map and compass reading course

[SAR-EMT40]

The best map and compass program I ever attended was a session run by an orienteering group (NEOC, New England Orienteering Club, IIRC?) intended to train volunteers to conduct an intro orienteering experience.

Hey John,

I didn't mention NEOC because they are probably a little farther away than the Sikes need to go. I have helped teach several of their courses and help make and check some of their maps, setup and take down courses. Quite a bit of work with boy scouts and girl scouts and training their trainers. Where did you take the class?

They are a pretty good group though.

Keith
N1XTK

 

[JNewell]

Hi Keith -- I didn't so much mean to be suggesting NEOC (though maybe they run events up that way, too? not sure) so much as suggesting a program run by an orienteering group. The session I attended was really pretty basic and didn't get into the finer points of competitive orienteering...it was geared to get people comfortable with the basics, and was very well done...better than any regular "map & compass" course I've seen.

 

[The Sikes]

Thanks for all the info. I emailed a couple of places and they aren't running anything right now but am on a list.

Maybe I can see what I can bribe Dave Metsky with to do a trip!

I have been to some basic courses but didn't feel like I would be safe using those skills to find my way out of the woods. and as for my GPS that I can never keep signal, I'm sure I don't use that to the potential that I can. (I guess this is what happens when I don't hike for a week or two...I start to think of what I can do to keep me busy till I get out there again.)

 

[masshysteria]

Has anyone taken a map and compass course that they enjoyed that didn't cost one arm and one leg or your first born.

Yes it's called the Boy Scouts of America. As far as being comfortable, head to a local park or forest that you're familiar with, and practice m+c skills. I think the hardest skill to master is allowing (or not allowing) for declination. Once you get that down, the rest will fall into place.

 

[Nessmuk]

I have been to some basic courses but didn't feel like I would be safe using those skills to find my way out of the woods. and as for my GPS that I can never keep signal, I'm sure I don't use that to the potential that I can.

Since you have taken some basic courses you should understand the concepts, at least academically. You MUST practice these skills in the field to become proficient. You can't learn how to fly by reading an book and taxiing on the ground around the airfield. Build on the basics, one item at a time, then insert additional aids as you become experienced in a "controlled" situation with practice.

You can set up a controlled practice area very easily. Find some out of the way spot with some terrain features and where there is a "backstop" to keep you from getting lost. For example, find a wooded area with a straight road, trail, or river beyond running perpendicular to your intended route, as far away as you are comfortable. Alternatively you could park your car on a straight section of road, and head off into the woods on a course perpendicular to the road for a set period of time. Then turn around and make your way back. Try to find a place with some terrain features not far away that you can observe as you walk past.

Begin with map and compass and head for a particular point on that backstop (or returning to your car). Practice holding a compass heading while on the move. Don't make the mistake of staring at your compass - sight on a distant distinctive tree, rock or whatever falls on the heading, go to it without looking at the compass until you approach the object, then find the next one ahead. Watch the landscape around you, take in and analyze what is happening as you walk. Any change you observe is important and aids in navigation.

If you miss the exact point on the backstop, no matter, you wont get lost as long as you can read a compass to +/- 90 degrees. You will arrive at the road/stream/whatever at some point. At worst you are a short distance left or right of the intended spot. Then and only then use your GPS if you must to locate yourself on the backstop, and to analyze your track. Recall what you did, what you saw, and figure out why you ended up where you did.

Practice this technique in different areas, incorporating more and more reading of the terrain with the map over longer distances. Cross over ridges, ravines and streams. Look for squiggles in the contours on the map, see how easy it becomes with practice to use those to fix your position. When you can do this with ease (it will happen), then you can be confident that the GPS also is an aid, not to be used as the only tool in your navigation kit.

 

[Neil]

Read a book then go with someone who has experience. You lead, they follow.
It's amazing what you can detect from a topo map. Your kids'll love it!
Once you get it into your head that a compass is no more than a needle that points to mag. N. it's not really intimidating. It's the "west is best" business that complicates things!
(I know, Magnetic North Lines, thanks in advance Nessmuk! )

 

[Ed Poyer]

Annual Spring M&C course

For many years, the Narragansett Chapter of AMC has been running a one evening plus one day course each spring in late April / Eary May. It start with basics and finishes with bushwhacking, costs only $15 and everyone is welcome.
Ed

 

[Umsaskis]

I never took a map and compass course, but I think the skill is best learned by using it. If you go hiking, keep your topographic trail map handy, along with your compass, and follow the map as you go. See if you can keep track of where you are on the trail. You'll start to get familiar with what a ravine looks like, which way streams are flowing, where cliffs are, and so forth. After a while, you'll be able to predict details like which side of a pond would be easiest to get to, and whether it's likely to be low and shrubby or have an open forested slope on the shore. It's a great way to learn it with your kids, too. Whenever I go hiking with kids, I usually try to show them a few things on the map or compass so they can get an introduction to it. This is much more interesting than learning in a classroom, and should be used as a constant refresher after a class.

The best compass training I ever got was from my mother, who said, "Your compass is ALWAYS right." I questioned that one once. Never again!

 

[jjmcgo]

Backup system

Like Masshysteria I learned m&c in Boy Scouts. We had scoutmaster who escaped the Nazis by walking out of Hungary. He was excellent. He taught us something beyond map skills which helps me to this day. Always know where the sun is all times every day. Where is it at 10 a.m. on Oct. 23. At 5 p.m. on May 10,etc. Where does it rise on the horizon on various days of the year? Where does it set? Where is the arc at this time of year, higher or lower or in the middle. If you walked toward where the sun rose on June 21, you'd be walking northeast; on Dec. 21, southeast.
Learn where the sun transits each day, adjusted for DST.
Learn the same skills at night from astronomy.
Could you walk out of the woods on a starry, moonless night when you don't have a flashlight to read a map? The answer is yes.
Last, there are very few streams in New Hampshire that don't cross a road within five miles if you follow them downhill.
These aren't all map skills but they're fellow parts of the survival skill set.

 

[hikerbrian]

Went to a Spring Workshop offered by the AMC at Cardigan Lodge several years ago. See here, Section C: Backpacking - Basics of Outdoor Safety. $105 includes great food and lodging for 3 days, 2 nights, plus instruction. I really can't say enough about the value of this course. I went with my Dad. It was great bonding time for us, and we learned a ton, especially about map and compass. We actually did a pretty long bushwack, which was invaluable. I guess it's 6 months away now, but consider it. Mastering map a compass will raise you to a new level in terms of your comfort level in the great outdoors.

Brian