part of
by Rick Curtis
published by Random House 1998
This material is taken from Chapter 6 - Wilderness Travel from The Backpackers Field Manual by Rick Curtis. For more details on this exciting book check out The Backpacker's Field Manual Page.
This material is provided by the author for educational use only and is not a substitute for specific training or experience. Princeton University and the author assume no liability for any individual's use of or reliance upon any material contained or referenced herein. When going into outdoors it is your responsibility to have the proper knowledge, experience, and equipment to travel safely. This material may not be reproduced in any form for commercial or Internet publication without express written permission of the author. Copyright © 1999, all rights reserved, Random House Publishing & Rick Curtis, Outdoor Action Program, Princeton University.
Another way to deal with declination is to adjust your compass. Some compasses have an outer degree ring that can be unlocked either with a set screw or a latch. This allows you to reset the compass to account for declination. For example, if the declination were 14 degrees East, you could rotate the degree dial to the right so that the magnetic needle was pointing to 14 degrees instead of 360 degrees. Once you do this, you will no longer have to add or subtract for declination because your compass is aligned to true north. Now when the compass needle is inside the orienting needle, the compass bearing that you read off your compass will be in relation to true north instead of magnetic north. If you have a fixed-ring compass, you can mark the declination angle on the compass ring with a piece of tape.
Navigation in the wilderness means knowing your starting point, your destination, and your route to get there.
Make it a habit of keeping your map and compass handy and refer to them every hour or so to locate your position (more often in low visibility). Keep track of your starting time, rest breaks and lunch stops, and general hiking pace. This will also give you an idea of how far you have traveled and whether your Time Control Plan is accurate (see Planning Your Day, page 00).
It is easiest to read a map if the map is oriented to the surrounding landscape. If you see a valley on your left, then the valley shows on the left on the map. You can do this by eye or with your compass.
until the north end of the magnetic needle points to the N on the compass housing (i.e. the red north end of the magnetic needle and the orienting arrow align). This is often referred to as "boxing the needle" since the magnetic needle is inside the "box" formed by the orienting arrow. The map is now oriented with respect to magnetic north. This means that the compass needle direction north is the same as true north on the map. You can also place the compass on the map so that the edge of the baseplate lies along the magnetic north indicator line on the map legend at the bottom and rotate the map as described above. This may give you a more accurate orientation for your map.
With the map oriented, look around for prominent features landscape features such as mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers, etc. Make a mental note of the geographical features you will be traveling along and seeing during the day. If you keep the terrain in your mind, you will usually have a general idea of where you are just by looking around.
| Tricks of the Trail |
|---|
| Orient Your Map: You can eliminate the need to correct for declination if you use your compass to orient the map each time. As long as the map is oriented with respect to magnetic north, any bearings you take from map to compass or compass to map will be the same. For this reason, it's a good idea to always take the time to orient your map. It will make your life much easier. It also means that each time you use your map, your will need to re-orient it with your compass. |
Let's look at some common backcountry scenarios and see how you can use your map and compass to navigate.
Okay, you hike in along the trail and then bushwack off trail to a nearby alpine lake to camp. When you wake up the next morning, you are fogged in. You know where you are on the map, but you can't see to find your way out. What you need to do is take a bearing on your map from your known campsite back to a known point on the trail that you can identify on the map. Then follow your bearing through the fog (or you might decide to wait out the fog if there is difficult terrain to traverse - see Chapter 7: Safety and Emergency Procedures: Dynamics of Accidents page 00). Here's your procedure:
You have been hiking along the trail and found a good campsite that is marked on the map. You see a summit ridge above treeline that looks like a great place for photographs, but there's a valley thick with Douglas fir between you and the summit. What you need to do is take a bearing from your current position to the summit and use that to travel through the forest. Here's your procedure:
To walk a bearing taken from the map, you may need to correct for declination if you did not orient the map to magnetic north before you took your bearing. Once you have corrected for declination, follow the same procedure as indicated above for walking a bearing taken from the land.
Sometimes the terrain isn't always so cooperative to let you just follow your bearing in a straight line so there are a number of techniques to use when traveling on a bearing.
You got to the summit and got some great photos, even one of a baby mountain goat. Now it's time to get back to your campsite. You could just follow your back bearing (see below) back to your location, but there is bound to be some error, when you hit the trail where will you be in relation to your campsite? The best bet is to intentionally aim off. Here's your procedure:
You're doing this incredible bushwack and you've been diligently following a compass course, sighting from tree to tree. Up ahead there is a clearing, when you enter it you discover a bog. There's no way you can go straight through on your compass course. Now what? Here's your procedure:
You're hiking off trail through the broad alpine valleys and your having this deep philosophical conversation about the connection of man with nature, so deep that you have lost some of your connection with nature. You look around and you don't know where you are. One alpine valley looks a lot like the last one you came through. Okay, so you're lost. Now what? Here's your procedure:
Triangulation is used to locate your position when two or more prominent landmarks are visible. Even if you are not sure where you are, you can find your approximate position as long as you can identify at least 2 prominent landmarks (mountain, end of a lake, bridge, etc.) both on the land and on your map. (See Figure 6.15).
An altimeter can also be a useful navigation tool. An altimeter measures the local atmospheric pressure of the air just like a barometer. This is usually expressed in inches or millibars of Mercury. The altimeter displays the current altitude on a dial with a needle or with a digital display. Since atmospheric pressure is constantly changing due to weather (see Chapter 7 - Natural History: Weather page 00), you must calibrate the altimeter by first setting it when you are at a known elevation. Say you arrive at the trail head parking lot which the map indicates is at 2,400 feet (730 meters). Set your altimeter for 2,400 feet (730 meters). As you hike the altimeter shows the current altitude as your elevation increase or decreases. In order to maintain accurate readings you should recalibrate your altimeter several times each day. One good trick is to recalibrate or at least look at your altimeter reading before you go to bed. If the altimeter reads a lower altitude the next day, then the atmospheric pressure has gone up during the night (typically indicating stable or improving weather). If the altimeter reads a higher altitude, then the atmospheric pressure is falling (indicating potential stormy weather).
You can use your altimeter in navigation as another information source to help locate your position. If the altimeter is properly calibrated, you know that you are at a specific altitude. Think of this altitude as corresponding to a particular contour line on your map. This may be enough to give you a very accurate fix on your location. If you are hiking up a trail and it crosses a particular altitude (contour line) at only one point, then you know exactly where you are. In other situations, you know that you are somewhere along a contour line that lies at that altitude (elevation). Other clues may help pin down exactly where along that contour line you are.
Inexpensive altimeters are available for under $50 and are also prone to inaccuracies due to temperature. To minimize temperature problems it is best to let your altimeter adjust to the ambient air temperature before taking a reading. More expensive altimeters that automatically correct for temperature changes can run over $200. A digital watch with an altimeter/barometer is an item that combines two useful tools.
Wearing a watch in the backcountry is a point of personal wilderness ethics. Many people like to let nature set the pace of the day rather than a watch. I may not wear my watch, but I always bring one along. There are too many times when I have needed a watch. For example, to get an accurate check on how fast I am hiking to see if my Time Control Plan is correct (see Chapter 1 - trip Planning: Planning Your Day page 00), and especially in first aid and emergency situations where timing vital signs and knowing the exact time that things are occurring may be essential in proper diagnosis and treatment (see Chapter 9 - First Aid & Emergency Care: Patient Assessment page 00). Watches can also be used to determine basic direction (see page 00).
The Global Positioning System is a network of satellites in orbit above the earth. A GPS unit is basically a radio receiver. The satellites transmit to the GPS unit which interpolates the signals into latitude and longitude which are displayed on the unit. Typically signals from three satellites are needed to identify a specific position and a fourth to interpolate altitude. GPS units are accurate to within a few hundred feet of your actual location. Although they can be used to very accurately determine your location and establish compass courses, don't rely on a GPS unit in place of solid knowledge of map and compass. Battery failure, damage to the GPS unit, or even leaving it behind at a rest stop could leave you lost if you don't have good map and compass skills. GPS units are particularly useful in locations where there a few landmarks to identify your location (for example long canoeing trips in northern Canada). GPS units are available as hand held units easily transportable in the backcountry.
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This material is provided by the author for educational use only and is not a substitute for specific training or experience. Princeton University and the author assume no liability for any individual's use of or reliance upon any material contained or referenced herein. When going into outdoors it is your responsibility to have the proper knowledge, experience, and equipment to travel safely. This material may not be reproduced in any form for commercial or Internet publication without express written permission of the author. Copyright © 1999, all rights reserved, Random House Publishing & Rick Curtis, Outdoor Action Program, Princeton University.