Activity for Charlie Brumbaughâ€
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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A: Can a compass be thrown off by its surroundings? Yes, there are certainly areas where there magnetic anomalies. There is on in the Kursk area of Russia that is caused by a very large iron deposits. There is also one in Africa that they are not certain of the cause, but the effect on a person's compass is described as, “If you were on the... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Can a compass be thrown off by its surroundings? Would it be possible for a compass be affected by its surroundings, such as a large iron deposit or other rocks to the point where it is not working correctly? I am not talking about declination but rather a change that is specific to a local area. Is this possible and if so, how would one detect ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Under what circumstances would I wish to extend the handle length of a snow saw? The main reason that I found is for cutting a cornice, sometimes referred to as the bombs of the backcountry. Extending the handle allows one to cut it without being too close, and as for why one would want to cut a cornice, The advantage of cutting cornices is that it allows backcountry skie... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Is it warmer to sleep with an empty bladder? One of the recommendations for sleeping warm is to empty your bladder before bed, When your bladder is full, your body is expending energy keeping that liquid warm. If you empty it out, your body needs to expend a little less energy to stay warm. Source There has been some discussion on this a... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Why do I always wake up freezing? Here are some other things you can try, Fill a water bottle with hot water, wrap it in a t-shirt and put that inside your sleeping bag. Don't drink warm tea before you go to bed, as that will increase the chances of having to get out of bed or being uncomfortable all night long. On the other hand, ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How to cross rivers or streams at night or in darkness? There are a couple of things you will want to do. Headlamps are essential as you will want the full use of both of your arms. The darkness will make it more difficult, mostly because you be able to see much less. The darkness can also mess with your judgement of how far things are. In mountainous a... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Is the Park Service continuing its case to re-rename Yosemite Park's historic landmarks? The name change is going ahead, at least for now The Ahwahnee Hotel and other Yosemite National Park landmarks soon will be renamed amid a legal dispute between the government and the facilities' outgoing operator. On March 1, the famed Ahwahnee — a name affixed to countless trail gui... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Can I use a quilt with a bivi bag? Probably, but it likely wouldn't keep you as warm underneath unless you wrapped it all the way around, in which case you have almost duplicated a sleeping bag. Depending on the temperature it might work great, or it could be miserable and a lot of that depends on you. Just try to test it out in saf... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Is it dangerous to rope together on an ascent of hard packed ice? If the snow was hard packed enough that a self arrest is not possible, and there are no intermediate anchors, then if one person falls, they can take the whole team down with them. If that was the case then what they should have done is to have the first person place anchors as they went up, either ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Can a compass reverse polarity? They certainly can and it is caused by, Please be aware that a reverse polarity is caused by exposing your compass to articles with iron content (something as simple as being placed next to a pair of scissors or a knife for a length of time, microwaves, high tension wires, etc.). Source Mag... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Can a compass reverse polarity? Can a compass have its polarity reversed so that the end marked "north" points south and vice versa? If so, what could one do to prevent and fix this problem? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Is it normal for a compass to develop an air bubble at high altitude? I wouldn't call it normal, but it does happen and if the bubble is large enough it will effect your accuracy. In that case you may want to purchase a new one or if possible send it back to the manufacturer. From Silva's FAQ page We intend that our compasses are free of bubbles; however, if a sma... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How to triangulate your position with a map and compass? The basic idea behind triangulation is take multiple bearings with the compass to recognizable points and draw them on the map. Where they intersect is your location. You want the lines to be as close to perpendicular as possible, for the sake of accuracy. The reason is that when the lines are p... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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How to triangulate your position with a map and compass? While navigating or orienteering with a map or compass one of the essential skills is the ability to find your position on the map with the aid of the compass. This can be important if you need to know your exact position. How should one do this? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What are the measurable prerequisites of strength and/or flexiblity for starting to climb in a climbing gym? I am going to say that there aren't any. I have always heard stories of big beefy guys who can a zillion pull-ups getting out into real climbing and then realizing that there are very few features that remotely resemble pull up bars. For that matter I have gone climbing and rappelling with a person ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What kind of tree produces these long multi-seed pods? I am going to say that the tree belongs to the Catalpa family. Here is a picture of the green bean pods. In the autumn they bear 20–50 centimetres (7.9–19.7 in) long fruits that resemble a slender bean pod full of small flat seeds, each with two thin wings to aid in wind dispers... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Can Propane lose its stink? Yes it can. Odor Loss. On rare occasions, propane can lose its odor. Several things can cause this including: Air, water, or rust in a propane tank or cylinder can reduce propane odor concentration. If the propane is leaking underground, its passage through soil may reduce the smell of ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How do you remove leeches from your eyeball? This story says that a saline solution was used and it was not pulled off. Dr Fogg says tweezers were not an option as simply pulling the leech off could leave its head lodged in the eyeball, leading to infection. A check of the medical literature revealed two other suggestions - using an an... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What factors should I consider to prepare high protein meals using a single camping stove and pan? I am pretty certain that this is what you are looking for, Image Source Two tablespoons (32g) of the stuff has 8g of protein and 16g of fat. Source It easy to carry, does not require refrigeration or cooking. Typically I eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon and can go through one of the ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Foxes in the living room - what causes this behavior? This site says that it has to do with food. Foxes are drawn into houses by the availability of food. They will take advantage of open windows, doors, and pet flaps to come inside and wreak havoc. The pests makes messes of kitchens as they forage for fish, meats, fruits, vegetables, and even garba... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Sleeping in a sleeping bag only compared to tent camping A tent would protect you from rain and snow, and it would keep you warmer since it will create a warm pocket of air around you. It would also keep the bugs away. However, if rain and/or snow and bugs aren't an issue, then I would totally recommend sleeping outside without one, because then you can s... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What kind of tree produces these seed pods looking like spiky balls? That is a sweet gum tree. The distinctive compound fruit is hard, dry, and globose,1–1.5 inches (25–38 mm) in diameter, composed of numerous (40-60) capsules.[13] Each capsule, containing one to two small seeds, has a pair of terminal spikes (for a total of 80-120 spikes). When the ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Why would one aim off when navigating with a map and compass? The reason is that you could miss your destination and hit a trail and know that you are almost there, but not know which way to turn. So if you were to go straight for the destination, and because of Murphy or errors or whatever and you ended up at either Point A or Point B, you wouldn't be certa... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Why would one aim off when navigating with a map and compass? Sometimes while navigating with map and compass, the advice is to aim off i.e. to aim either to the left or right of the intended destination, as opposed to straight for it. Why and when would one want to do this? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How can I tell the difference between an American Crow, and a Common Raven that lives in America? According to this article, (How to Tell a Raven From a Crow): Ravens often travel in pairs, while crows are seen in larger groups. Also, watch the bird’s tail as it flies overhead. The crow’s tail feathers are basically the same length, so when the bird spreads its tail, it opens li... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What situations/locations would be ideal for using a solar stove while backpacking? After answering this question, I am wondering when it would be useful to cook with a solar stove. It certainly wouldn't make sense in an area that is constantly overcast or when speed is of the essence but there are probably times when it would. Personally, I like the idea of not having to carry my... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Are there any techniques to cooking food when camping in the wild by harnessing the energy of the sun? Certainly, what you are looking for is a backpacking solar stove. Here are some examples. SunFlair Solar Oven SOLTAC's CookSack Or if you really wanted to, you could attempt to build one yourself. (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Via ferrata equipment maintenance For storing the harness, REI recommends Transport a harness in its supplied bag and always keep it away from sharp objects, ice screws, crampons, direct sunlight, corrosive substances (e.g., battery acids, gasoline, solvents, bleach) or any other potentially damaging objects. If your harness did ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Is all ocular fluid potable? According to Wikipedia the Aqueous humour is composed of, Amino acids: transported by ciliary muscles 98% water Electrolytes Ascorbic acid Glutathione Immunoglobulins So it is probably true. I did find a report that said that cows that die of nitrate poisoning will hav... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Best food to attract Blue Tits It looks like the problem might not be the types of food, but the feeder itself. In the past blue tits had a monopoly on the relatively tricky kind of feeders people put out. The tiny birds were uniquely able to feed from upside coconut shells full of fat, or perch on strings of monkey nuts. They... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Why are carabiners so much weaker if the gate is open? Carabiners like this, are marked with the force rating. The one in this picture is rated, 20kn the long way 8kn the short way 5kn with the gate open Why are carabiners so much weaker when the gate is open? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Can I re-use a via ferrata carabiner/harness for climbing? The carabiners are definitely good to go as those are pretty standard ratings. Most climbers using climbing harnesses and not body harnesses, I would suggest that you buy a climbing harness as I think that it would work better and be more comfortable for you. (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Can sunlight be used to purify water? It is possible, here is the Wikipedia article on it. You do have to check that the plastic in the waterbottle doesn't prevent the UV light peneatrating the bottle. Some glass or PVC materials may prevent ultraviolet light from reaching the water.[13] Commercially available bottles made of PET are... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What is the most efficient strategy to melt snow using a stove? You want to have some water in the pot/pan, as otherwise you will scorch it. It doesn't have to be too much, just enough to cover the bottom. Then you would just want to keep stirring it. (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How can I tell if there's a living snail in the shell, without picking it up? If you wanted to pick one up without a live snail inside, I would say finding one on dry sand without a trail that looks like it has been there a while. The signs of that would be, being flipped upside down and having small debris like sand or dirt on top of it. This video shows a sea snail moving ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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If you hear a mountain lion screaming, how close is it? Female mountain lions will scream to attract a mate, and males will do it as well. This YouTube video and this one both have audio of what it sounds like. Given how loud it sounds, would there be any way of estimating how far away the mountain lion is? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Where and when can I see the most seals in Cape Cod, Massachusetts? According to this web page the best time of year is, Chatham Fish Pier -- Chatham's fish pier is the place to be when local fishermen unload their catch of the day. See the hilarious show as resident seals beg for lunch. The Pier is open all year, but prime time to see the seals is May through Au... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Would it be warmer to sleep at the bottom or on the side of a valley? Given that temperature decreases with altitude, and yet inversions happen where cold air is below warmer air, as a general rule of thumb, where would the warmest place to sleep be? Here is one place that would be a good example. It's on North Fork of the San Joaquin River in the Ansel Adams Wildern... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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Are there fish in lakes with a lots of glacial flour? Often times in high alpine lakes you will see lakes like this, where the color comes from the rock/glacial flour suspended in the water. The lakes and sometimes even streams are very pretty, but if one wanted to fish there, would there be any fish or would the amount of rock flour in the water p... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What animal could strip all the bark off the lower 7 feet of this tree? The culprits probably looked something like this. Bears would leave vertical scratch marks, and porcupines eat the outer bark as well, and the height rules out deer so that really leaves just the squirrels. The time of year also plays a part as bear damage typically happens during the spring whi... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Which types of animals would peel bark off this tree? That was definitely a beaver. Nothing else has quite the chewing power of a beaver, for example accoring to Wikipedia, these trees were cut by beavers in a single night. Based on the color of those chips, I would say that you were there less than a week if not sooner from when the beaver was chew... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What type of weather conditions would lead to being above the clouds while mountaineering? Its always been cool to be climbing a mountain and look down, and realize that you are high enough that there are clouds below you. Here are some pictures from Wikipedia of what this looks like. I would think that the weather would have a great deal to do with when this happens, what are good ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What are differences between higher and lower shoes other than ankle support? There are going to be two main differences that I can think of. The first is that higher shoes are going to weigh more, simply because there is more shoe. The second is that that you are going to be much clunkier/less graceful in higher shoes/boots than in lower. Partly because of the weight and pa... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How do you correct Google Earth's incorrect slope percentage? The reason that this happens is that instead of calculating the slope correctly as Rise over Run, Google Earth calculates it as Rise over Hypotenuse. So if you had your standard 3x4x5 right triangle, The correct steepness would be 3/4 (75%) while Google Earth would show it as 3/5 (60%). To solv... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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How do you correct Google Earth's incorrect slope percentage? I often use Google earth to plan trips. One part of that is marking paths and seeing how steep they are. However Google Earth severely underestimated the steepness of slopes. For instance here is a line drawn up the Glacier Point Apron in Yosemite Valley that Google Earth estimates at a maximum st... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What mountain is used in the MacOS Sierra desktop background? I have been curious as to which mountain is in this picture. I have tried a reverse Google image search but all I have found is pictures of computers. Presumably it is somewhere in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What is this mountain seen from above the Banks Lake region of Washington State? I am going to say that that is Mt. Baker. Here is a zoomed in version of the above picture. Here is a Google Earth image of Mt Baker from the south east. Looking at these pictures, there are two things that stand out as very similar to me. The diamond shaped ridge to the left of the summit and... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: What affects the acclimatization process? Bringing gear up when climbing high won't really affect the rate. There is a possibility that a higher pressure system could increase the amount of oxygen, but true acclimatization takes long enough that it probably won't matter. According to the Altitude Research Center Women are more suscepti... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What should one look for in a bivy sack? After a rather unpleasant experience with my current bivy sack, I am looking to replace it. I know that I want one that will hold up in rain, but what else should I look for? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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What are these numbers on the back of a pocket transit for? I have a pocket transit and on the back are a bunch of numbers. They can be seen in these images here, here, and here. What are these numbers used for? (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |