Posts by Olin Lathrop
Our town (Groton Massachusetts) formed a town committee a few months ago to concentrate on invasive species issues. Since we are new, we are trying to find our way and decide what exactly we shoul...
There are several ways to determine true north, especially when you have a map and compass: Competent maps, like most intended for backcountry hiking, will have the magnetic declination marked. T...
This is a good question, and there are actually some scientific issues to consider. I think morally we can all agree that it would be wrong to kill someone to eat them. But let's consider the sit...
Here in the US, it depends on whether it's just a historical site, or if there are artifacts. Disturbing or defacing historical or archeological artifacts on public lands is a felony, and is taken...
I appreciate everyone's help and opinions here, and want to report what we ended up doing. We (the Town of Groton Massachusetts Trails Committee) looked at a variety of options. At first the plan...
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...
A bunch of years ago I got a good enough look at a Canada Goose on Plum Island in Massachusetts to read the tag number. Unfortunately I don't remember exactly where I eventually found to report it...
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...
Unlike with most predators, running away works if you can get far enough fast enough. The bull chasing you can run faster than you, but the reason he's chasing you in the first place is only becau...
I have no idea what "sounded like wind chimes" is supposed to mean. No animal that I know of makes a metallic clinking sound. The closest would be several frogs, but that doesn't fit at all with ...
You don't see robins in the woods for the same reason you don't see prarie dogs there either; it's not their habitat. Notice that most of the time when you see a robin, it's hopping along the grou...
First, don't be holier than though. People resent that. Be realistic. Push for what matters in the area you're in. Hard and strict rules without regard to the situation are just religion. Peop...
You may like the look, but those trees are in the process of being killed by a nasty invasive, Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). It is one of the more common invasives in MA. There ha...
Great Blue Herons don't seem to be territorial. Nesting sites usually have a few to a dozen nests at a time, sometimes three in the same tree. This is so common they are referred to as heron "roo...
I've probably been car camping at a public campground a few 100 nights in my life. Of all those, I can only remember having stuff stolen from the campsite once. For some of the early experiences ...
I don't know about poison oak, but have lots of experience with posion ivy. I think the irritant in both is similar (urushiol oil, or something like that). This answer applies to poison ivy, whic...
This answer is "you shouldn't", since it appears from your description it's not your land and you have no authority over it. Unauthorized private modifications to public land can be a serious prob...
People getting killed by black bears is exceedingly rare. There are roughly 1 per year in North America, and most of those in Canada and Alaska. If you are in your tent at night and hear what you...
The automatic f-stop mechanism (iris) in your eye is less sensitive to red light than the shorter wavelengths. Therefore, red light provides some illumination, but doesn't trigger your eye to stop...
There are many trails and therefore many trailheads with a variety of road types leading to them. Most of the roads in Rocky Mountain National Park can be traveled by ordinary passenger cars, at l...
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 ...
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 ...
Invite them both on a day hike. That's a end onto itself, so no need to pretend anything else. You can watch the interaction between #2 and #3, and talk about experiences to find out what #3's qu...
Here in the US, "horses in a field" would imply the field is fenced. That means you should stay out. There is one exception, which is if you know the land is public property and it's OK to walk o...
