak in the Sierras. We went from sea level to above 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in about 6 hours. And I had a ROARING headache. I could hear my heart beat in m...
Is sandpapering your finger tips an effective way to improve anything about your rock climbing? On occasion, I will see climbers in YouTube videos or people at the local crag using sandpaper on th...
The way I see it, you have two options: Buy some astronaut ice cream. Bring/find some ice and make ice cream in a plastic sandwich bag. I bet you could easily replace the ice in the standard 'i...
I doubt a definitive list exists. But here is an algorithm to create your own list: What altitude-based things make climbing a peak require gear? At what altitude do problems in step 1 start occ...
It all depends on how you want to mount your rock rings. I mounted mine like this from a door-jam pull-up bar: Though you could mount them like monkey bars, or any other way: The idea, from a...
Please don't drink alcohol to stay warm. It may make you feel slightly warmer temporarily, but it isn't actually helping you. According to my favourite volume on Wilderness Medicine (page 156), a...
Over the next 6 months I will be training for my first marathon. This means I will be running 4 times a week, with at least one long (10-20 mile) run each weekend. I have run several half-marathon...
I have never found a good answer to this one: How do you clean rock-climbing shoes, without ruining them? Let me be more specific. I have a pair of modern leather-and-fancy-rubber climbing sho...
While searching online for an answer to my question, I came upon the this pseudo-scientific research. They did not test the old wood-and-metal sleds, so this may not be good science. Never-the-les...
Warning! I am not a medical professional. However, I asked my favorite doctor and she seemed to think it would be okay. She said rust would just look like iron to your body and it would be consum...
Winter is here and, like every year, I am still thrilled when the extended family rounds up all the little kids and we go sledding. This year we compared our sleds and found that some were signific...
THE official information can be found on the CDC webpage. The CDC defines the problem in terms of what you're trying to kill: Protozoa, Bacteria, or Viruses. They address each of those in terms of...
In the past, I have gone backpacking with some fairly expensive, heavy water purification tools. But the more I read about water safety in California's Sierras (here and here), the less I think the...
I'm not from the mountains. Every time I go into the mountains I lose all depth perception. I can't tell by looking if a peak is 100 meters or a 1,000 meters above me. I have to stare hard and lo...
To get an official answer to this question, I decided to email the National Park Service at Yosemite NP. The park ranger said: Bears are attracted to "food" odors. When talking about food stora...
I am an avid rock climber and the answer to all similar questions is always the same: Use safety gear when you feel unsafe. If you want a number, falls from over ~5 meters (15 feet) are where yo...
Okay, this is a BIG question. One short post on the internet will not give you everything you need. To that end, I suggest reading some climbing training guides. I have read a few, and find this on...
I have never used a Rappel Ring before but I am told they are really useful. Apparently, if you're trying to rappel in a situation where you have to leave gear at the top to get down safely: use a...
What gear did John Muir actually take on long trips? I live in California these days, and around here we revere John Muir as a legend of the outdoors. But the legend seems larger than is possible....
If it has any scent at all, put it in your bear can. If you're worried about cross-contamination between your trash and your food, bring a trash bag you trust. I keep my food in a plastic bag but ...
This answer may depend on the type of bear, but somehow I doubt it. If you ever visit Yosemite National Park, go to the Happy Isles Visitor Center. They have an old Jeep door on display. The ...
A wonderful woman I know has the Habenera bag by REI (link). It's a warm bag. We've taken it backpacking in the snow and on mountains, and she likes it a lot. It's also a high-quality, light-weigh...
How can I tell when my minimal running shoes go bad? Let me explain. Conventional Wisdom The conventional wisdom of marathon runners is that running shoes will eventually 'go bad'. That is, at s...
Last night I had a nightmare that I was 5 pitches off the ground and it started to pour rain. When I woke up I realized I have no idea how to deal with this. Asking around, everyone says two thing...
