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...
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...
All public campgrounds in western MA are going to be "busy" on weekends in the summer. In fact, I wouldn't even try finding a campsite later than afternoon on Friday or on Saturday. As for hiking...
You could ask what the importance is of any species or related group of animals. They all have their place in the ecosystem, and there will be consequences when any of them disappear. In the part...
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...
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 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...
I would avoid swimming across if possible. For fording the stream, find a wide and shallow section. If you have a group of people, interlock arms and walk across together with the line of the gro...
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...
The issue here isn't about mixing fuels since white gas basically is gasoline. The difference is that commonly available "gasoline" as used in cars for example, contains a lot of additives. These...
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...
It's always OK to move fallen debris from the trail, assuming you are sure you are on a real official trail. Make sure you don't accidentally remove "brushed in" trail entrances. That is where br...
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...
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...
