Ever use that thing that points N,S,E,W

[jmez]

Anyone recommend a good and easily understandable book on basic orienteering/navigation? Any online courses available? It is something I would like to learn but have never taken the time to do so. I did download the military manual last year but it was almost 300 pages long.

 

[Tony Trietch]

My compass hangs from a few inches of para cord on the waist band of my pack. I use it constantly to keep wind orientation and headings.

 

[Darren Best]

YK is correct.

For example, North Idaho for the most part has a lot of very distinguishing landmarks and is easy to travel, even in new areas, as long as visibility is good.

But, where a guy gets into trouble is fog, heavy rain, low cloud cover, snow, flat land and heavy cover.

In my younger years I never carried a compass, I always used memory and terrain association to figure out where I was and where I needed to go. This ended up getting me confused about where I was a couple times and costing me some very long hikes to my intended destination because I did not know where exactly I was and what was around me.

Another problem is you cannot always find two points to triangulate from to find your location if your view is restricted. So I found it is best to always have at least a general idea of where you are. Which this can be done if you have intimate knowledge of the area or you have a map, as a rule, both is best. This requires that you stop fairly often and check your map and terrain to keep yourself updated on your location.

My list of must have navigation items that I always carry.

1. A good sighting compass.

2. Rite in the Rain notepad and pen or pencil.

3. Accurate and up to date topo map of the area I plan to be in with a zip lock bag big enough to hold it. *

4. GPS with lithium batteries and a spare set of batteries.

5. If you plan to do a lot of map work, a small plastic clipboard, ruler and protractor are also very handy and helpful.

6. I also carry a set of Ranger beads, aka pacing beads if visibility gets really bad and I need to keep track of distance traveled. A clicker counter also works for this.

Even if my map gets ruined or lost, my GPS fails or both sets of batteries die, as long as I take notes of my route, I can still navigate where ever I want to.

Dick Blust calls it a three part system where each enhances and backs up the others, GPS, compass and map. By switching your GPS on long enough to get a accurate fix on your location and turning it off and using the compass and beads to navigate, you conserve battery power immensely.

The best instruction tutorials I have seen, are written by Dick Blust.

Dick has simplified and laid out how to learn land nav in an easy to understand and learn format just for back country hunters, it is well worth the time to read them and put the knowledge into practice.

http://www.kifaru.net/essays.html

Right column, four essays.

If you still want more in depth learning, get the Army Map Reading and Land Navigation manual FM3-25.26

* A note on maps. If you are going to use a map, GPS and compass together, it is important that you know accurate datum for your area and the map you are using. Do not trust the magnetic north listed on older maps because the magnetic blob under the earths crust moves and thus this number changes over time.

Go here to look up the location you intend to need it for. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag-web/#declination

Also you will need to know the grid north on the particular map you are using, not all maps list it.

Go here to learn to use pacing beads. http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/pacebeads.html

 

[justinspicher]

That is all I use now. I used a GPS for work, but I have changed jobs and decided to quit carrying one for when I am in the woods. By having a map and compass it requires me to slow down and actually pay attention to what is around me. So far so good.

 

[boom]

you guys would find my skeleton with a compass clutched in my bone fingers. the other hand would be a bone finger scratching my head.

i'm gonna take a class.

 

[tttoadman]

I never had a GPS until 3 years ago. I have a simple medium quality compass that i will generally take out as darkness sets in. I grab my map, take my closest stab at where camp is and set the red pointer. Not much point in a bearing if you don't establish a basic line of site before dark.

I sometimes carry it in my hand while hoofing through the dark. I will check it every 50 yards on occasion to keep from walking in a circle.

 

[jherald]

I definitely want to learn to properly use a compass. I always carry one along with a hard copy map so i can at least know where i'm leaving from and where i'm going to generally but i'd like to learn to use it properly.

 

[InDeep]

I haven't used one in 8 years and can't say I ever did before . I took some classes in high school at rei for it . Then used to stay fresh . But never needed it. Now I use my GPS . but that's to know my exact location to the next poi .

 

[SDHNTR]

Lots of You Tube vids on basic orienteering out there too.

 

[tuffcity]

Do I carry a compass? No, I carry two and a good topo map. I've only had a GPS for about 4/5 years but before that I had been in a couple of situations where I thought I was smarter than the magnetic field- 1 bad viz, 1 lost in thick swamp, figured compass was "stuck", pulled out the second one and it backed up the first. Followed it out to where I needed to be. Being "misplaced" can cause you to do strange things...

Carry a GPS as well but I know that if it goes down I have a back up. I've done a couple of adventure races and having the ability to do orienteering is definitely an asset.

RC

 

[Steve O]

Google up "Backcountry College". Clay at the Twisted Stave has a couple of neat backcountry navigation video clips.

 

[SHTF]

I always have one but never use it. So far have only used a GPS to mark sign. I know how to triangulate with a compass and map but that is all. If I couldn't see any landmarks I would just have to use it to keep me walking in the same direction.

See Aron Im not the only one that calls it Triangulate.

serious note this has been my weaker point also. Never had military training but am bound and determined to get the knowledge. Crazzytrekker has offered to show me the goods on this. Looking forward to it. Aron I see a good long post on the Basics in your near future. =)

 

[CA Karen]

I still haul my Silva Ranger compass around and use it with 7.5 minute maps..... never been lost while carrying it. I have had two GPS's and still take the newer one with me for quick fixes when scouting, but for figuring out the how and where I want to go I still prefer the map and compass. The GPS is nice for night navigation although, a lot easier then using bearings and a map. If you can find someone who knows the sand box method of instruction for map reading that would help you better then all the books available, adding how to use a compass on top of that and any worries of getting lost will be gone. But hey I am old and old school.... Good luck!

 

[Jason Snyder]

Very good point on knowing the current declination for your area. If your map is very old then it is outdated and can be off by several degrees., whoich is plenty to get into trouble.

Also, the intentional offset can be very important. If you KNOW you are goining to coome out south of your camp along the creek, trail, road, etc. then you dn't have to guess and risk wandering around in the dark because you chose the wrong direction.

It's a good idea to carry a UTM grid (tape it to your compass) and know how to use it. This can really open up a whole new world of using a GPS in conjunction with a 7.5 minute quad/compass.

 

[cleatus]

I am also military trained. I have been lost twice in the woods. Both times without map, compass, GPS and before smart phones. Should have known better and stayed calm, but both times I let that uneasy feeling get the better of me. I took off in the direction I thought was right( with out really thinking about it if that makes since) and was wrong. Both times I found my way out but after several miles of since less walking. I now carry a map and compass on all back country excursions. Guess I'm a slow learner took me twice. Always remember use your most valuable resource. Your head.

 

[unm1136]

GPS is last on my list of "needs". I have been lost before, and the experience taught me a couple of things.

1. Learning the area is REALLY good. I do cloverleafs as I scout, so I see the terrain several times and get familiar with it. I have yet to hunt where I can spot and stalk, so I still hunt in cloverleafs for several days, and try to find ambush points.

2. I have several books on land nav, including the military manual I picked up for $2 at a used bookstore, and several books written by former spec ops guys from a couple of different nation's militaries. I read them annually.

3. An excellent starter course was like $35 at the local REI, and it was a saturday morning very well spent. I plan to repeat it this year, as well as taking an orienteering course at the college's rec services. Right now I don't have the time and money to get to a Dick Blust course, but it will happen when the wife finishes school and is able to add to the household income.

pat