Posts by Olin Lathrop
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...
I had never heard of Tchesinkut Lake before, but it was pretty easy to find this view. I entered "Tchesinkut Lake" into Google Earth, which found the lake right away. After that, looking at the o...
It can allow more hunting, depending on local regulations where the wolves are. It will also make it easier to kill or otherwise deal with wolves where they interfere with human activity, like rai...
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...
A trail camera is unlikely to work. They are motion activated, so will snap pictures of every car passing by. However, you don't just want the picture of the car, you need to show the litterer in...
Hiking is a superset of backpacking. A backpacking trail can be used for hiking, since that's how you move along the trail while backpacking too. Any trail specifically stated to support backpack...
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...
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 am trying to determine the best way to attach trail signs to trees in the woods. The problem with trees is that they grow. If you firmly embed a nail in the wood, the tree will eventually grow ...
Consider whether you really need to have dry shoes before going thru all the trouble. In the winter, wet footwear can be a serious problem. However, when it's warm out there is really no danger f...
Think about whether it really matters if your feet stay dry. Will this be in warm enough weather when trenchfoot and frostbite are not problems? If so, the simplest answer may be to let the feet ...
This is really up to you, but I think if postholing is enough of a issue it would be good to wear snowshoes. If nothing else, it just makes things easier. One problem of postholing can be sometim...
I suspect the answers will be scattered. I don't know of any one source of Tyvek maps that cover everything. For the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the AMC publishes quite decent trail maps in...
I do deliberate trail maintenence regularly, and unfortunately what you can do is severly limited if you want to do it casually while only carrying something small. There is no set of tools you ca...
This doesn't directly answer your question and might not be to your liking, but it's what I do. Basically, I don't bother trying to keep it cold. However, I do add flavoring. I find that flavori...
I occasionally have to label smooth plastic surfaces around the office that get handled regularly. As you say, even a sharpie mark wears off after a while. What I do is to write the label with a ...
As others have said, wool is the best of the easily available natural materials. It's main advantages are: Somewhat hydrophobic, in other words is a little bit water repellent. This is due to wo...
As others have said, the main advantage of a free standing tent is that it doesn't require stakes or rope tied to external fixed objects to stand up. Of course there are downsides too. This gener...
I think there are two primary distinctions between "4 season" (winter-capable) and "3 season" tents: Air flow and room. In a 3 season tent, you generally want good ventilation and you pretty much ...
I think the most likely is actually hypothermia. All it takes is being a little unprepared and getting caught in wet and windy conditions a little above freezing. If you don't deal with that righ...
