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There are about 7 tick-borne diseases here in the NE. Since all except for Lyme* can be transmitted immediately, protection requires preventing the bite. (eg Permethrin on clothing, insect repellent, and/or clothing without gaps for entry) * Lyme has a ~24hr delay before transmission. Doug

I find that keeping my feet and lower legs warm and stretching my calves and toe flexors before retiring help me to prevent night-time leg and toe cramps. I do two calf stretches: 1) the standard wall pushup (ankle dorsiflexion with a straight knee, stretches the gastrocnemius muscle) and 2)...

Group dynamics can increase the risk. All too often, no individual is willing to be the spoiler (or chicken) suggesting the group should turn back. Doug

These days people seem to have forgotten step cutting--it can be very helpful for dealing with short steep sections. A general mountaineering axe is a better tool for this than a short climbing axe/tool. (The technique for breaking out a step is different from the technique for setting a pick...

I use a trucker's hitch knot. (The small loop can be made from a variety of loop knots.) Easy to tie under tension, easy to release. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trucker%27s_hitch Also good for tying canoes and kayaks to cars. Doug

PLBs use lithium primary (non-rechargeable) batteries which have a nominal shelf life of 10 years. (Batteries carried by hikers go through temperature swings and ranges that can potentially shorten the shelf life.) IIRC, the regs require PLB batteries to be replaced every 5 years by a...

In 2018, one could avoid the stream crossings by: * turn left at the first crossing and bushwack parallel to the stream. * turn right on the snowmobile trail * cross 2 bridges and turn left * bushwack parallel to the stream until you return to the trail There are stream crossing both above and...

I also did Isolation via this route. A bit long, but the Camel Trail was very nice. (Also included Monroe--after all, it was hardly off-route...) Doug

I also use the lotion form of both DEET and Picaridin. If only spray is available, I spray it onto my hand, then transfer it to its intended location. DEET (and likely also Picaridin) tastes terrible, so wash your hands before touching food... Doug

DEET in one's eyes is also very irritating. (I have had the misfortune of being ~50 ft downwind of someone using a DEET spray...) My theory is that since DEET is an oily organic solvent it's less likely than Picaridin to be washed into one's eyes by sweat. IMO, DEET lasts longer when...

The key factor in the moon illusion is the location of the moon in the sky--it appears larger when it is close to the horizon than when it is high in the sky. It's a perceptual illusion rather than being caused by the lens FL. Doug

Sorry to hear about your accident (a little late, but hopefully better late than never). As you know, I pulled a similar stunt a number of years ago... (Broken hip, distal femur, and wrist, all stabilized with metal.) I had my hip screws removed--they weren't causing any trouble but I was...

Thanks for the heads-up. Swede Mountain was an old family favorite. My father and I were disappointed when we went to hike it (?? years ago) and found the trail to have been closed. Doug

Sodium (chloride = table salt) is the primary electrolyte in electrolyte drinks. Some salt at dinner (along with water) is often helpful in restoring one's hydration level. Doug

It's bad over most of the country right now. Not good for breathing if the smoke reaches the ground (and bad to devastating to astrophotography...) smoke map: https://fire.airnow.gov/ air quality: https://www.airnow.gov/ Doug

I broke my hip (femoral neck) and femur (spiral fracture just above the knee) in a BC skiing accident fifteen years ago. Repair was two screws in the hip and a nail (placed from the knee end) in the femur. I was healing and rehabbing well until the screws securing the nail self-extruded (came...

I have an old Garmin 60CSx with pre-week-number rollover software. If I fire it up after it has been off for a day or so, everything is fine. However, if I turn it off and back on a short while later it will be unable to establish an initial location and after a while will pop up a window...

Our base was in Columbia (central MO) and our observing site was a church-yard in Marion, IL. The pastor was observing it himself and invited us to join him. All 130 of us... The traffic jam on the way home was pretty impressive. Yes--one does have to be careful that one does not spend all...

In general, mountainous regions are poor places to view an eclipse--the probability of clear skies is low and if the local area is cloudy the roads will clog up rapidly. In 2017, I was with a group of serious eclipse watchers. We met at a hotel in central Missouri with a local viewing site and...

A few corrections: I wasn't in pain, but I knew my femur was broken. I was working on getting my pack off when another solo skier arrived. (I would have been able to get it off.) He helped stabilize me (pad under me, down jacket on etc). Only had a cellphone, but I was able to connect. If...