LBell

6,551 reputation

1351

bio	website	twitter.com/lbell
	location	Taos
	age
visits	member for	1 year, 3 months
	seen	yesterday
stats	profile views	21

During my adult life I have spent more nights outdoors than in.

I have served as an outdoor guide, educator, conservationist, researcher, crew leader and enthusiast from the bear-chomps of Alaska to the rock-falls of canyon country.

Currently working at a remote research station deep in the rain forest of Borneo studying primate ecology.

"I would rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on Earth" - Steve McQueen

	6,551 reputation	bio	website	twitter.com/lbell	visits	member for	1 year, 3 months
1351 badges		location	Taos		seen	yesterday

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182 Comments

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Nov 14	comment	Jerky or Freeze-dried food : Is the salt they contain a concern? Just edited this question a bit to clarify (as I read it) -- feel free to roll back if I have changed the meaning.
Nov 4	comment	How do I tie a slackline with only carabiners and webbing? This addresses making an anchor, but not tying a slackline. Updated the question to make it a little more clear. (Also, I don't have a metal ring.)
Oct 26	comment	How do you best treat a turned ankle in the back country? Last WFR I took (WMI) was teaching IRICE... can't guarantee they haven't changed it (like they like to do)... UPDATE: Damn. bucktilton.blogspot.com/2010/12/rice-revisited.html
Oct 25	comment	How do you know if smaller brands of climbing equipment are safe? Seems it might be better to generalize this question: "How do you know if smaller brands of climbing equipment are safe" rather than risk being accused of shilling for a particular company.
Oct 24	comment	Are fires in natural caves/overhangs safe? Nope, it is not. I did not mean to imply anything about your answer in particular, just giving some general thoughts. (I did not down-vote your answer.)
Oct 22	comment	Are fires in natural caves/overhangs safe? ASKING a question about urban myth, rumor, or pure speculation is perfectly legit, and should not earn a down-vote. ANSWERING a question based on urban myth, rumor, or pure speculation is bad, and should be down-voted into oblivion.
Oct 19	comment	How do you best treat a turned ankle in the back country? The modified mnemonic taught these days for soft-tissue injury is IRICE -- Ibuprofen, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. The painkiller in Ibu is not sufficient to mask (and thus miss) critical pain, but the sooner you can get the anti-inflammatory in you the better.
Oct 8	comment	Does Moss only grow on the North side of trees? Not consistently enough to navigate reliably by...
Oct 8	comment	How can I locate the leak in a inflatable pad, while hiking pie = smell... (mmmm pie smells good...)
Oct 8	comment	How can I locate the leak in a inflatable pad, while hiking +1 soapy water - just be sure you rinse well to remove that animal attracting pie.
Oct 3	comment	Can I heat a shelter with fire? Nice tip. Just watch for exploders: outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/801/…
Oct 3	comment	How should I correctly use poles and other equipment to avoid back pain on long hikes? Could you explain what "styles" are?
Oct 2	comment	Storing Fuel Canisters with Stove Pump Attached Re: 1.1: Can you? Yes, you can. Should you? Depends... I don't own the original lids to my personal stove bottles -- all pump, all the time without a single leak. However, I NEVER allow participants on my guided trips to carry them with the pump attached (too many leaks).
Sep 23	comment	Soft or hard drinking bottle? Unclear whether you are talking hard lexan bottles (like the blue nalgene type) vs soft but semi-rigid (like the white opaque Nalgene type) or squashable bike types or foldable platypus types, or disposable Evian water types... lots of water bottles out there...
Sep 23	comment	Soft or hard drinking bottle? I've played basketball with hard Nalgene bottles, and driven over one with a car. No breakage.
Sep 23	comment	How to set up a tent in deep snow I disagree with your insulation comment. I would highly recommend double-insulation. A closed-cell foam pad under an inflatable therma-rest type is essential to keeping warm in snow.
Sep 23	comment	How to properly lace hiking boots? I'm not convinced this is a lacing problem - but maybe a shoe-fit, or general circulation / ankle strength problem. Also, there is some debate as to whether massive ankle support is all that beneficial. I've seen lots of very experienced hikers in sneakers or Chaco type sandals. (Just be aware of where your feet are - and learn your limits)
Sep 23	comment	What wood burns toxic? This is going to be highly region specific... There are some tropical tree species that can be fatal (or at least really really nasty) if you inhale the smoke.
Sep 23	comment	How much waterproofing spray to apply to my softshell jacket I would follow the directions printed on the bottle (which will usually say "don't saturate" or "thoroughly saturate and let dry" depending on the product.)
Sep 23	comment	Surviving a forest fire @dudeofea I can't speak for the truth of the particular instance you cite, but back-burning is very common practice for wildland fire-fighting, and a well-known technique for creating safety zones in areas where none exist naturally. It's use in emergency situations was revolutionary in Mann Gulch (so unfamiliar that some firefighters lost their lives because they did not understand what Dodge was doing), but since that incident, every fire-fighter knows this emergency technique, and many carry flares in their packs just for this purpose.