Posts by Charlie Brumbaugh
It is good practice on a hiking or backpacking trip to leave a written plan behind with someone. Then if you fail to return by your estimated date Search and Rescue will have an idea of where to lo...
From Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts Whistle Signals One blast, "Attention"; "Assemble" (if scattered). Two short blasts, "All right." Four short blasts, ca...
For your specific questions, The rock type is sandstone. This type of rock formation is called a Hoodoo and they happen when a harder rock type or layer is ontop of a weaker layer. The weaker lay...
I have been wondering how often the thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail resupply. I would assume that it depends on the part of the trail and the hiker, but is there an average distance or lengt...
Sometimes, especially where permits are required, it is mandatory to fill out the sign-in/sign out books. Usually they are at trailheads, although I could see them on a particular piece or trail an...
Let's say that you are out backpacking and a bear spray canister accidentally goes off and gets on your skin or in your eyes or onto your clothing? It can't be a pleasant experience as it is meant...
According to the Guide to the NEW Recreational Craft Directive 2013/53/EU page 8, a builder's plate has the following information on it, Manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or registe...
In some parts of the western United States there are herds of wild horses. How dangerous could a herd be to a human on foot while hiking or backpacking? If they are dangerous how should a human pr...
Once the squirrel has reached the adult stage, their teeth do not regrow if lost. Infant tree squirrels have three pairs of milk teeth that are replaced by adult teeth when the squirrel is four...
This is what a diagram of opposite and opposed carabiners looks like. The gates are on opposite sides and form a X when laid over the top of each other. The purpose of doing this is to make it ...
It is often said that when using two carabiners at the same point, such as an anchor, they should be opposite and opposed. What exactly does this mean?
A z-pulley or z-drag is a way of gaining leverage to pull a rope tight or to pull an object or person closer to the anchor. It is commonly used to tighten Tyrolean traverses, recover pinned boats i...
Basically it looks like this. The rope goes from the object to a caribiner that is hooked into the anchor. Then it goes back down to where a prussik and a caribiner have been hooked to the rope ...
After looking through all of the pages of Google Image search slime molds, I was unable to find anything that resembled the brown stuff in the above images. There is a list of the Slime Molds of th...
At night it would still be a good idea to have the flashlight, because the farther away you could potentially see a bear, the more time you have to adjust your course to avoid it. Whether or not i...
If you are sleeping in a rainstorm it would be warmer to sleep under a tarp, since otherwise you are going to get wet. It would be rather difficult to enclose a space with a tarp to the level that...
Sometimes mountains won't have trails or recorded routes simply because they don't get enough traffic that a trail will be created. Not every mountain has recorded routes simply because people have...
It looks like there is a possibility of strong winds, Lake Tahoe is also known for its vibrant blue skies, its sparkling cold waters, and its hazardous wind conditions, especially on the easter...
From Chapters 6 and 7 of the book Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, there are two things that I think would explain why he didn't cut the rope. He thought they were both going to die. I knew...
It is fairly common practice to drive to a trailhead, park your vehicle and then go backpacking for a while. It would be a real bummer to come back from a trip and find that your vehicle has been b...
Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) on feet can be used to, Treat dry cracked feet. Treat cracked heals. Reduce friction and therefore the chances of getting blisters. From personal experience the downs...
It looks like the answer is that it depends on the direction, wind speed, terrain and type of chairlift. The ski area you are going to might keep statistics on how often the wind makes the use of c...
It's a unique serial number for the boat. The HIN is a 12 character serial number that uniquely identifies your boat. Source The acronym stands for Hull Identification Number. It is possibl...
It looks like a combination of checking out a potential predator and following a leader. Turkeys, he says, are naturally fearful of cats, which can be a threat to younger, smaller birds. So it’...
It looks like there is some truth in it. I don't think that it has to do with the sheep so much as it does with their grazing habits. During the day, mosquitoes like to rest in tall grass or am...
