XPost: rec.backcountry, rec.answers 
 From: eugene@cse.ucsc.edu 
  
 Archive-name: backcountry-faq/part1 
 news.answers: follows Disclaimer. 
  
 Distilled wisdom (panel 1) 
  
 This is rec.backcountry.  And the poster is the assistant to the r.b.nimng 
 ranger (he's a ranger, not the net.police or net.sheriff as some would 
 like). 
 Read the warnings, read the disclaimer, and if you are reading this in 
 news.answers, read the special addition, and maybe the Table of Contents 
 following the electronic zoological report. 
  
 Be warned: 
 1) The "outdoors" are HAZARDOUS, LETHAL, FATAL, TERMINAL w/o extreme 
 prejudice. 
 As of this count, more than three readers of this group are now former- 
 readers 
 (see panel 16 for a combined count). 
 Anyone, including highly experienced people, can be killed. 
 We have buried our own dead FOR REAL. 
 2) The information given in this chain of postings should be taken with 
 a grain of salt.  Failure to heed this advice goes back to warning 1. 
 This goes for information with economic consequences. 
 3) There is no such thing as an "outdoors expert."  Experienced people 
 realize this.  The mountain does not know that you are an expert. 
  
  A person is an expert in a subject when he not only knows everything 
  you can learn about it, he also knows which of that stuff is wrong. 
  Marilyn vos Savant 
  
 4) A memorial to my friends, our friends, our fallen comrades, 
 our admirations is integrated as a rec.climbing FAQ panel.  Why climbing? 
 Most were climbers. 
  
  "A man's got to know his limitations..." 
   --Harry Callahan, Magnum Force 
    [Also quoted by Galen Rowell] 
  
  
  This news group is unmoderated 
  This group has a rating potential of X (or A) [sometimes sexually 
  explicit material is posted], but this is rare. 
  If the MPAA were rating, R rated posts appear in less than 1% of the 
  posts.  Parents must be aware of this.  No central authority currently 
  exists for complaints.  Don't complain to me.  Use rec.scouting 
  (also unmoderated, also has X potential). 
  
  Most posts are G or PG-13. 
  
  Group flame wars: Most flame wars never get above 1st degree burns. 
  A rare war will have a 2nd degree flame.  Third degree flames 
  typically affect the wider net (e.g., C/S green card posts, 
  pyramid scams, etc.) i.e., "greater, deeper damage."  Very rare here. 
  
  "Is this all there is?" 
  
  "Yes." 
  
  
 DISCLAIMER: 
 "Books are not a substitute for skill, nor can they make safe those who do 
 not 
 practice the principles of safety.  Books are not substitutes for training. 
 We do not wish to discourage people who have age old urges.  But they can 
 answer simple problems and questions.  It is urged that the inexperienced 
 avail themselves of instruction, training, and mentorship.  We would 
 counsel you remember the virtues of progressive training: ... you crawled 
 before you walked and walked before you ran.  It would be well to take 
 your pioneering in little nibbles rather than big leaps.  Try the easy off 
 trail walks first, then the easy peaks, then the harder ones, always 
 covering 
 yourself with a good route of retreat and plenty of time to make it.  And 
 always herald the philosophy of Norman Clyde: The mountain will always be 
 there tomorrow.  Aim to be able to say the same of yourself." 
 Adapted from the words of (the late) Hervey Voge and David Brower. 
  
 The history of rec.backcountry began in the late 1980s.  It is a child 
 of the rec.skiing (net.ski) news group and the climbing mailing list started 
 by Fritz Nordby at Caltech (now defunct).  Before you recommend a split, 
 you should realize that backcountry has split. 
 The children of rec.backcountry include such notable news groups as 
 rec.boats.paddle, rec.hunting, rec.climbing, rec.scouting, alt.fishing, 
 rec.outdoors.fishing, and numerous other groups. 
  
 news.answers: This post is the first part of a 28 part experimental FAQ 
 post (a chain).  The other 27 parts are listed in the contents below. 
 The other 27 parts are posted one day at a time. These additional parts 
 are NOT posted to news.answers but can be read by temporarily subscribing to 
 rec.backcountry.  The composition of all attributes in 
 the contents and Header were deliberately set for the instrumentation and 
 experimentation toward discussion self-moderation and maintenance 
 (for instance "FAQ" appears no where in the Subject line; the host is also 
 a special host, etc.).  The chain's headers (Subject line) are useful like 
 a light house beacon.  The post is issued at the same time from the same 
 host on each of those days: this makes a useful network metric.  Failed 
 postings imply either the posting host dying, or a network connection 
 dropping/failing.  These posts are also a useful test of literacy 
 (how far you read, how well you read, etc.).  Occasionally you will see 
 uninformed people read and comment about them (they didn't reach this 
 paragraph, or the message didn't reach them, or they have not figure out 
 what's going on [clueless]).  There is alot going on here and its all 
 very deliberate.  Well,...  not all. ;^) 
  
 Electronic Zoological content of this backcountry: 
 SO far we have readers who would be (Hey!  One life at a time, please): 
 Flyers: 
  Cliff swallow 
  Whip-poor-will 
  3 Buzzards (1 Buteo buteo) 
  2 Red tailed hawk 
  2 Eagles 
  Mallard duck 
  Fulvous Whistling-Duck 
  Another duck 
  Ptarmigan 
  Turkey Vulture 
  Great Horned Owl 
  Spotted Owl 
  Snowy Owl 
  Owl 
  Hawk 
  2 Ravens 
  Crow 
  Peregrine Falcon 
  2 Bats 
  Loon 
  Chough (pronounced "chuff".) Pyrrhocorax graculus 
  Skua 
  "subtle"-apteryx 
  Peacock 
  Puffin 
  
 NA ground mammals 
  2 Yellow bellied marmot 
  Moose 
  Jack Rabbit 
  Bunny rabbit 
  Snowshoe hare 
  Bighorn sheep 
  3 Mountain Goats 
  4 Otter (maybe 1 river) 
  Mule (female) 
  Donkey 
  Burro 
  Sloth 
  3 possums 
  2 Racoons 
  Poodle (with a Mohawk, Pampered Poodle with Perm) 
  2 Lynx (1 Canadian) 
  3 cougars or panther (black, of course and 1 garden-variety golden type) 
  1 domestic cat 
  3 coyotes 
  2 Grizzly Bears 
  3 Black Bears 
  Kodiak Bear (she) 
  Poohbear 
  Polar Bear 
  Sun Bear 
  1 non descript Bear (ro-) 
  Yogi bear 
  Russian bear 
  Wolverine 
  10 Wolves (4 Timber) 
  Fisher 
  White-tailed deer 
  3 Skunk 
  1 Vixen (female fox) 
  Mountain Fox 
  Weasel 
  Porcupine 
  Pine marten 
  Llama 
  Homo erectus 
  Hodag 
  Beaver 
  Prairie dog 
  Pika 
  Chipmunk 
  Wombat 
  Muskox 
  Razorback 
  
 Water species 
  Sperm Whale 
  Orca 
  4 Dolphin 
  Manta Ray 
  Man-O-War 
  muskellunge 
  Giant squid (ala 20K leagues under the sea) 
  Golden Trout (with the Right Stuff) 
  Piranha 
  Lobster 
  
 African/Asian species 
  Ring Tailed Lemur 
  2 Elephant (1 - African) 
  Lion (King of the jungle) 
  Oryx 
  2 Tiger (1- white) 
  Snow Leopard 
  
 Reptiles 
  Tuatara lizard 
  Galapagos tortoise 
  Crocodile 
  
 Amph: 
  Salamander 
  Newt 
  2 Frog 
  
 Insects: 
  Spider 
  Dragonfly 
  Banana slug 
  
 Plants: 
  Lichen 
  Western Red Cedar 
  Slime mold 
  
 Amoeba: 
  2 Giardia lamblia 
  
 Misc. 
  T. Rex 
  Velociraptor 
  Yeti 
  Lurkerus Wannabemorhikerii 
  Shape shifter 
  Griffin 
  Wooly Mammoth 
  wildsurmise 
  skookum 
  
 Lastly, 
  
 The formation of a usenet group on caving has long been a subject 
  
 [continued in next message] 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)