Questions tagged [preparation]
Appropriate for questions about planning or preparations for outdoors activities.
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How do you determine how long a hike will take?
Is there a general rule of thumb for converting miles to hours when looking at a potential hike? For example, how long does it take an average person walking at an average speed to walk a mile on the ...
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Backpacking Through Rain
My friends and I are setting off on a hike this Friday through Michigan's UP. I've been watching the forecast which, to be fair, is never accurate in Michigan. Nonetheless, it shows a good amount of ...
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First time camping, need advice
Me and my wife have never done camping before and always wanted to do it. This time we are planning to go for a small camping trip but have no idea how to prepare for it. We like to hike and are ...
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Overview of free and open huts in Norway outside the system of the official tourist association DNT
On my hiking trips, I mostly sleep in my tent, but occasionally I appreciate to have a roof. Mostly by chance, I've found on my trips a number of free and open huts in Norway that are not owned by ...
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How can I vet a hiking partner without potential hard feelings?
I'm planning a backpacking trip with a well-established partner. I would like to invite a third person along, but he has not met the second, and I do not want to extend an invitation to the third ...
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Are there any general rules of thumb for route finding up a mountain without any trails?
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 haven't ...
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Effective way to carry a sleeping mattress with rucksack?
I am going for four day hike in Western Ghats. The terrain is
rocky humid and It is one of the eight "hottest hotspots" of
biological diversity in the world.
I am trying to pack my rucksack as ...
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How can I locate wilderness maps for specific countries or regions?
The Norwegian directorate for nature management publishes a map of wilderness showing how far away a particular area is from heavy technical interventions, such as roads, electricity lines, hydro ...
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How can I keep my backpack safe?
I went on a hike with my wife the other day in Norcal. This place had a creek that led into a cave that you can swim in. We both left our backpacks at the cave entrance and then swam through it to the ...
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What temperature to prepare for on Everest base camp trek?
I'm doing the popular tourist trek from Lukla to Everest base camp in late April / early May. I know the minimum temperature is on average -1 Celsius (30.2 Fahrenheit) in the Khumbu region at this ...
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How do you keep the inside of your backpack organized?
Here's my current setup.
First I put my earthpad in my pack, using it like a cylinder to
provide cushion and make my pack stay upright.
Then I place a plastic bag within the earthpad for ...
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How to stay hydrated with minimum water usage
A friend of mine asked a experienced long distance hiker, how to drink during such a hike. The answer was, drink 0.1l water per hour and then you are fine.
Is this correct and can anyone add some ...
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What are some good gluten-free foods for backpacking?
I have quite unfortunately found out several months ago that I'm gluten sensitive. Nearly all my meals I've planned and eaten on the trail have included wheat, and thus gluten, in some fashion. I'm ...
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One-day hike around Prague
I'm planning on visiting Prague and I was wondering if there are any nice one-day (two-day tops) hikes that I could do around there.
It doesn't have to be in the mountains, although that would be ...
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Planning a Trip with strangers
For those of us out there that do not have friends/family members as adventurous as us or are few in numbers for our geographic region; we are forced to head online to find partners. For example, a ...
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Good resources for information about hiking trails near Boston
I'm a Hiker who recently moved to Boston, MA. I'm interested in hiking within a 2 hour drive of the city, and I really would love alpine hiking (above the tree line), on trails that are 4 to 8 miles.
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Most efficient training before alpine hiking/climbing?
I am planning a trip to the Alps, where I'll do some mountaineering, mostly on rocks (little or no ice) at altitudes around 4000 m. I expect to do mostly scrambling, with only a few places per day ...
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Under which conditions are weather forecasts reliable?
All outdoors activities precautions include taking note of the weather forecasts for the day.
However, I have seen those forecasts be terribly wrong in many places, even for a two-hours ahead ...
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How to trick my body/stomach into thinking I'm full?
So, I got invited by a couple of friends to go hiking and doing some "survivalist stuff". I was never the most resilient person so was kinda unsure, then I decided to try and "test"...
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Tips for travelling through Europe with just a tent
Myself and my girlfriend are hoping to start off in the Netherlands and hitchhike our way down to the south of Spain through various French towns / cities.
We are planning on just bringing sleeping ...
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Avoiding 4WD-areas in Iceland
High on my list of places I want to visit one day in my life is Iceland, but I am worried by a warning I heard. One of two people who talked to me about Iceland experiences told me she was rather ...
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Trekking in the himalayan region
Which are the better trekking routes in the himalayan region?
Also, how safe are the routes?
If any of you guys have been around in the region, I would like to know your personal experiences as well!...
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How to determine the thickness of ice?
Thinking about going ice fishing this winter but I am worried about falling through thin ice. I know that ice should be at least 4 inches (10 cm) if clear and 8 inches (20 cm) if cloudy, but how can ...
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Leading an inexperienced group
I'm taking a handful (5) work colleagues up a mountain this weekend (Tryfan in Snowdonia).
The mountain is a Grade 1 scramble route so it's not overly simple. The group is very inexperienced. I've ...
user2766
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If injured and lost, what are your biggest priorities for survival?
Let's imagine for a moment that you're solo hiking somewhere you've never been before and take a fall off the edge of a trail, injure yourself (to the point of limited mobility), and become entirely ...
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Is there a web application that can notify you ahead of time if a certain weather forecast is predicted for a certain location?
In other words, it would be a site where you can "subscribe" to certain locations and then have the service email you if the weather forecast matches the kind of weather conditions you are looking for....
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How can I be sure that I'm ready to do the Three Peaks Challenge?
I'm going to be participating in the UK National Three Peaks Challenge at the end of next month. For those who are unaware; the Three Peaks consists of hiking the highest peak in England, Scotland and ...
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Indicators of good Atlantic Ocean surf conditions
When researching surf conditions, what weather cycles indicate good overall conditions for a North American Atlantic Ocean-based break?
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Within the U.S. Grand Circle area, where is the number of daytime trail permits limited?
Within the U.S. Grand Circle region (very roughly Las Vegas NV /Provo UT/Aspen CO/Santa Fe NM/Phoenix AZ), for what trails are the number of permits issued limited considering day use only?
I am ...
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How to get started with packrafts?
I love hiking and I'm starting to love longer cycling trips too. I've done combined cycling/hiking trips (cycling to the trailhead of a hike). Last summer I met someone who carried an inflatable raft ...
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What options are available for hunting feral boar on Hawaii?
I posted this on travel.stackexchange.com originally, but it was recommended that I post here as well. Let me know if the question is off-topic and I'll remove it.
I am visiting Kauai shortly and am ...
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How to prepare on hiking routes?
By watching a Belgian television serie called GR5 on Één I got inspired to start with hiking. But as an inexperienced hiker I don't know what I could expect from it. I've flowing questions:
What's an ...
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How to design a semi-permanent campsite for short trips into the woods that won't attract vandals when we're not there?
My wife and I and our adult children have inherited a few acres in the middle of a forest in the mountains of North Carolina and would like to set up a semi-permanent campsite.
Ideally, this would ...
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How to prevent chafing in my lower regions [duplicate]
I'm training currently for a long distance walk (the welsh 15 peaks in 24 hours) and I'm doing some long days (12 hours plus). I'm having some real trouble though with quite painful chafing in my (...
user2766
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What are some bare essentials camping spots for first-timers in England?
I've always loved going camping, from the age of about 6. I've also always loved watching Bear Grylls' various TV shows from a similar age. Already you can probably see where this is going!
I ...
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Where can I find current information on shelters in the Swedish mountains?
This weekend, on a 3-night hiking trip, we decided to head for the Pieggaluoppal wind shelter for the final night. When we arrived (at 23:15 and after 13½ hours of hiking) we were a bit disappointed ...
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GPS topo map downloads
I know the USGS and many others offer free downloadable raster topo maps for almost anywhere.
But what if I want vector maps using GPS coords? I'm new to GIS but I would assume there is a de facto ...
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How effective are mosquito repellents for people who are mosquito magnets?
This question asks "What type of mosquito repellent is the most effective?". It's a great question.
Now that we may have an idea about what is best to use, I want to know how effective are even the ...
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How to plan a day hike
Is there kind of a checklist what to consider before going on a day hike? Like which preparation should one take, things to pack (not detailed, like "food"), useful information (weather forecast e.g.) ...
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How much vertical distance is it possible to make in a day?
Are there some numbers on how much vertical distance can people make in a day’s hike? I know that greatly depends on fitness and other factors, but I’d be happy with some statistical curve that would ...
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How do you determine current trail conditions before going on a hike?
In addition to getting the current weather report on the day of a hike, how does one find out if the trails are currently in good shape and what kind of gear may be necessary that day (i.e. crampons)?
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Is there an equivalent of "The A.T. Guide" for the Pacific Crest Trail?
I'm asking on behalf of my roommates who want to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. We all recently moved to San Diego from the East Coast, and they're trying to find a book as informative and detailed as ...
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Near-realtime satellite snow-cover imagery via easy web-interface
I'm looking for a freely accessible website that provides access to recent high-resolution (<~1–5 km) satellite-based snowcover estimates (snow / no-snow). Many meteorology websites provide an ...
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What is a tour book used for?
I recently started to write a little tour book. The main reason for this was, I was told some guides want to see this as requirement to take you along.
Is this true?
If so, for which tours/...
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Where can you find an online elevation profile of Tahoe Rim Trail?
Where can I find a good elevation profile of Tahoe Rim Trail? This website has an elevation profile based on GPS data points. However, it is not laid out in a very useful format.
I'm looking for ...
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Handling IT-Band Syndrome when hiking
A few weeks ago I was hit by IT-Band syndrome. I know that rest is paramount in healing it but the problem is that you do not know if it has fully healed.
In a few days, I want to go on a 2 day hike. ...
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How to get more information about a planned tour?
This summer, I plan to walk from the Wormser Hütte in Austria to the Heilbronner Hütte in Austria. I know that this can be done in 1 day, but when googeling, the tour length differs a lot. Some ...
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Where can I find resources to find user-contributed GPS tracks?
For trip planning and navigation during my outdoors trip, I would like to load a track into my GPS (or GNSS) receiver. Where can I find websites that gather user-contributed GPS tracks?
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What's the best way to plan a 3D archery course?
Let's say you want to establish a 3D archery tournament. You want to create a small 3D course.
You are at the stage where you want to make a concept for the trail. How do you create a map to ensure ...
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How do I Plan a Hiking Trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
I need some help planning a a hiking trip to CO. I have been on a couple of hiking trips and have grown up going into the mountains with my family but I have never been the one to plan a trip. I'm ...
