Posts by Olin Lathrop
About the only real danger of the ones you mentioned is a scorpion under a rock you just picked up. They do hide in crevasses under rocks during the day. Just be aware that there might be a scorp...
This is aurora borealis, correct? No, that's the Milky Way. Its most of the rest of the galaxy we're in seen edge-on. It looks curved in the picture because a quite wide angle lens was used.
Obviously the left image can't be Wilcox Pass, so it was probably taken from Wilcox pass. This was easy to find in Google Earth: "Obviously the left image can't be Wilcox Pass" Why not? Beca...
I've seen this a few times, most recently today with this question. The question list says "last activity about 7 hours ago by Charlie Brumbaugh". But when I go into the question, I can't find a...
Today, another imported question popped up. I didn't notice it was imported right away, and ended up wasting time on it. OK, that's on me. It is properly marked as imported. It's my fault for n...
New England at its best Looking west from the top of Gibbet Hill towards Groton Center, Groton Massachusetts, 18 Oct 2014.
Assuming the ear protector is a linear system, it will attenuate the various frequencies in a pulse the same as it would a steady tone at each frequency. An impulse is by definition short-lived, an...
This isn't a direct answer, but something that should be cleared up. With a trike in general it would seem the end with two wheels is going to have half as much load per tire, with twice as much su...
The dead wood will certainly be dryer than it was when the tree was alive. However, whether it's dry enough is uncertain. Cut it and see. You could offer to cut the tree in return for the wood. ...
This isn't a direct answer, but keep in mind that the protections in a National Park or National Monument are already fairly strong. A Wilderness designation doesn't add as much there as it would ...
It sounds like you got near a wasp nest. These can be hard to spot, especially the ones that are in the ground. The best way to avoid getting stung more is to move away, than can mean up to 10 me...
It looks like a grindstone. The two halves would be different fineness. Your friend probably had this in his cooking kit to sharpen knives. This doesn't look like it has anything to do with star...
I don't know that trail, but check OpenStreetMaps. That database has become pretty good in recent years, even for trails. Paper maps are a good failsafe, and bringing a paper map and compass is a...
The only truly correct term is Branta canadensis. Otherwise, for everyday English, the quote from the suggested edit is completely correct. The colloquial term is "Canada goose". There is a lot ...
Nalgene (probably a trademark, not sure what the generic plastic name is) is not a good material for a water bottle intended to be used in the back country. Nalgene gets brittle over time, even wi...
In the outdoors, the way to deal with cold is not to heat the environment, but to insulate yourself. You say "snow line", so it appears you aren't asking about anything particularly cold. Just ge...
You almost certainly got close to a nest. The behavior you describe fits various raptors when intruders get close to a nest. There very likely is a nest up there somewhere. If the nest isn't on ...
You need the right balance of air pressure. Both too much and too little can reduce comfort. This can be seen by thinking about the limiting cases. With no air, you're directly on the ground. I...
No, center of gravity is not a issue between a tall and short person. That is because the rest of the body scales too. The center of gravity relative to the body height stays the same. Imagine a...
Birds of the genus Corvus are intelligent and generalists. They are not picky, and can survive on lots of different types of food. They are also more able than other birds to find clever ways to ...
Quick synopsis: Beetles infested tree. See circular holes. Woodpeckers made larger holes to get at the beetles. Tree died. Bark fell off, helped along by animals trying to get to the tasty bee...
Here are some points of interest you should definitely include, based on your rough proposed area: Arches National Monument. It's at least worth a day trip thru there. There are some natural arc...
Early September is the best choice considering the criteria you have given. While it is true that there are less hikers in early June than later in the summer, there are reasons for this. Black f...
The total number of incidents, even over a defined period of time, is meaningless by itself. There is no absolute scale for danger. What we really want to know is how dangerous one thing is relat...
There is nothing wrong with asking people you meet on the trail where there are coming from or going to. This is very normal trail-encounter talk. I've asked people this many times and rarely got...
