All Questions
9
votes
6answers
271 views
What kind of mementos, if any, am I allowed to collect from State and National parks in small quantities?
What kind of mementos am I allowed to collect from State and National parks in small quantities, if any?
I am especially wondering about:
pebbles, shells, sea-urchin-skeletons, sand-dollar-skeletons ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
Prevent mosquito bites: insect repellent patch or just eat vitamin B1?
I'd like to use natural malaria prevention. Insect repellent patch seems to be very promising. One patch contains 75 mg of B1 and covers 36 hours. However, it's not very cheap. Many other travellers ...
9
votes
4answers
782 views
Why go without socks with climbing shoes?
I've been going climbing (indoor bouldering) for about six months, using shoes I rented at the gym, and wearing socks (and everything was fine). I've recently got a pair of climbing shoes, and want to ...
9
votes
6answers
4k views
What is the ultimate car camping bed solution — for two people?
I've been camping since I was a teenager in the scouts, and I've never really had a very comfortable night out. As an adult with a girlfriend, 20 years later, I'd like to just throw some money at the ...
9
votes
4answers
151 views
How can one find the difficult to find geocaches?
I've recently been getting into the hobby of Geocaching. However, I'm finding there are many, particularly in cities, that I just cannot find no matter how hard I look for them. They tend to be very ...
9
votes
4answers
144 views
How to get started skiing?
I've never skied before, but I'd like to try it out.
What sort of gear should I buy (as opposed to renting) before hand?
What would be a good strategy to learn to ski?
9
votes
5answers
317 views
How to reduce the annoying sound of falling raindrops on a tent?
Every time I go camping and it starts to rain, I can't sleep anymore because the raindrops that fall on the tent causes a really loud and annoying sound. Is there any technique or tool to avoid or at ...
9
votes
4answers
215 views
What are some alternative ways of fishing - i.e. catching fish?
If I'm out in the wilderness and want to catch fish to survive, what are some ways I can do this without a conventional fishing pole/line?
9
votes
3answers
154 views
Trail maintenance: what is considered inappropriate when maintaining a trail?
Every year at the beginning of the spring, I do preliminary hikes and do some light maintenance (removing broken tree from the trail etc...) but this question made me realize to what extend should I ...
9
votes
3answers
164 views
What is considered a water source, and why is it recommended to camp so far from them?
I've read one one of the US national forest or wilderness websites that when camping in the wild, one should camp at a certain distance from a water source. Should I understand a water source to mean ...
9
votes
6answers
151 views
How to avoid the layer of ice inside a water bottle during winter activities?
Is there a special way to avoid the layer of ice that forms inside a water bottle during winter activities?
9
votes
2answers
250 views
Things to keep away from climbing ropes
There are some no brainers like don't throw your climbing rope next to car batteries in the back of your car. The effect of bug sprays containing Deet seem to be controversial. I have also heard a ...
9
votes
2answers
182 views
How can I make/improvise a rope on a trip?
If I'm out in the wilderness and find myself in need of a rope I don't have with me (forgotten, not enough, another snapped), how can I make one? Are there any natural ropes I could use with minimal ...
9
votes
2answers
593 views
What is the difference between men's and women's hiking boots?
When I bought my current pair of hiking boots, the brand/style I tried on and liked was out of stock in the womens version, so the storeperson offered me the mens ones instead. I tried them, liked ...
9
votes
2answers
173 views
Moose: How to decrease the risk of being injured?
Based on Wikipedia:
Moose injure more people than any other wild mammal and, worldwide,
only hippopotamuses injure more.
In this case, what should I do to decrease the risk of being injured ?
...
9
votes
4answers
1k views
How to properly lace hiking boots?
When I go on hiking trips, I wear proper boots. However, when I lace them tight, my ankles swell terribly after a few hours and start feeling funny (bending the joint feels like touching a balloon). ...
9
votes
1answer
905 views
What can an injured person in the outdoors do to prevent infection by flesh-eating bacteria?
Perhaps you've heard about Aimee Copeland, the 24-year-old adventurer who contracted a flesh-eating disease after getting injured in a zip line accident over the Tallapoosa River. She's already lost ...
9
votes
4answers
124 views
Winter Camping: How to warm up your boots in the morning?
Is there a good technique to warm up your boots in the morning? Should you just put them on and warm them up with your feet or is there a better alternative?
9
votes
5answers
214 views
Are fires in natural caves/overhangs safe?
I have heard that a fire in a cave or under an overhang can cause a rock collapse, potentially injuring the occupant. Is this a real risk?
9
votes
3answers
137 views
What should be carried in a standard Geocaching bag?
As in the title, when going Geocaching what are some standard implements and tools I should carry with me to get started so I'm not caught out?
9
votes
2answers
482 views
Pros and Cons of paracord
So from a comment on this question I was curious, what is the benefit of paracord over hardware store yellow twisted poly stuff?
The yellow stuff is cheap, readily available, floats, strong enough ...
9
votes
4answers
351 views
Best way to light a tent
Usually when I require light inside the tent I just prop a torch (flashlight) up somewhere, if it's bright enough then up at the roof of the tent the reflected light gives a nice ambient glow. Has ...
9
votes
2answers
385 views
Which side of an emergency blanket should I use?
an emergency blanket has two sides, one orange and one silver. Which one should I keep on the inside?
9
votes
2answers
147 views
What is the best way to store my tent?
How can I store my tent when I'm not using it for months at a time, so it is still in good condition when I use it again?
9
votes
2answers
1k views
Cooking by pouring hot water into plastic bags?
Recently I came across pour and store bags. They seem a bit similar to the bags for trekking freeze-dried meals like Travel lunch. That gave me the idea of preparing the meals myself beforehand and ...
9
votes
4answers
102 views
Is there a difference in performance between a fishing kayak and touring kayak?
Last year my wife and I rented a couple of SOT kayaks and used them to paddle around our local lake. We enjoyed it so much we have decided to purchase our own this year.
We are looking at some entry ...
9
votes
2answers
122 views
Experiences hiking with a baby: backpacks
I'm a keen hiker, in South Africa. Or, I was...
But then our delightful darling daughter was born 7 months ago, and my hiking hobby got replaced with a new hobby.
Anyway, my wife and I are very keen ...
9
votes
5answers
359 views
What shoes keep me warm in the cold?
One of the biggest problems I have keeping warm in the cold are my shoes. When I'm out cycling in temperatures below -20°C, ordinary sport-shoes or hiking boots fail to keep me warm
Cycling to work ...
9
votes
5answers
187 views
Can I replace Dish soap?
I have been trying to get my weight down on longer backpacking trips. I have already taken to buying very strong soap and using very little, but I was wondering is there something I can replace the ...
9
votes
3answers
246 views
Soft or hard drinking bottle?
When choosing a water bottle for hiking, a very distinct choice I can make (amongst all the other types of materials and hardiness, size and so on) is weighing up whether to purchase a "hard" plastic ...
9
votes
1answer
67 views
How can I make a snow shoe in the wilderness from commonly available materials and simple tools?
As in the title really. In the hypothetical situation that I'm caught in the wilderness in winter and there's a heavy snow storm resulting in an unexpected level of snow, snow shoes could well come in ...
9
votes
1answer
194 views
What should I do if caught in a sand storm?
If I find myself caught in a sand storm, what should I do? Should I sit it out, or try to keep moving somehow? Can this depend on the severity of the sand storm?
9
votes
2answers
2k views
How do I use these “guy line runners” to adjust the tension on my tent's lines?
I was given my current tent and I have to admit to being pretty ignorant of tents, having not done much camping since I was a kid some decades ago.
Now when it came time to use the guy ropes I ...
9
votes
1answer
351 views
Is it legal to collect firewood (to take away) from woods and forests in the UK?
I've seen lots of people do this, and unless it was clearly stealing en-masse for profit I doubt there'd be a problem, but is it legal to pick up dead logs, kindling etc. and take them away to use ...
9
votes
1answer
130 views
Which will drain less body heat: lying on bare earth or bare rock?
For years I backpacked without a sleeping pad, until one particularly chilly night during which I tried to heat up the earth with my paltry 98.6 degrees F (37°C).
In that instance, would I have been ...
9
votes
5answers
116 views
Resources for finding public hunting land
Are there any good resources out there for locating publicly available hunting land?
UPDATE: I should have stated that I'm looking for land in the US. Also, I'm interested in any public land ...
9
votes
2answers
333 views
Where can I find if a fixed blade knives is legal to carry around in a given country?
I am always uneasy at the idea of carrying around a fixed blade. For this reason, my backpack knife is a multitool (A fantastic Leatherman Blast, which saved the day already many times). I would like ...
9
votes
3answers
524 views
How to safely carry a fixed-blade knife?
I worry about carrying a fixed-blade knife on my hip, because if I fall or wrestle my kids or whatever, I worry I could get stabbed. I've had pointy blades push through a cheap sheath before.
I stick ...
9
votes
4answers
105 views
What are the advantages of learning to ski on a trip? (as opposed to beforehand)
I'm a non-skier right now but am thinking of going on a ski trip. As far as I can tell there are two options for learning.
On a dry ski slope before I go
Start my trip with learning
What the the ...
9
votes
2answers
119 views
How should I correctly use poles and other equipment to avoid back pain on long hikes?
3 of my lower vertebra have irreparable damage, so I have various workarounds to minimise pain and swelling at home and in the office, and even on short term hikes (ibuprofen FTW) but on a longer hike ...
9
votes
2answers
90 views
How to minimise erosion damage to footpaths when walking?
As a fair-weather walker I frequently find myself on routes that have suffered from erosion due to the large numbers of people hiking along them. I wish to cause the least possible amount of further ...
9
votes
1answer
306 views
Mountaineering / glacial traverse: rope-up or go it alone?
When crossing a glacier (or other mountaineering activity for that matter) I've heard that roping everyone together without having a fixed anchor is falling out of fashion since more often than not if ...
9
votes
3answers
120 views
Should I always take a hard hat if I go scrambling?
Should I always take a hard hat if I go scrambling?
Scrambling (also known as alpine scrambling) is a method of ascending rocky faces and ridges
Quite often when I'm out on ridges in the UK, I ...
9
votes
2answers
160 views
How much fuel to carry for melting snow?
I'm using a multi fuel stove (MSR Dragonfly) for a 10 day ski tour, how much fuel should I allow to provide sufficient water for cooking and drinking. Meals will be mostly dehydrated just-add-water ...
9
votes
3answers
164 views
What's the advantage to a bent-shaft paddle?
What's the advantage (or advantages) of a bent-shaft canoe paddle?
I've been told that it allows for more efficient use of both arms: the rationale I heard was that your arm on the grip does more ...
9
votes
2answers
195 views
What precautions should I take when hiking among herds of elk?
During certain times of the year, some of the hiking trails near where I live wind through herds of elk standing on or near the trails. What precautions should you take when hiking among elk?
9
votes
2answers
121 views
What should I look for if I want to buy a winter-proofed tent?
I really like to go snowshoeing during the winter. I'm going up to 3500 meters and when I'm doing long tours I would really enjoy to try out winter camping in very remote areas. Is it a good idea to ...
9
votes
2answers
387 views
How to choose a fire steel and use it most effectively?
Fire steels, ferrocerium rods -- oversized versions of the "flint" in a lighter or torch starter, are an apparently popular survival/backwoods fire starting method.
Why would one want one of these ...
9
votes
4answers
181 views
Does drinking alcohol cause problems at altitude?
If I'm going to be climbing a mountain, would drinking a small amount at altitude have any negative effects (besides general alcohol effects)?
9
votes
1answer
124 views
How do I recognize if someone is suffering from hypothermia?
How can I recognize symptoms of hypothermia on myself and other people I camp with?
