Long ago (1998 or 1999) I took the Boston Chapter's Map and Compass course, with Joe Comuzzi as the principal instructor. This summer he asked me to join him in teaching it, and I jumped at the opportunity, since I love sharing the things I enjoy.
The course is run out of the Harvard Cabin on Rt 16 in Jackson, about 1.5 miles south of Dana Place Inn (see map). Leaders and participants made their way there on Friday afternoon; living in New Hampshire I was the first there around 5 PM. There were a few sprinkles as I was driving, which worried me a bit as I was sleeping in my tent, and setting up a tent in the rain is no fun. No need to worry, the sprinkles stopped before I arrived. Soon after I had set up my tent Joe arrived with the keys to the cabin.
We chatted while waiting for the participants to arrive, and by eleven PM they were almost all there (three arrived early on Saturday morning). I went to bed, and slept well until I was woken up at 6:15 for breakfast preparation (we all share in the preparation of meals and post-meal cleanup).
Saturday morning, after breakfast, was spent on the formal instruction, on reading maps and on using a compass (declination, map bearings, field bearings, triangulation, etc.). The concepts are very simple once you have understood them; in my experience most people have quite a bit of difficulty understanding them initially (I certainly did, and I consider myself rather mathematically minded). So lots of time was spent in one on one instruction.
After a bring your own lunch meal we went out for an easy bushwhack. we traditionally climb Spruce Mountain. One group, led by Joe, went first to the main summit of Spruce Mountain, then to the South Summit, and returned to the cabin. My group went first to the South Summit, and since I felt we were running late we went to the col between the two summits before returning to the cabin. There are two viewpoints on the south summit; one to the west towards the Montalban range (excellent view of Giant Stairs), and one to the east with a beautifully framed view of Doublehead Mountain.
For the whole trip participants were in the lead; on the way up I made occasional comments (mainly "do not worship the bearing; look at the map and the terrain" and variations thereon). On the way down the course protocol called for me to put my map and compass away, and to seal my mouth with duct tape. At one stage we reached a point where the topography (terrain and map) clearly pointed the way to the cabin, but after a long and interesting discussion the group decided to stick to the bearing
I kept quiet, and as expected we hit Rt 16 a few hundred yards north of the cabin. No big deal, as they all agreed that we had aimed north of the cabin, so there was no discussion about which way to go on the road.
Joe's group did not do quite as well; on the descent from the south summit they computed a bearing that brought them down over some very steep terrain (not really cliffs, though it looks that way on the map). They did not recognize that they were off the correct course, and so went down the steep stuff and ended up on the road further south of the cabin than any group in the past.
On Sunday we climb a 3,000 footer that the leaders have never climbed before (bushwhacking is about exploration!!), and we did Mt. Rosebrook. We spotted cars at the Bretton Woods ski area and drove to the Sugarloaf trailhead (on the Zealand Road). We followed the Mt. Tom snowmobile trail to a bit after the first majot stream crossing, and aimed for the col between Mts. Oscar and Rosebrook to avoid the steepest climb. We had an easy bushwhack through very open woods, and found a glade ski trail along the ridge, which led us to the summit. Down by the ski trails, we reached our cars around 2 PM.
I enjoyed the weekend very much, and hope that at least some of the participants learned something. Next year we will do Whitewall Mountain as the Sunday bushwhack (or, in this case, perhaps fernwhack).
The course is run out of the Harvard Cabin on Rt 16 in Jackson, about 1.5 miles south of Dana Place Inn (see map). Leaders and participants made their way there on Friday afternoon; living in New Hampshire I was the first there around 5 PM. There were a few sprinkles as I was driving, which worried me a bit as I was sleeping in my tent, and setting up a tent in the rain is no fun. No need to worry, the sprinkles stopped before I arrived. Soon after I had set up my tent Joe arrived with the keys to the cabin.
We chatted while waiting for the participants to arrive, and by eleven PM they were almost all there (three arrived early on Saturday morning). I went to bed, and slept well until I was woken up at 6:15 for breakfast preparation (we all share in the preparation of meals and post-meal cleanup).
Saturday morning, after breakfast, was spent on the formal instruction, on reading maps and on using a compass (declination, map bearings, field bearings, triangulation, etc.). The concepts are very simple once you have understood them; in my experience most people have quite a bit of difficulty understanding them initially (I certainly did, and I consider myself rather mathematically minded). So lots of time was spent in one on one instruction.
After a bring your own lunch meal we went out for an easy bushwhack. we traditionally climb Spruce Mountain. One group, led by Joe, went first to the main summit of Spruce Mountain, then to the South Summit, and returned to the cabin. My group went first to the South Summit, and since I felt we were running late we went to the col between the two summits before returning to the cabin. There are two viewpoints on the south summit; one to the west towards the Montalban range (excellent view of Giant Stairs), and one to the east with a beautifully framed view of Doublehead Mountain.
For the whole trip participants were in the lead; on the way up I made occasional comments (mainly "do not worship the bearing; look at the map and the terrain" and variations thereon). On the way down the course protocol called for me to put my map and compass away, and to seal my mouth with duct tape. At one stage we reached a point where the topography (terrain and map) clearly pointed the way to the cabin, but after a long and interesting discussion the group decided to stick to the bearing
I kept quiet, and as expected we hit Rt 16 a few hundred yards north of the cabin. No big deal, as they all agreed that we had aimed north of the cabin, so there was no discussion about which way to go on the road.Joe's group did not do quite as well; on the descent from the south summit they computed a bearing that brought them down over some very steep terrain (not really cliffs, though it looks that way on the map). They did not recognize that they were off the correct course, and so went down the steep stuff and ended up on the road further south of the cabin than any group in the past.
On Sunday we climb a 3,000 footer that the leaders have never climbed before (bushwhacking is about exploration!!), and we did Mt. Rosebrook. We spotted cars at the Bretton Woods ski area and drove to the Sugarloaf trailhead (on the Zealand Road). We followed the Mt. Tom snowmobile trail to a bit after the first majot stream crossing, and aimed for the col between Mts. Oscar and Rosebrook to avoid the steepest climb. We had an easy bushwhack through very open woods, and found a glade ski trail along the ridge, which led us to the summit. Down by the ski trails, we reached our cars around 2 PM.
I enjoyed the weekend very much, and hope that at least some of the participants learned something. Next year we will do Whitewall Mountain as the Sunday bushwhack (or, in this case, perhaps fernwhack).
