Posts by Olin Lathrop
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 ...
To answer your other questions: No, don't insulate the pole at the bottom with a sandal, and yes, you are overthinking this. In the relatively unlikely (but possible) event that lightning does sti...
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...
Yes, increased exposure can reduce the ellergic reaction that results in the itching and swelling. The very first time we are bitten by a mosquito, nothing happens. That triggers the immune syste...
This isn't a direct answer, but a relevant anecdote. Many years ago in college I went with some friends to a nearby state park with a lake. After a while, we decided to walk around the lake a bit...
I live about 35 miles northwest of Boston, so I can answer this. The first thing you should do is join the Boston Chapter of the Appalachian Mountian Club (AMC). Once you are a member, you will h...
I have a self-inflating mat, and I think the foam serves three purposes. In order of importance: It sets the shape of the mat when inflated. Think of the foam as limiting how far the opposite wa...
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...
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 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...
I can't prove a negative, but I don't think there is any such nation-wide historical record. Finding the history of various names will take different methods. For some, the history and motivation...
The missing context in this quote is apparently that you then use a part of your hand after the arm is extended to guage 10° in the sky. Look where you got that quote from, and it probably mention...
The sun is currently in the more active part of its cycle, where solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME) are more common. Auroras are caused when high-energy charged particles hit the vicini...
No, a "national forest" here in the US is a legal designation and does not mean the land is actually covered with trees (a forest). In the US, there are quite a number of governmental divisions th...
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...
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...
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...
