The Great Outdoors Stack Exchange
The Great Outdoors Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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3 answers

Where can I find information on letterboxing in my area?

Letterboxing is a precursor to geocaching, wherein participants leave notes / stamps in boxes in the wild... It's helpful to have a list or guide to letterbox sites when embarking on a search, as locations can be transient... For instance, I heard…
berry120
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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" myself a little bit and then give them a response. I bought some of…
mandiokai
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Why are climbing hangers/anchors that thin?

I've always wondered why the typical plates bolted to rock in order to secure climbers are that thin. I imagine them behaving like a knife under a sudden load in a falling scenario. Wouldn't increasing the surface area in solid to solid contact with…
Andrestand
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What to do if you're bitten by an adder?

I've heard that while adder bites are venomous the number of people who have died from them are extremely low. If you're on a trek and you're bitten is it safe to continue for a couple more days before seeing a doctor or should you still abort right…
berry120
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Inflatable Snowshoes - how do they compare to the real thing?

I have recently seen that there seems to be a new outdoor gadget: inflatable snowshoes. Examples: from ABS from Yukon from SmallFoot there are others As an engineer I can't help but immediately see a whole array of possible problems which…
fgysin
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Just how dangerous is it to refill fuel canisters?

In the past, it was possible to refill MSR canisters if you brought them into their repair shop in Seattle. However the repair shop has been closed under the excuse of COVID and still hasn't reopened despite Washington dropping all COVID…
JonathanReez
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Is it feasible to use a shovel to even out a camping spot?

While car camping (reaching a campsite by car vs backpacking), it’s not uncommon to encounter camping sites where all the spots are slightly uneven, making it a little uncomfortable to sleep. There are various solutions to this problem (such as cots…
JonathanReez
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Under what conditions are light coloured long sleeve shirt and long pants cooler than bare skin?

In the latest heat wave I'm well aware of the power of the sun. Step out of the shade, and it hits with sledgehammer force. Arabs are portrayed in loose head to ankle white. Cowboys in the old west always have long sleeves and long pants. A friend…
Sherwood Botsford
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Is this harness defective for having the belay loop around the belt webbing instead of the tie-in loop?

I am a beginner to climbing and bought this ClimbX harness from Go Outdoors in the UK. Someone at the gym today told me it is defective because the belay loop passes through the thin piece of webbing on the waist belt. Is this harness defective?
egg
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Overtreated a backpacking outfit with permethrin. Safe to wear?

I purchased a spray-bottle of Sawyer 0.5% permethrin to treat some of my clothing in preparation for a backpacking trip. The spray nozzle turns out to have been quite a bit more generous than I anticipated - a fact that I realized only after using…
Conduit
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How do tree trunks get chevron patterns in the bark?

I went into German woods near Berlin and I saw hundreds of trees that look like this: What is this? Why are people doing that? I tried to google for wood patterns, but these keywords don't show any meaningful results.
Adam
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What is the best way to swim through ocean surf?

What stroke should I use and what adjustments would I make to most efficiently swim through rough ocean and breaking waves?
user20838
13
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9 answers

How can I know what a road will be like?

The map simply shows it's not paved. But does that mean it's a decent dirt road that an ordinary car can handle, or is high clearance and/or 4x4 need? How would I go about finding out? (Yes, this about the outdoors--I'm interested in the trailhead…
Loren Pechtel
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Using "unusual" liquid fuels in a multi-fuel stove

I've got a Primus OmniLite Ti stove and am testing it with different fuels. Apart from having fun and experimenting, I'd like to understand how the stove behaves on such non-standard fuels. I'm not talking about emergencies (you'd burn anything for…
Alexander
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What is the term for completing a climbing route uncleanly?

If a climber completes a route without using their protection that is called sending. What is the term if one completes the route but had to depend on the rope either for a rest or for a fall? Let's say using the rope lowers the climber enough that…
Adam
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