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 ...
Brown Loaf in the fall A local hill named Brown Loaf in fall splendor, from the top of Scarlet Hill, Groton Massachusetts, 18 Oct 2014.
Millers River meets Connecticut River 6 Oct 2011, Erving/Gill Massachusetts. This picture was taken looking downriver (south) from the French King Bridge across the Connecticut River, between Ervi...
Non-expert guess here, but I think that's some type of robber fly. Those are predatory flys, generally have the shape you show, and are rather large for flys. There are many species. Even expert...
The derailleur can be adjusted just fine with the bike upside down. Flipping the bike doesn't change the side to side alignment of how the chain is fed to the gear set. However, one thing to watc...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Camping restrictions and permits to enter particular areas are actually very rare when you look at the total land area. I believe in every case these are done only to prevent degradation caused by...
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...
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...
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...
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...
20-25 kg, or 45-55 pounds weight, is too much to expect to carry on your shoulders. That's especially true if only over one shoulder. Not only will that put a lot of stress on the shoulder straps...
It makes more sense to insulate you than the whole back of the truck. Get a foam pad to put under your sleeping bag. You say there is a plastic liner, but a real sleeping pad should insulate much...
Yes, the solar panel will be a little less efficient on the dashboard than outside because: Wavelengths absorbed by the windshield. The windshield absorbs most UV, which does still contribute to ...
Knowing why distance was included or omitted in any particular instance requires asking the people that decided on that particular sign. In other words, in the general case, you don't know why. I...
As far as I can see, only your original picture from 2016 shows sign of woolly adelgid. The tree is not in focus since the point of the picture was the doves, but here are some clues: The white...
