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Snow covered trails can be difficult to follow, but even in summer mistakes are made that can lead one astray on what should be easy to follow trails. I was instructing an annual wilderness guide training course when hiking on the way into an area for an overnight stay we came upon an...

One of these may help. I have several different sizes and I never go afield without carrying my map(s) in one. Windproof and waterproof. Infinitely more durable than a zip lock bag while traveling through heavy brush. Difficult to leave behind while bushwhacking after a rest stop, as you refer...

I happen to have more than 200 USGS topo maps just of NY State that I use for personal hiking and SAR. Several Dozens of others where I have been or plan to go including the SW US, California, Hawaii, Guam, Alaska and Canada. When I plan to go someplace new, I get the appropriate maps for study...

What makes you think that people haven't been doing that for more than 150 years already with printed maps and a compass? In the northeast US you don't get many true long distance vista views unless you are on an open peak with a view. A compass and a map positioned such that the map is oriented...

It may be the most efficient if you are involved with doing a job where the goal is that you absolutely must arrive at X, Y, and Z without deviation or error. That is what I must do by using the most definitive tools (GPS plus M&C) during a SAR incident, surveying property, or while canoe...

Absolutely :) I learned how to navigate effectively more than 40 years ago. I've been teaching the craft for more than half of that time, long before anyone could spell GPS. How did I learn? by getting out there, practicing techniques that I learned from others, but mostly from myself. By...

I have long taught backcountry land navigation. I rarely if ever use a GPS when I hike for recreation, preferring for pleasure and experience to use traditional navigation methods. On the other hand, when I am crew boss during a SAR mission, I definitely use a GPS as required for logging and...

"The bill, which the Congressional Budget Office projects would save taxpayers $9 million, enjoys broad support in the House. The lower chamber is poised to take it up after the mid-February recess, and White House officials have indicated privately that the president will sign it." Note that...

I joined REI in the late 1960's. I always enjoyed their catalog, as it was full of helpful and useful articles to read about backpacking and details about how to use their products. Plus each board member had their own description and what wrote of activities they were involved with. For a...

I don't know about what may be offered in individual states out west, but there is probably something similar to the NYS Licensed Outdoor Guides Association (NYSOGA), which is an excellent site listing guides by type of service. http://nysoga.org

Not that I like paying NY's high income and other taxes, and I don't know where WA falls on the tax rate scale, but we note that NH is one of those states that does not have an income or sales tax. Free stuff goes only so far before someone has to pay. Maybe there's a broader message here. I am...

Very long distance ultra marathon canoe racers (think Yukon River 1000 mile race) tend to develop butt crack rash from the internal friction of rocking side to side at each "hut", when changing paddling sides in the seat ("monkey butt"). Body glide works well, as does any slightly greasy first...

Currently 67 yo, always had been fairly fit and athletic. A marathon canoe racer for the past 22 years (in the Adirondack 90 miler), including 3 Yukon River Quest 440 mile races and two Yukon 1000 mile races. As a kid I was a pretty good sprinter in track, but always hated long distance running...

Think of the very first thing you do upon exiting your sleeping bag in the morning. It may not be what you think. A trick I learned long ago if you are out for more than one night is to grab your bag and squish all that warm moist air out. Then do it again. If you don't then the moisture will...

I use a removable silk liner in my sleeping bag, it was advertised, and I believe it adds 10F degrees of comfort, as well as keeping my bag clean. In even colder conditions, if I do want to carry a heavier bag, I also have a home made flannel inner bag that works well. As a third option, i...

The plant is native to Europe. It was brought here as an ornamental, as the young plant does have a pleasant looking leaf structure. But where I grew up in northern NY it never existed until it popped up in a big way about a dozen or so years ago. But now it thickly invades roadsides and open...

Unfortunately, more and more often, I am called out on a SAR incident to look for an older person who has wandered away from his or her safe place, either their own home, or a care facility. Sometimes it is a hunter who has hunted the same woods for 60 or more years, whose family will usually...

The mature stuff has now turned brown and gone to seed. I don't know if it is still dangerous. Lessen next year's crop by bagging the seed heads in a black garbage bag and leaving to cook in the hot sun before disposing. New young plants can still be seen growing in roadside sand and would...

My biggest problem with retirement is all the working stiffs still plan everything on the weekend. Most every weekend I am triple booked for some kind of outdoor event, or family gathering, or whatever. I can do my own thing on weekdays, but on weekends there is always a choice to be made and...

A few years ago itt took me a while to discover why each spring i developed those pussy itchy blisters after working in the yard (though not as severe as those on that woman). I know what poison ivy looks like and did not ever notice any of that, so I was mystified. Then I learned that what I...