Basically, backcountry activities such as hiking, orienteering, hunting, climbing, geocaching, fishing, four-wheeling and camping are all loads of fun – until you get lost. That’s why you should know how to navigate. But navigation doesn’t start when you find yourself hopelessly lost. Navigation begins BEFORE your adventure begins so that you don’t place yourself in harm’s way. Let’s take a look at the top tips for successful adventure navigation.
- Trust your compass – many people get lost by trusting their “instincts” instead of their compass.
- Always orient your map to the landscape – best way to do this is to orient North on the map with the North bearing on your compass. I also face north when making directional decisions off of a map. A miss-oriented map can easily lead to confusion.
- Be sure of your Declination – the difference between True North and magnetic north is called your declination. This is critical for accurate compass use. If you don’t understand declination, you weren’t paying attention in your map/compass class. If your map is fairly new, use the declination value on the map and adjust your compass as required. If your map is older than 5 years…you’re not very well prepared. Most modern GPS Units calculate the declination value for you. This value should match the value on your map.
- Always measure for yourself – you’ve prepared for your trip, now you should use what you learned. Bearing (direction of travel) and distance (number of steps or lapsed time) are the two most important measurements to you when traveling in the backcountry. Always measure for yourself, do not rely on anyone else for this. If your partner comes up with something different, sort it out. If you come up with the same thing as your partner, then move on in confidence.
- Never travel at night – although a star lit sky can offer accurate navigational data, traveling at night is risky. Only experienced travelers should travel after dark. The major risk of traveling at night is injury. It is difficult to judge “footfall” distances and terrain in the dark.
- Keep a log book – if you are traveling from station to station (map feature to map feature) keep a written log of the bearing and distance decisions you’ve made. This will aid you in recovering from navigational errors and will also aid you in returning to a known location.
- If you think you’re lost S.T.O.P. oftentimes admitting you are lost is the toughest thing to do. It is also the most important thing you can do. Once you’re lost, Sit, Think, Observe and Plan. S.T.O.P. will save you.
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