51
votes
Accepted
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
Strip off.
Your skin is waterproof. Assuming it's warm (because if it wasn't, you'd have proper gear, right?) then you're not going to freeze, especially if you're walking. So take off everything you ...
- 2,209
46
votes
Accepted
What are the dangers of walking barefoot in towns/cities?
My family walks around barefoot all the time, not just in the summer. We used to live in Santa Clara County, California, but now live in Humboldt County of the same state. We've never had any ...
41
votes
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"Don’t step on anything you can step over." - What does this mean?
Firstly, safety.
Stepping or leaning on a rotten log is not fun if you end up going through it (Dynadin did it when Geocaching and ended up with a large number of scratches down one arm, and it could ...
- 15.4k
38
votes
Accepted
How to walk silently in the woods?
When I was a boy I learned about a tribe of natives (Lipan Apache) that had an initiation into manhood which involved plucking a hair from the tail of a live deer. These people had developed a mode of ...
- 53.3k
24
votes
Protection from rain - running vs. walking
You should run
There's a good video from MinutePhysics that explains it all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MqYE2UuN24
The short(er) version is that the amount of water you "run into" depends ...
- 2,456
21
votes
What are the dangers of walking barefoot in towns/cities?
In my town, which is a neighborhood in a suburban location in Massachusetts, barefoot walking is common once the summer starts. I'm old and stay cold longer than most, so I don't even switch over to ...
19
votes
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Why is it tiring to "keep down" with a slower person on a walk or hike?
In general every individual has a natural walking cadence (steps per minute) and they vary their actual speed by increasing or decreasing stride length. Even amongst a very fit group the most ...
- 6,202
19
votes
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
So, if you're caught off-guard, you won't have anything with you that offers direct protection, such as: raincoat, poncho, garbage bag, tarp, or any other portable shelter. It also means that you won'...
- 3,697
18
votes
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Walking through an active railway tunnel during a long distance walk
First of all, next time I'm in India I'm gunna give you a call so you can show me where that tunnel is. Second, the only real precaution you need to take is to ensure that in the event of a train ...
- 53.3k
18
votes
Accepted
What kind of baby carrier is best for use walking and climbing in the hills?
All our kids have been coming on hikes with us since they were newborns. We have two types of baby carrying hiking packs, two more snuggly baby carriers, and a variety of baby wraps.
The answer to ...
- 53.3k
17
votes
Protection from rain - running vs. walking
Theoretically, run. Practically, slowly jog or briskly walk so that you don't slip and fall.
The TV series MythBusters initially tested this with artificial rain and found that walking was better due ...
- 7,200
16
votes
Accepted
How to hike without constantly looking down
This may seem kind of obvious, but I use a scanning technique. I like to look at the next 10-20 feet, look up on all sides, look down, and then look up. It's a lot like driving, scan your mirrors, ...
- 7,249
16
votes
Accepted
What to wear to walk to showers: clothes or towel?
I wear my swimming trunks to the shower. My wife wears a pull over sun dress (light weight, thigh length). We wear our shower shoes, we carry our towels and shower supplies. We usually just take ...
- 30.2k
15
votes
What is a so called "Weiderost" (cattle guards)?
In North America they're called cattle guards, or Texas gates, and they are everywhere (where I'm from at least). They're intended to replace a conventional gate by discouraging livestock from ...
- 53.3k
14
votes
Accepted
What are Miner bees, and how do they differ from other bees?
The more common term is "mining bees". As the name says, they build nests underground, usually in sandy ground. The other big difference between them and regular honey bees, is that they are so-called ...
- 5,153
14
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to walk from the UK/France to Georgia?
Since you're asking how to get from the UK to somewhere, I'll assume you're an UK citizen. Below you'll find a picture that shows your visa requirements.
You have two options: coming from above (...
- 3,369
13
votes
Walking through an active railway tunnel during a long distance walk
In most parts of the world going through a working train tunnel on foot is illegal, in all parts of the world it verges on suicidal.
I can imagine there are places in the world where, there are no ...
- 30.2k
13
votes
Accepted
What is a so called "Weiderost" (cattle guards)?
There are different kind of obstacles so that farm animals like cows on alpine pastures stay in the related territory. If you hike, you often pass little doors or Z-shaped wooden obstacles or have to ...
- 12.1k
13
votes
"Don’t step on anything you can step over." - What does this mean?
It means to be mindful of what you do, how and where you move, what you do to your environment and so on. Aside the topics mentioned by @Aravona (security, noise), it may mean to avoid unintended ...
- 1,898
13
votes
"Don’t step on anything you can step over." - What does this mean?
This statement is one of those pieces of wisdom that sounds profound, but isn't.
Following this advice can lead you into trouble as easily as it can help you avoid trouble. The other answers have ...
- 22.8k
13
votes
"Don’t step on anything you can step over." - What does this mean?
I have always heard this in a hiking context, where it is fatigue and safety related. There is also a 'second verse' in the version I was taught: dont step on something you can step around.
It is ...
- 139
13
votes
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
My experience as a cyclist is that getting wet doesn't matter (because skin is waterproof): what matters is getting cold. So the goal is to stay warm enough.
Your warmth is affected by your exercise (...
- 562
12
votes
What is the best type of shoe to wear for crossing deep rivers?
I guess the answer really is
It depends
As a general purpose solution I normally bring sturdy trekking/hiking sandals on my trips. Something like the models from Teva for example (many pictures on ...
- 12.6k
12
votes
Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
Get out.
You can quickly cool down when it's raining out, in particular when the rain is horizontal and it's 4°C outside. You say there's no shelter anywhere near. Then walk as fast as you can to ...
- 27k
11
votes
Accepted
How dangerous is it to walk with wet feet in cold terrain?
Pneumonia is not what you have to be worried about in this situation. It is a serious pathological condition of the lungs commonly (but not exclusively) caused by viral or bacterial infection. Unless ...
- 21.7k
11
votes
Walking through an active railway tunnel during a long distance walk
It's quite simple really. If the railway is abandoned, bring an LED headlamp and a set of backup batteries. Edit: Use the buddy system if you can.
If the railway is not abandoned, don't step foot ...
- 2,863
11
votes
"Don’t step on anything you can step over." - What does this mean?
The canonical reason for this (in a hiking context, where noise is not an issue but fatigue can be) is that it saves effort.
Think about the physics -- when you step up on to a log, you are doing ...
- 795
11
votes
Accepted
What precautions should we take in situations when hiking or walking through tall grass?
When you mentioned tall grass, snakes weren't the first thing that came to my mind.
Snakes can hide in plain site, let aside the taller grass. They typically want to hide, unless you aren't really ...
- 31.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible