Posts by Olin Lathrop
Today GPS systems are relatively cheap and widely available. You don't even need a dedicated GPS receiver. For example, I often use a Android tablet with a built-in GPS, and software that can rec...
I noticed that some of the posts I wrote on SE Outdoors were imported, apparently to give the illusion of more activity here than there really is. It was a little disconcerting to see that, althou...
Let's start by seeing what the largest solar cell you could practically carry hiking could get you. Light weight solar cells are thin and fragile, but let's ignore that for now. Let's say you can...
That is almost certainly a domesticated skunk. Yes, people do keep skunks as pets. I visited someone once that had a pet skunk. It was actually quite effectionate.
You can't "filter" dissolved salt from seawater. Either the description you found is dumbed down for the masses, or just plain wrong. It is possible to separate seawater into concentrated brine a...
With just the right equipment in a laboratory setting, you can use the energy in a key fob battery to cause a spark. You can then use that to start a fire under the right conditions. However, tha...
I don't know of any organization as you describe, but there certainly ways for adults to learn outdoorsmanship. There are likely outdoor clubs in your area that run educational programs. Here in ...
Bison roam over large areas of Yellowstone, and you'll certainly spot a few from the road. They don't care about cars and humans much. I remember them being readily visible from the road in vario...
Another answer talks about hardness. There is some relevance to that, but more importantly, ice is brittle, regardless of how hard it is. You don't need much of a tool to scrape or crack chunks f...
This is not a direct answer, but still relevant. Technically, "chipmunk" is the common name for a limited few specific species of ground squirrels. These usually have the stripes that run along t...
I don't have a direct answer to your question, but basic logic says that would be unusual. Think about what seasonal migration is for. It is to get access to different conditions than any one pla...
Pressure can tell you altitude (both up in mountains or down in caves). This is the basis for how many altimeters work. It helps if you know the pressure at a nearby known altitude. This helps...
The tent. Whatever you are tying the hammock to is obviously sticking up a bit. Let's assume trees. Things that stick up are more likely to be hit by lightning. Since the hammock needs to be ti...
I have a nice and small tent I really like that is around 30 years old. It is from Sierra West, but I don't remember the model name. Here is a picture so that you can see the size and general con...
Seals appear at various times in various places on Cape Cod. There isn't a guaranteed time and place to see seals, but some spots are better than others. For example, this picture was taken at He...
It sounds like you are referring to a pedometer. These things basically count footsteps or strides. The purpose is usually to infer distance walked or hiked, although there is some error in going...
The vast majority of picnic sites are available on a first-come first-served basis. This is true across the many local, state, and federal agencies that provide picnic sites. These sites are for ...
I don't know how to compute the odds, but being out on a lake in a lightning storm is a really bad idea. The mountains around the lake aren't going to provide cover. There are several models about...
The robin should be quite capable of building the nest on her own. Almost anywhere there should be enough dried grass and small twigs around. It is unlikely your robin is having trouble finding b...
I picture would greatly help. However, I suspect you are looking at the lines on the part you manually rotate relative to the fixed base part. Good compasses have something you can rotate to set ...
Most hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers in the wild. Therefore, a hummingbird feeder should mimic red flowers for best results. The color of the "nectar" itself doesn't matter. After all,...
This is impossible to answer unless you are willing to do an enormous amount of research. There is no single, or even just a few, databases of trails in the US. The national trail lists generally...
If hiking makes you feel anxious, then don't go hiking. If you do go hiking, as with most activities, you should pay attention to what your are doing. That includes listening to what is around yo...
Look at the surrounding terrain and think what water would do when it rains. No place is perfectly flat for very long, so suface water will flow away from some place and gather in others. Somepla...
Most trails for hiking are also good for running. In fact, I'd make the assumption that a hiking trail is a running trail without specific knowledge that makes it inappropriate. One way to get a ...
