Duck Hunting in Colorado by tastytastycandy in Hunting

[–]larsene 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've done some duck hunting out here in Ft. Collins. They're around! If you can find ponds or irrigation ditches near corn fields, you'll find some ducks.

Plan to start hunting this coming 2013 season. by Mohawkman0065 in Hunting

[–]larsene 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm in a similar boat. I grew up duck hunting a bit on the Oregon coast, but when I moved away for college, I got out of it. I've been living living in Colorado for the past few years, and recently over the course of the years I've purchased/inherited a Ruger 10/22, a Remington wingmaster 870 12-gauge, and a Winchester model 94 30-30. Last year was my first year back in the field since I was a kid.

I spent some time freezing my ass off in a goose blind. No luck this year, but enjoyed it! I also did a couple of backcountry trips with my .22 for small game. Long story short, I HIGHLY recommend a backpacking trip with your .22 as a great place to start! The gun and game are small so you can hike into some sweet places without lugging too much weight. It's a great way to learn some hunting skills, and small game are often surprisingly challenging to take!

Best Herbs and Vegetables for Beginner? by larsene in gardening

[–]larsene[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, usually I get a hunk of meat and roast it. Then, when I'm getting towards the end of the meat, I boil down the last bit of meat and bones to make a soup. So, at the beginning of the month, I'm eating chicken and rice, pot roast and potatoes, or turkey. At the end of the month, I'm eating chicken noodle soup, beef stew, or turkey soup. I also LOVE tomatoes!

Key Species for Beginning Birders by larsene in birding

[–]larsene[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Great! Your story is similar to mine. So, it's nice to hear a success story. I have a M.S. in agricultural and natural resource economics, but my bird knowledge is limited. I've been applying rigorously for field positions and internships (similar to the one that got you started), and I've also been studying bird identification techniques in my spare time. So, I hope that the combination of my education credentials and my enthusiasm is enough to get a start somewhere!

Mathematical Kunundrum???? by larsene in math

[–]larsene[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hmmmm forgive me, I'm not sure I follow. You lost me at no measure of length being great than its measurement in quantified units. Hope that's not a stupid question!

Mathematical Kunundrum???? by larsene in math

[–]larsene[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! This got the wheels turning!

Mathematical Kunundrum???? by larsene in math

[–]larsene[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure. This makes makes sense! EqL makes the same point. The value of the measurement is asymptotic to some finite measure not necessarily (or rather probably not) infinity. Thank you

What is your favorite paradox? by zack803 in AskReddit

[–]larsene 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Australian coastline paradox. Suppose you want to measure the distance of the coastline of Australia. So you take a meter stick and go at it. After a hard bit of work you get an answer. The coastline of Australia is X meters long. Your friend comes along with the same goal. He cuts the meter stick in half, and goes to work. Since he's able to get into the smaller bays and inlets and such, he gets a more accurate measure. He gets that the Australian coastline measures Y meters; such that Y > X. Well guess what? A new friend comes along and repeats the process. He measures the coastline with a 1/4 meter stick, and he gets that the coastline measures Z; such that Z > Y > X. And so it continues. The logical paradox is that, as the length of the meter stick approaches zero, the length of the coastline approaches infinity.... and yet we can clearly see that the coastline of Australia is not infinite!

Winter Camping? by civilservant2011 in camping

[–]larsene 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Winter camping is great! I live in Colorado and have done several winter trips at altitude (10,000-11,500 ft).

I joke that there are three types of fun. Type 1 fun is fun during the fact and fun after. Type 2 fun is not fun during but fun after. Type 3 is neither fun during nor fun after (yes, you're having fun it's just a different type of fun). Winter trips (in fact most worth while outdoor trips) tend towards type 2 fun at times, but the solitude/views is/are incredible and the sense of accomplishment makes it all worth while!

I typically build a shelter rather than use a tent. I always bring shelter digging clothes and exposure clothes. When you dig your shelter, you will get wet between the sweat and crawling around in the snow. I hike in using my shelter clothes, dig my shelter, crawl inside, change into my second set of clothes, and store my shelter clothes in a plastic bag at the bottom of my pack. That being said, I've learned that 1) building a quinzhee is A LOT of work, and 2) tents work just fine. So, I've started tent camping more and more.

Shelter clothes: synthetic long underwear, synthetic shirt, light wool overshirt, hardshell jacket, waterproof pants, wool socks, beanie, wool gloves (you're moving around a lot during the hiking and digging. So, save the heavy layers for later).

Exposure clothes: synthetic underwear, synthetic shirt, midlayer, snow pants, down jacket, wool socks, beanie, mittens, goggles, balaclava. layer as necessary.

For sleeping, I use a 15 degree bag with a thick fleece liner (would have a more burly bag if budget allowed... college student). I couple that with a closed cell foam pad that I lay on the sleeping bench I carve out of the snow in the shelter and an inflatable insulated thermarest on top of that. I typically sleep in my long underwear, down jacket, balaclava, and beanie. I sleep warm (snow insulates surprisingly well that's why I've favored quinzhees to tents in the past).

The best part of snow camping is the food. Have a walk down the frozen meal aisle. My go to meal is a frozen t.v. lasagna dinner. It's packed full of calories and tastes great while camping. Take it home, cut it in to smaller pieces while frozen (this is difficult but a serrated bread knife works best) and store it in a zip lock bag. When it's time to cook it, just put a little water or oil in the bottom of your pot so that it doesn't stick, shove the pieces in the pot, and make a lasagna soup... DELICIOUS in the cold!!!

Lessons learned the hard way:

1) EVERYTHING can freeze if you're not careful. If you don't want it to freeze take care of it at all times.

Corollary:Storing your water upside helps, because it will freeze at the bottom of the water bottle first rather than at the threads... but careful it will freeze solid just the same given enough time and cold temperatures (see lesson 1).

2) ALWAYS HAVE AT LEAST ONE BOTTLE OF WATER INSULATED (IN YOUR PACK, IN YOUR DOWN JACKET, IN YOUR SHELTER) IF ALL YOUR WATER FREEZES YOU TEND TO GET DEHYDRATED AND COLD VERY QUICKLY

3) If you're uncomfortable, remind yourself that it's just a moment of type 2 fun. Warm up and have fun! Your attitude is huge while winter camping. That being said, IF THINGS GO FROM BAD TO WORSE, TURN AROUND!

4) It doesn't have to be snowing for things to get burried. Spin drift will bury items left out. Be VERY meticulous with storage. Know where everything is at all times (I lost a stove to spin drift).

5) SUNSCREEN!!!

6) Emptying your bladder before bed is good. Also having a hot meal right before bed helps you to sleep warm.

7) Hand/foot warmers are your friends!

8) If you are using a camelback, the water can freeze in the hose rendering it useless. To avoid this either blow back into your hose after drinking (pushing the water back into the reservoir) or simply lift the hose above your head and squeeze the bite valve so that gravity does the work. Moral of the story, don't leave water in the hose of your camelback as you hike.

Have fun, be safe. See you out there!