Outdoorswomen Thread - Camping, Hiking, Backpacking, Horseback Riding, Rock Climbing, Cycling, Water Sports, Winter Sports, Foraging, Birding, Bug Collecting, and MORE

[Arbiter]

A thread for women to discuss outdoor activities. Talk about your favorite outdoor hobbies, ask for advice, tell stories from your outings, recommend gear, share safety tips, feature related news, commiserate over unique challenges women face in outdoor pursuits, and post other outdoorswomen that inspire you.

Wendy Outdoors is a channel I found recently that I really like. Canadian grandma goes on solo canoe camping trips.

Renee from Thruhikers is really cool.

I enjoy following various female thru-hikers in general. I really admire them.

This thread was inspired by the many GT users who have unfortunately had bad experiences hiking, so I wanted a place for them to talk about it, as well as a place to encourage and help women have fun outdoors.

 

[Just A Rat]

Lately I have been very much enjoying a daily walk in the forest. I have never really been what I thought of as “outdoorsy”, although absolutely an enjoyer of nature, but an hour or so in the forest every morning before breakfast is a tonic for sure.
Here are some cool mushrooms/fungus I have seen this week.

 

[Chertless Cyborg]

Everything is waking up, and it makes me so happy. The snapping turtles are back, along with the snakes. Flowers are coming up. Seeing that little bit of color amongst the brown is beyond words. Poetry and shit. Since the clocks changed, I can spend more time hunting for rocks, skulls, and cool sticks. I wanna dissolve into the woods.

 

[Hinttitroniikka]

A family member has suddenly got really into birdsong and identification, is there any advice for listening well to birdsong besides patience?

 

[Chertless Cyborg]

A family member has suddenly got really into birdsong and identification, is there any advice for listening well to birdsong besides patience?

I recommend a hammock and the Merlin Bird ID app. When I started trying to identify birds, I sucked at it, so the app was super helpful. I still suck at it, but I can identify like, five or six birds now without the app. I just chilled in my hammock with the app open, and watched birds pop up on the list. Eventually I'd hear a song, identify the bird, and see if the app confirmed my guess.

Plus, just chillin' in a hammock is nice. The further you can place it away from people who want to socialize, the better.

Have an Eastern Bluebird, because why not?

 

[Yaks]

Wendy Outdoors is a channel I found recently that I really like. Canadian grandma goes on solo canoe camping trips.

Look at her rocking it out. My favorite canoe camping trips are the ones where you paddle out where others don't go. It's a little scary the first time you do it solo, but definitely worth it if you have areas close by that allow that type of camping. If you aren't doing a lot of hiking to get the equipment out, I also love my cot tent.

 

[Friend of Dorothy Parker]

I recommend a hammock and the Merlin Bird ID app. When I started trying to identify birds, I sucked at it, so the app was super helpful. I still suck at it, but I can identify like, five or six birds now without the app. I just chilled in my hammock with the app open, and watched birds pop up on the list. Eventually I'd hear a song, identify the bird, and see if the app confirmed my guess.

Plus, just chillin' in a hammock is nice. The further you can place it away from people who want to socialize, the better.

Have an Eastern Bluebird, because why not?

Ver archivo adjunto 8753558

Also endorse the Merlin app! And not only does it ID (likely) birds, but you can easily save what you heard/ saw, when and where. It will also give you lifetime recorded sightings/ hearings.

 

[Just A Rat]

Greetings from the forest.

 

[Chertless Cyborg]

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtails were out in full force today. I stumbled across a congregation of seven, and I found out that this is called "puddling". I have no idea what they're frolicking in, but it looked disgusting!

 

[Friend of Dorothy Parker]

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtails were out in full force today. I stumbled across a congregation of seven, and I found out that this is called "puddling". I have no idea what they're frolicking in, but it looked disgusting!

Ver archivo adjunto 8762784

In Peru (not just there, I'm certain, but also there), butterflies flock to urine. Not sure if it's unique to the Tambopata River (doubt), but I've witnessed it there, and just now found this guy talking about it on the Tambopata.

(BTW, highly recommend going there.)

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/182848yHwr/?mibextid=KsPBc6

 

[Disgruntled Pupper]

A family member has suddenly got really into birdsong and identification, is there any advice for listening well to birdsong besides patience?

Merlin app and eBird. Will record audio and identify birds it hears. In new versions there's a little icon next to its identifications that if you press will take you to the exact part of the recording that it thinks is the bird so you can listen. It's not prefect though, I judge accuracy anywhere from 90-50% depending on contiditions. It also has bird profiles with numerous song and call recordings, what I recommend and have techs do it run it, listen to the call or song it's identified, and then listen to the recordings it has to confirm it. Also just listen to the recordings when you're taking a shit or have a minute. eBird allows you to record your bird lists and look at sightings around you so you can try to find cool stuff, and helps with ID especially during migration, because if you think you hear or see something and others in your area also have then you're good, but if no one else has seen it you either have a vagrant/rarity or you can narrow down similar birds that have been reported in the area that you probably actually saw. Start with stuff you see/hear every day and work your way up.

My two most recommended field items are a bottle sling (the cloth ones that fold up into themselves) and sun sleeves. OR fingerless sun gloves are also great, I use them for driving too.

 

[Hinttitroniikka]

a bottle sling

(This posted immediately and I didn't get to write it out in time) You can also just furoshiki that shit. I do this and attach it with a carabiner either to my bag or to a bagless bagstrap I made of scrap fabric for things like this.

 

[There She Glows]

Does anybody have a life jacket they'd recommend for petite women (short + too much chest for junior sizes)? I finally have my own kayak, I'm a strong swimmer so I've taken it out some without PFD under calm conditions but I want to take it on rapids this summer. I have used many rental and loaner jackets over the years and they NEVER fit right.

Here are some cool mushrooms/fungus I have seen this week.

That orange mushroom is sick, it looks like coral.

Every time I think about getting into mushroom foraging there's a case of severe poisoning from consuming foraged mushrooms in the news. I have been told that these cases are usually East Asian immigrants harvesting poisonous species that look very similar to edible ones in their home country, but I'm still pretty unsure about the whole thing. I like the idea of it though.

 

[Just A Rat]

That orange mushroom is sick, it looks like coral.

It’s a stinkhorn! (Colus Pusillus) They give off a foul odour to attract insects which spread their spores. I did smell something dead/rotten just prior to encountering it, but didn’t connect it at the time.

 

[Hongourable Madisha]

Every time I think about getting into mushroom foraging there's a case of severe poisoning from consuming foraged mushrooms in the news. I have been told that these cases are usually East Asian immigrants harvesting poisonous species that look very similar to edible ones in their home country, but I'm still pretty unsure about the whole thing. I like the idea of it though.

I stick to a handful of species and "never munch on a hunch". Some, like wood ears, chicken of the woods and oysters don't look like anything else, and some like birch boletes are easy to tell apart from their lookalikes, based on where they're growing and the patterns on the stem. Some smell different and grow on specific trees and places, but if I'm not sure, I leave them for the next forager.

At the moment all the invasive few-flowered leeks are everywhere, so the whole city and countryside is like an onion scented carpet. I use them pretty much exactly like spring onions, I'll go out and harvest a bunch later. It's always here before the wild garlic, which shouldn't be too much longer.

 

[localinternetretard]

anyone else here love parkour?? When looking for likeminded people I see a lot of retarded articles online about women sperging about doing parkour to defeat the evil grr patriarchy due to it being a male dominant sport.

 

[Blue Gem Kosher Queen]

anyone else here love parkour?? When looking for likeminded people I see a lot of retarded articles online about women sperging about doing parkour to defeat the evil grr patriarchy due to it being a male dominant sport.

I unironically do it sometimes but is because pavement in my town is dogshit and university buildings are spread out.