DougPaul - Maybe that is the best question I could ask you: What is the best way to search the forum? I try to search stuff in advance knowing your "rebuttal" is coming but I seem to find much more "noise" than info relevant to what I'm researching. I tried "winter food","food" and others and got links to threads about pine martens, shrews, moose hunts, wide mouth Nalgene bottles, Peggy O'Briens trip in March of 2006, etc, etc. Brings up A LOT of info to wade through to get the tidbits you're looking for. Sorry if I'm treading on your patience. I don't mean to be irritating but you seem to have references to threads committed to memory along with a staggeringly detailed amount of info to bring to the table on virtually every topic on this forum.
Knowing a good set of search terms can be hard, particularly for someone who is new to the forum and/or new to the form of hiking (eg winter) that is the context of the question. Perhaps I am fortunate that I have a reasonably good memory of the content of threads that have interested me in the past. Sometimes one can remember some unique terms or phrases to search for. (For instance, the phrase "Morton Lite Salt" can be found in most (if not all) of the threads that refer to or describe my homebrew el-cheapo electrolyte drink.) I also have an ace in the hole--I archive all of my posts locally and Linux has a whole host of searching tools that often enable me to zero in on a short list of potentially relevant threads quickly and easily. (Of course this is limited to threads in which I have posted.)
Some general tips for searching:
* Try the advanced search--it gives you more to work with.
* Try searching on only titles first
* Search on phrases (I don't know if the internal search can do this.)
* The internal search has some serious deficiencies--for instance it does not index words of 3 or fewer characters thus ignoring acronyms such as "GPS".
* Try Google advanced search, limited to this website. It indexes short words, phrases, and includes blocking words. (Many websites use Google to perform their "internal" searches...)
If you haven't memorized all this info and are searching the forums to find all the incredible info you post then by all means "teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime" instead of putting the fish in my plate every day. (But I do appreciate the time and information very much)
I have much of the info in memory (I have been hiking all my life and have studied and engaged in the heavier duty forms of this foolishness for 40 or so years. I have read a tremendous amount over the years including arenas which I have not experienced directly (such as Himalayan class mountaineering), and even remember some of it(!). (FWIW, I am a professional researcher (electrical engineer)--many of the same mental tools are useful here.) However, I certainly don't know or remember everything or may have a hazy memory of an aspect of an issue so I will do a bit of research to clarify and/or obtain some references. In some cases it can take quite a while to produce a good answer. (The record is probably several hours...) I'm also a slow writer...
Thank you for recognizing how much work is required to answer many of the questions.
"Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime".
Yes, a thousand times yes!
Given how much time it takes people (not just me) to answer questions, I feel that it is a questioner's duty to make a reasonable attempt to find the answer himself before querying the forum--it is particularly obvious that someone didn't even try or didn't try very hard when he asks a question that was just answered recently. And in such a situation I feel that the suggestion to search or a link to a prior thread is appropriate. Hopefully it will nudge the questioner try to answer his own questions before asking the forum. Google (or your favorite search engine) is your friend. We all have the greatest library in the world at our keyboards...
Given the above, one has to guess the competence level of the questioner and factor that into one's response. (And, of course, there are many silent readers that one is speaking to as well.) IMO, beginners should get more help than experienced outdoorsmen.
A related issue is that a beginner often does not know what questions to ask--there are aspects of hiking (or mountaineering) that he is unlikely to think of or learn (eg safety issues) unless he takes a course (eg winter school--mine was ~18 hours over 3 weeks + weekend trips with experienced leaders) or reads a comprehensive book (or books). Such would also give a good base from which to ask questions.
I'm glad that you find my answers helpful--you're welcome.
And to bring it back on topic--an item that I think is worth mentioning: dehydration is often a factor in hypothermia and frostbite.
Doug
