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1500 questions
18
votes
3 answers
When is it appropriate to make a cairn?
Cairns are small stacks of rocks used to mark trails. These can be especially useful above the tree line where other trail blazes would be inappropriate or unsightly.
This answer discourages their use in some circumstances as their use creates paths…
Chris Mendez
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18
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2 answers
What are the different stages of frostbite?
My brother and I were out backcountry sled-skiing yesterday, and my brother froze his feet in his new ski-boots. We were sitting at just above 2000m, my brother had his boots off and was trying to warm them up with hot packs, sticking them inside…
ShemSeger
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18
votes
2 answers
What's the purpose of dog boots?
I'm not actually asking about the fashion items, the kind celebrities buy for their dogs... but actual outdoor designed dog boots.
What is the purpose of dog boots? Why / when would you use them?
Aravona
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18
votes
2 answers
How to sail a packraft
I would like to use the wind to propel my packraft on passages over lakes. Are there any lightweight and/or improvised sail systems?
Especially: how do I erect a mast on the packraft without it becoming unstable or damaging it?
I guess with a mast…
Oliver Hankeln
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17
votes
2 answers
In a survival situation, what can I use from a green coconut palm?
Why is a coconut palm so valuable for a person in a survival situation?
Josh
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17
votes
5 answers
Are there any low sodium freeze dried meals?
For health reasons, I usually try to keep my sodium intake fairly low. However, most freeze dried dinners offered in camping stores contain an more sodium than I'm looking for. I consider 800mg a serving to be fairly high, especially considering I…
jeffreywrichards
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17
votes
4 answers
Is it ok to wear hiking shoes on street conditions?
I want to buy some comfortable shoes to wear while going to work. I have to walk 4 km every day. I want to use these shoes on rainy (not too heavy) days too. I am looking for shoes for all weather conditions (except heavy rain and snow) that are…
Harun Kocaçalışkan
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17
votes
8 answers
How to keep my legs warm in winter?
Winter is coming!
Very quickly in Belgium actually, much faster than I'm used to. It's also the first year where I spend a lot of time outside. Soon, that could be a lot of time outside... freezing.
I have plenty of layers to keep my upper body…
aspyct
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17
votes
6 answers
What to do when you run out of rope on a sports climb?
The situation is, that you started a high route with fixed protection (bolts) and misjudged its length, so before reaching the belay the middle mark of the rope passes the belayer.
What can you do to descend safely leaving no or the least amount of…
imsodin
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17
votes
1 answer
How to deal with unethical campers?
Earlier last month I witnessed someone fell a tree in the Eagles Nest Wilderness while I was on a backpack trip. Its quite obvious that you're not supposed to cut down trees in a national forest, in this particular wilderness fires are also…
tsturzl
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17
votes
4 answers
What do you call the criss-crossed elastic strap on this Northface backpack?
This Northface backpack has an elastic strap which criss-crosses the back side of the pack. What is this type of strap called? The image below shows what kind of strap I'm talking about:
Lexi
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17
votes
3 answers
Is drinking water containing dirt harmful?
I noticed that if I collect water from a stream dense of small debris/thin mud, if I keep the water bottle close to the surface, while it takes a longer time to fill the bottle, the water is cleaner there.
In that occasion, the water was not that…
Dakatine
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17
votes
2 answers
Exploring coastal caves safely?
Having read this good question I felt it covered mountainous regions very well however myself and my husband are big fans of the coast and he certainly has (with his ex-fisherman father) explored many coastal caves over the years.
What dangers or…
Aravona
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17
votes
3 answers
Where is the optimal place to do dishes in the backcountry?
I just came back from a backpacking trip in an alpine area. I was cleaning some kitchen items (pot, spork, pan, etc) with some remnant food particles that were coming off. I use a very small amount of baking soda or campsuds to clean with.
I know…
Eric
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17
votes
2 answers
What are the main differences between dehydrated foods and freeze-dried foods?
What's the big difference between Dehydrated and Freeze-dried foods? What are the pros and cons to choosing one over the other for backpacking?
ShemSeger
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