survival, foraging, etc

I suppose I'd make use of some of the features of a fancy compass if I had a need. I actually ripped off some of the extensions on one lensatic compass, but I have others. And there could be reasons you need to be super accurate with your navigation, and these compasses allow you to be very accurate, something you might not assume. There would be military situations where accuracy is important; for me, does not apply. Navigating in a desert sounds like a situation that might need accuracy; yep, does not apply. 


If I needed to get back to a trail that faced me in a paperclip manner, approaching and then turning back, and it was going to get dark, say, I could see utilizing such. Of course you'd need to know exactly what direction to go in, so bringing a topographical map in an area with high landmarks would be good planning. Otherwise you'd need to be very careful in marking exactly how you left that trail. 


Using a tree as a landmark like in the video? I won't say that is laughable, but it depends on the situation. In most cases I would be in an area that won't allow you to march directly to that spot, and there is similar vegetation all around. Believe me most of the time you'd have to take a few steps around something and the next thing you know you are asking "now what tree was that?" One that keeps standing out is a real blessing in that situation and rare. You just need to be maintaining an orientation with the sun, rechecking sometimes, and constantly rechecking that compass if it is overcast. 


You need to know where you are, sure, but also in a practical way, which means for me usually I just need to know "the way out" and usually one of 8 compass directions is sufficient... North, NE, East, SE, South, etc. A few minutes of practice will allow you to get the hang of that, just teaching yourself. One thing to do right is make sure the compass needle is freely operating and not hanging up. You need to have a sense of how far in you've gone so that after you've covered that distance on the way back you know you can make little adjustments and find that road or trail; this is dead reckoning. 


What if you realize you have failed in some way and are truly lost. Well, it's hard for me to believe the failure isn't a matter of situational awareness, failure to know the ultimate direction to 'get out'. That can happen of course. And it can be a few-trail wilderness [rare situation for me]. Some of the videos I watch will be about somebody who died or nearly died, getting lost in a bad place. What gets me is when they so often say the person was very experienced on the trail they were on, but got off trail. That is a person who should have had a compass and known how to use it. Maybe they watched one of these videos and concluded it's too hard to use those things!

You can always carry a drone.

Quote: rxwine

You can always carry a drone.

or a hand-held GPS

which i often do actually. Mostly because it's an interesting thing to occupy you. I try not to let it make me lazy and drop the old way of navigating. It's satisfying to know you're in an OK situation due to knowing it. On the other hand, the GPS, with extra batteries - ha - I find will make me completely fearless about plunging into an area I've never been before

Quote: odiousgambit

or a hand-held GPS

which i often do actually. Mostly because it's an interesting thing to occupy you. I try not to let it make me lazy and drop the old way of navigating. It's satisfying to know you're in an OK situation due to knowing it. On the other hand, the GPS, with extra batteries - ha - I find will make me completely fearless about plunging into an area I've never been before

If you can't see anything worth walking towards with a drone, you're probably in a unfavorable "situation"

well, I knew magic mushrooms were getting to be a 'thing', but this surprises me

https://dailyhive.com/toronto/shroomyz-toronto-magic-mushroom

Maybe it's just a store specializing in mushroom cuisine? : P

Anyway, more trivia - " there are 22 different species of psilocybin mushrooms growing across the United States, with each species thriving in different regions and growing conditions."

I had no idea. As a teen, I thought they just grew in cow pastures.

many problems with this article:

the first picture shows edible mushrooms, those are clearly chanterelles. That's stupid, come on.

the article refers to a 'test' ... cook the mushrooms with garlic, and if [I won't repeat this dumb stuff] then it's a toxic mushroom. The writer goes on to put down a urban myth right after giving us this one [I have to believe, I've never heard of it]

it goes on to give other dubious advice that makes me wince, "To be on the safe side ... you must prefer those with dark gills* and avoid instead those with the stem** or the red hat ... or that have a ring under the stem.***"

I am willing to bet that you couldn't find a mushroom expert that wasn't horrified by this article. Or a book or guide that gives the garlic advice, except maybe to say 'don't even think of trusting this' .

another example of a journalist trying to 'give us the science' only proving to be a complete idiot.


* oh my god!
** a stem... really?
*** just to say 'ring' is not descriptive enough, plus if I know what is meant, there are plenty of edible ones with one

https://www.breakinglatest.news/health/mushroom-alert-under-a-pretty-appearance-they-hide-death-24-hours-after-ingestion/

I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]

Pretty cool image showing the stages of growth. The death-cap, same family as destroying angel. Identifying these correctly is essential for anyone eating foraged gilled mushrooms [that would not be me, but still worth knowing]. The mushroom starts as an "egg" and a remnant of that can always be found though you often have to dig it up to see it.

We don't seem to hear anything about guns getting safer. This is a particular category, I admit. But, just saying.

The blaze orange has been a bigger factor than anything, I'd guess.

https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/big-game/hunting-is-safer-than-ever
https://www.americanhunter.org/content/why-deer-hunting-is-safer-today-than-ever-before/
https://twitter.com/TedNugent/status/1602355399415500803

Quote: odiousgambit

We don't seem to hear anything about guns getting safer. This is a particular category, I admit. But, just saying.

I would say because the general population is getting dumber. Dumb users equals dumb results.