Map/Compass/Orienteering

[Tilly]

I don't know exactily where to post this question but I figured this would be the best forum.

For those that have hiked the CDT, PNT, or even the PCT, how/where/when did you learn your map, compass, GPS, and orienteering skills?

I would really like to learn how to find my way on lesser used trails. I have, um, a limited range of compass skills right now. What are some good books/classes that people have used? How did you get your route finding skills? Would you say that orienteering is different in the eastern forests vs. the wide open west? I am amazed at the route finding skills some people have. How can so many hike 30, 40 miles a day on a trail like the CDT or the NCT? I mean, isn't part of the day spent being misplaced and trying to calculate where to go and where you are?

Also, it is feasible to find your way in an isolated area with only a map and compass? I really hate the thought of buying and even learning how to use a GPS.

I would love to really expand my horizons a little. Thanks for any thoughts or advice.

[IceAge]

I think it is easier than you think.

I learned orienteering through the courtesy of the US Navy Seabees, but I'm sure there are decent guides online.

The only hard part about orienteering is figuring out where you are. If you are starting at an intersection or trailhead that is marked on the map you have, then you already have the hard part done.

The next step is to figure out the bearing to the next place you want to go. Then sight two landmarks along that bearing and off you go!

Best advice I can offer is to go to a big open county park and practice. Then go somewhere with some topographical variety and some trees and pratice some more.

Good luck!

[Old Hiker]

Learned mine in Boy Scouts. Any Scout Troop could help, probably.

[Hikes in Rain]

Get an old Scout manual or fieldbook. Great instructions there. Honestly, as IceAge says, it's really not that hard. But it does take practice.

[garlic08]

I've hiked those trails you mentioned, and throw in the Arizona Trail, without GPS. I know how to use a GPS and I like the technology, but I choose not to carry one when I hike.

I've been picking up lessons in route finding my whole life, from navigating while Dad drove, to Boy Scouts, to bicycling my way around a major city as a kid, to increasingly difficult hiking, and most recently a 10-year career in wildland firefighting in Colorado (heavy GPS use there). Before that I had a career as a design engineer and I worked with land surveyors, too--the people who make the maps. So it'll be hard for me to tell you how to learn it. It's been a life-long process for me. It's become second nature, so I don't even think about it.

One tip I learned on the lesser-known Western trails is rely heavily on my watch. I set the hourly chime as a reminder to mark my best estimated position on my map in pen. That way I have my progress plotted, I make sure I'm still on my intended route, I have a good idea of my hiking pace so I can extrapolate where I'll be in the next hour or at the end of the day, etc. Knowing your pace in various conditions will also allow you to time your hike to a known critical point where you need to make a decision. If you know it's 1.3 miles to faint trail junction that might not be signed, and you know your pace is 2 minutes per 0.1 mile (3 mph), set your watch alarm for 26 minutes. It's amazing how well that works. I use my watch sometimes more than my compass.

I guess you want to start simple and find out what "tricks" work for you. You can probably find more than you need to know in books at outfitters and on the Web.

[Mags]

For those that have hiked the CDT, PNT, or even the PCT, how/where/when did you learn your map, compass, GPS, and orienteering skills?

I took a class with the local chapter of the Rhode Island AMC. Two two-hour sessions of classroom work and one morning of field exercises. I learned with 7.5" maps...and 10' contour lines! The basics, however, did not change.

As for GPS, self taught. If you can count to ten..you can use UTM.

Many local outing clubs, REIs, etc. will offer free or inexpensive classes.

Once you learn? Go out an practice! If I can learn in the second most densely populated state...anyone can learn.


I found these sites helpful for map,compass and GPS use:
http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/
http://www.gpsnuts.com/myGPS/GPS/Tut.../Maps/maps.htm

Would you say that orienteering is different in the eastern forests vs. the wide open west?

Heck yeah. In CO, I can often just eyeball where I am going and take if from there (wide open spaces) vs. the deep woods of say Maine.

Of course, Eastern 'wilderness' areas tend to have a good network of trails to get places. Off-trail hiking in CO is more feasible and needed at times.

Of course, in places like being above canyon in Utah, there is sometimes a tad too much open space!

I mean, isn't part of the day spent being misplaced and trying to calculate where to go and where you are?

Yep..but only if I am not paying attention. If I daydreamed (which I did) I often zigged where I should have zagged on the CDT!

Also, it is feasible to find your way in an isolated area with only a map and compass?

I did the CDT without a GPS fwiw.


A GPS can be helpful and it is probably a good skill to learn..but they are easy to use. UTM coords are on base-10 and broken into centimeter grids. Easy-peasy/Mac-n-cheesy!

It's amazing how well that works. I use my watch sometimes more than my compass.

Ditto! Dead-reckoning is often very useful.

[vamelungeon]

A good way to practice using your GPS is geocaching.
I have a book here called "Be Expert With Map and Compass" that is very good, maybe a little more detailed than you might want.

[Pedaling Fool]

I haven’t walked out west yet, but I’ve done a lot of bushwacking.

It is easier than you would think. But then again of all the bushwacking and off-trail hiking I’ve done, using a map and compass to find the AT or a road or a town. I’m sure there are those that could find a smaller target, but thus far I’ve not had to develop those skills. In other words, when I’m trying to get back on the AT I know it’s either east/west of my position and I just have to walk in that direction, now to find a particular point on the AT, well that’s another problem.

I often inadvertently walk off the AT, this is kind of common for me so I’ve learned that it’s easier to use my map and compass to relocate the trail. I've bushwacked in every state along the AT, except Georgia and W. Virginia.

In Penn I ended up in an old farm field with a dilapidated house next to a road, luckily I found the name of the road on my map. However, (and this is a problem I have with many AT maps) the direction I had to go went off the map, so I used a little imagination in what I thought the road would do combined with the fact that the AT is an unbroken line north to south, therefore I should eventually run into it. I eventually did and yes I yellow-blazed.

It really does help to know you pace and keep an eye on the compass, your watch and the lay of the land/landmarks. Also keep checking back with the map, it’s easy to make a mistake with just one look at the map and relying solely on your compass/watch after that.

It is a little scary at first not being able to rely on markers/blazes, but you get use to it with time.

[Dogwood]

I don't consider myself an expert land navigator or orienteering wizard, but like you, when I knew I wanted to start taking on lesser used more remote hikes sometimes without established tread or bushwacking routes I also knew I had to become proficient at land navigation. You probably have looked at maps before and already know some things about them, like how to identify lakes, rivers, mountains, ridges, roads, forested areas, depicted trails etc., read topographical contour lines signifying elevations and grade, scale, and find magnetic and true north, etc. It sounds like you already know some of the very basics about compasses. That's where I started from too.

I took two 4 hr classes at REI on Basic Land Navigation. The first one was very basic; although a beginner's class, I learned some things that I assumed I already knew. The second class was somewhat more advanced. It was good because it included a short field trip which allowed more hands on experience by putting into practice many of the things I learned in the beginner class. I think the teacher was very good at relating the material too. For REI members the cost is minimal, IMO, like $20. REI also holds beginner and more advanced classes on GPS navigation. Later, I took a wk long survivalist's class, learned some additional land navigational techniques, and put into greater practice what I already knew. Like most things the more you practice at it the better you get. Although, it's not absolutely necessary for you to take a class to be able to land navigate safely, especially on the trails you mentioned, I find it helps grasping the subject, especially if you are a raw beginner, if you are able to ask questions in person and have hands on demonstrations and explanations in person. It's not all that hard.

If you seek a thin rudimentary beginner's type book with large print and color prints that aid in understanding land naviagation the Falcon guide "Map and Compass" might prove useful to you. Putting into practice what is in this book probably is all you need to navigate safely on the trails you mentioned during typical thru-hiker season.

A handy practical decent for field use as a beginner pocket size book(smaller and fewer pics and smaller print) by Cicerone Publications titled "Navigation" written by Peter Hawkins which includes one short chapter on GPS, is also available. What I find nice about this handy little light wt guide is that it is weather resistent.

If you want a smallish sized slightly more advanced, with two chapters on GPS, but without the color pics(just black and whites) and not weather resistant you might want to look at "Land Navigation Handbook" written by W.S. Kals.

[bdpalace]

Free and proven effective:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...-26/index.html

[safn1949]

Free and proven effective:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...-26/index.html

Excellent,that's what I tried to tell someone else in another thread.That the Army has been doing the old fashioned way for a long time.They said you couldn't find where you were with a map & compass with any precision.Uh huh.

[Marvin]

I really hate the thought of buying and even learning how to use a GPS.

Tilly, using a GPS may seem intimidating to you if you've never used one, but in reality it is very easy, just as Mags said above. However, if you take the time and effort to learn the old fashioned map and compass, you will be in much better shape when the battery of your GPS gets discharged, or the unit fails for some other reason. You will also have much more fun during your hikes.

[rhjanes]

Hook up with a local orienteering club. They will be happy to show you the basics all the way to advanced. Then attend some of their meets. Start on "white", or "yellow" course level. Move to harder courses as you feel comfortable.

Here's one in Indiana.
http://www.indyo.org/

Heres USOF.
http://www.us.orienteering.org/

[Just Jeff]

I think teaching yourself orienteering from a book would be much more time-consuming than taking a class. I learned from several military schools, and it's really pretty easy when put into practice...but pretty difficult to explain in writing in a way that's intuitive. So I'd recommend getting a book or two, but only to supplement a couple of classes at REI or a local hiking club. You could probably find a Boy Scout who could do it as a community service requirement or something.

Orienteering is pretty fun, but it's even more effective when you really know how to read the map and can do terrain nav w/o the compass. The west has a lot of open terrain with readily identifiable landmarks like big peaks; it's pretty easy to keep your position once you know it (but you still have to pay attention or you'll become "unfound.") In the heavily forested east, you need a better feel for terrain nav b/c you can't always find your location just by looking at that big mountain to the west, and a lot of the trails aren't on the maps.

[LIhikers]

A very good way to learn these skills is to join a local orienteering club. Members will be able to give you personal help, if they don't have classes. Then try one of the orienteering meets, at the easiest level. Then it's a matter of practice makes perfect.

Here's a basic explanation http://www.thecompassstore.com/howtousemapa.html

[Tilly]

Thanks everybody for taking the time to respond to this thread. I've gotten alot of ideas and the whole subject seems a little less intimidating.

[Rocket Jones]

I know the Prince William National Forest has several orienteering routes set up for visitors to use. You can ask at their Ranger station for more information.

Might be worth checking with state or national parks near you.

[beakerman]

I teach orienteering for my troop and do our orienteering events for our district. I learned my skills in the scouts many moons ago. You can always ask one of your local troops to give you a hand with at least the basics. They may not be able to handle declination because on proper orienteering maps declination has already been taken into account, but they can certainly get you started. I would suggest though that if you are looking for the scouts to do a good turn for you yo umight want to consider doing one for them and ask for an even trade..consider teaching a merit badge course based on your skills. Ask and they will help you figure out what you can do. Everyone has a specialty, hobby or interest that they can do.

Also look into your local orienteering clubs. Don't laugh I didn't know it until about two years ago but Houston TX has one and we aren't known for our topography down here.

[rhjanes]

I teach orienteering for my troop and do our orienteering events for our district. I learned my skills in the scouts many moons ago. You can always ask one of your local troops to give you a hand with at least the basics. They may not be able to handle declination because on proper orienteering maps declination has already been taken into account, but they can certainly get you started. I would suggest though that if you are looking for the scouts to do a good turn for you yo umight want to consider doing one for them and ask for an even trade..consider teaching a merit badge course based on your skills. Ask and they will help you figure out what you can do. Everyone has a specialty, hobby or interest that they can do.

Also look into your local orienteering clubs. Don't laugh I didn't know it until about two years ago but Houston TX has one and we aren't known for our topography down here.

Yep, that would be "HOC". There is also a club in LA and here in Dallas area we have NTOA (North Texas Orienteering Association), we do about 9 meets a year (during the school year). At every meet Ralph Cortney teaches several beginner classes on it. If you get the boy scout orienteering handbook, Ralph literally "wrote the book" on it. But he will make you feel just like a friend within a few minutes of meeting him.

[JAK]

Those orienteering maps are pretty wild looking. Seems like an art in itself, somewhat separate from or in addition to regular map work. A sport I would like to try some day.

I've done alot of sailing and chart work, but still get lost in the woods. I am also a natural whiz and math and geometry, but still get lost. I also took map work during my basic training, but still get lost. In the process I have gotten rather good at bushwacking and map and compass work. So there is your answer. Now if you aren't as trained or qualified as myself, you might not need to get lost so often as me in order to become such an expert. Just saying it worked for me, and continues to serve me well.