Wacked Out Compass In Moose River Plains Area

[Grumpy]

Last week I drove through the Moose River Plains area in the Adirondacks, entering at Wakely Dam and exiting at Limekiln Lake.

At Limekiln I noticed the (built-in, digital) compass on my vehicle had gone haywire, and needed recalibration. It had worked OK before entering the Moose River area. After recalibration, it worked fine.

This was an odd experience, but nothing remarkable in and of itself.

What made it remarkable (in my little pea brain, anyhow) is that the same thing happened to my vehicle compass while traversing the Moose River area a couple years ago. Different vehicles.

That makes me wonder if the Moose River Plains is one of those Bermuda Triangle type places, where compasses go bonkers.

Has anyone else ever had a similar experience there? Any known or possible explanations?

G.

 

[Mongoose]

Once I noticed my compass in the Whites pointing in odd directions. I realized it only happened when I held it close to some big rocks. Maybe the rocks have large amounts of iron or something in them that makes the compass change direction? Where there any rocky outcroppings or similar things in the area you went through?

 

[sardog1]

EDIT:

"SELF-DESCRIPTION

"A self-referential (see self-reference) statement or proposition about an observer's identity which is stable under iterative (see iteration) communication between him and his environment. (Krippendorff)"

 

[Grumpy]

Repeating and clarifying the question ...

I am well aware of magnetic declination issues. I also am aware that magnetic anomalies exist, and that large natural deposits of magnetic materials can cause compass needles to deflect and give erroneous readings in certain locales.

My question is not about magnetic declination or anomalies in general.

My question is specific to the Moose River Plains area in the Adirondack region of northern New York State.

I am asking whether anyone else has had a compass go out of kilter while traveling in the Moose River Plains district. And I am asking what they know specifically about that phenomenon in this particular area.

What gives rise to the question(s) is this: On two separate occasions in the last three years I have traversed the Moose River Plains Recreation Area from Wakely Dam to Limekiln Lake, driving two different vehicles. Each vehicle was equipped with a built in electronic digital compass. On each occasion, when I arrived at Limekiln the vehicle’s compass was giving me completely erroneous readings.

I could dismiss one episode as a “whatever.” In fact, I did. But two episodes in two different vehicles using two different built-in compasses piques my curiosity. A Google search so far has turned up no information about known magnetic anomalies in the Moose River Plains area. I remain curious and will appreciate any pertinent information that is not already widely known.

G.

 

[DougPaul]

I have no specific knowledge of Moose River Plains.

If you drive in and the compass acts strangely, do NOT recalibrate, drive out and the compass recovers, then it is likely a local magnetic anomoly.

If you drive in and the compass acts strangely, DO recalibrate, and it is ok at Moose River Plains, what happens on the way out?
* if the compass acts strangely after exiting, it is likely a local magnetic anomoly
* if the compass is still ok after exiting, then something probably happened to it or the car magnetiztion on the way in.

The reason that on has to calibrate a car (or boat) compass is that the car has a magentic field which has to be canceled out for the compass to indicate properly. One possibility is that something happens to alter the car's magnitization--either a large bump, passing through a strong magnetic field or both.

You might also check at several spots on the drive in and out with a hand compass (well AWAY from the car) to see if there is a magnetic anomoly.

Doug

 

[John K]

That makes me wonder if the Moose River Plains is one of those Bermuda Triangle type places, where compasses go bonkers.

Has anyone else ever had a similar experience there? Any known or possible explanations?

G.[/QUOTE]
I had a similair experience on two occasions several years apart while hiking the area between Wakely Dam and Cedar Lakes. I wrote it off to a bad compass, but was never realy convinced that was the case.

 

[mudhook51]

I have done alot of hiking hunting kayaking fishing bush wacking in this area over the last 20 + years and have never noticed anything out of the ordinary. But then again I was using a conventional compass. Interesting.

 

[Nessmuk]

I have done alot of hiking hunting kayaking fishing bush wacking in this area over the last 20 + years and have never noticed anything out of the ordinary. But then again I was using a conventional compass. Interesting.

ditto (substitute canoe for kayak), though isolated magnetic anomalies from ore deposits are certainly possible.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Any high-voltage power lines or substations in the immediate vicinity? Secret subsurface nuclear accelerator?