Even with a gps in your phone, knowing how to navigate using a map and a compass is a great life skill. This information can help you become more familiar with the map and compass. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Before you can use a compass to navigate you need to be familiar with the main features. These webbased, interactive workbooks will display on any device that has access to the internet. The essential wilderness navigator philip werner outdoor skills books, wilderness navigation tools i have been reading a lot of books about compass navigation this year to improve my skills as an offtrail navigator and to figure out if there is a better way to teach compass navigation to. Line up your direction of travel arrow with your landmark, then rotate the bezel until the needle lines up with the. Along with a good quality topographical map of the area youre navigating, knowing how to use a compass will ensure that youre never lost. Heres a stepbystep guide to using compass bearings. The direction you need to go in this case, 60 degrees. Less obvious examples, that will take experience to appreciate, are the. Find and transfer bearings in the field and on a map duration. Be expert with map and compass by bjorn kjellstrom.
Orient the map with the terrain, using the technique already described. Compasses come in many designs, but most compass features are the same as those found in an alltime classic compass like the silva ranger. But some of the best secrets are found in unmarked clues. Put the compass on your palm and watch the magnetic needle. Introduction land navigation requires the use of many tools. How to teach children how to use a compass sciencing. The book is very clear and informative for newbies or those with an urban understanding of topo maps and compasses. Joe comuzzi and i taught the amcs map and compass course again last weekend at harvard cabin in pinkham notch, a 2day class which combines a morning of instruction with two. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Ensure that the compass bezel is set to 0 degrees i. Using a compass and a map posted on august 22, 2014 todays digital reliance on gps navigation has all but relegated compass and map use to hardcore outdoor enthusiasts, orienteering clubs, and geography buffs. Were going to assume you are working with the most common type of compass used for navigation, the baseplate or orienteering compass, and know what the various bit are called. Even if you know nothing of how to use a compass or map when you begin reading, youll have a good.
Watch to learn the parts of the compass, how to set your declination and how to take a bearing from a map and in the field. Google maps for ipad 2 includes a compass you can use to orient yourself with the map. These devices include smartphones including iphone, android and windows, tablets, ipads, desktop computers, laptops and more. Place the fully opened compass on the map with the scale edge alongside a northsouth meridian longitudinal line, grid line. How to use a navigation map and compass in the woods guy. This is the book that the mountaineers use for their basic wilderness navigation course. Tells you which direction to point the compass when youre taking or following a bearing. Compass housing contains the magnetic needle and has the points of the compass printed on a circular, rotating bezel compass needle floats in liquid so it can rotate freely but without being too sensitive to movement, the red end points to magnetic north.
Finding your way without map or compass during his remarkable lifetime, harold gatty became one of the worlds great navigators in 1931, he and wiley post flew around the world in a recordbreaking eight days and, to the benefit of posterity, recorded in this book much of. Fleming teaches a method that does not require drawing declination lines on your map, nor do you need to add or subtract when going from map to compass and vice versa. Tips on using your gps device in concert with map and compass techniques. Amc map and compass class at harvard cabin in new hampshire.
A basic paper map is the simplest, most reliable and most effective way to find your location and navigate somewhere else. The book starts slowly, introducing the importance of map and compass skills and how theyre used in every day life. This popular, easytouse orienteering handbook has been helping people find their way for more than fifty years. You can learn to identify the basic components of the compass, take an. The art of navigation cicerone techniques 01 by pete hawkins isbn. First, check where youre currently facing or traveling. Gps devices are great, but basic map and compass skills are essential for anyone who spends time outdoors. They need to know that the earth has a magnetic north pole, which is always in the up position on a map, and that the needle of a compass always points toward the north.
And, of course, a bit of knowhow it becomes a powerful tool for navigation. I have used a military lensatic compass, but find the transparent base of a map compass superior. This book provides excellent instruction on land navigation. The book describes the process of wilderness navigation using tried and true old school methods. Once youve mastered orienting a map to the field using a compass, you can now use that map to reach a destination thats out of your sight. 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. Align the forward edge of the compass with your destination, camp 23. It includes reading a topographical map, using a compass, navigating in the field, planning an outing, and understanding the weather. X trustworthy source princeton university leading academic institution devoted to expanding and sharing knowledge go to source road maps or atlases are detailed maps used to display highways, state roads, and other roads in a given area. Has sections on night navigation and weather forecasting that other books dont cover. One is to use a piece of string or flexible wire to trace the intended route. I also have a brunton pocket transit, but it is by no means a map compass.
Now hold the compass on the map and rotate yourself and the mapcompass together until the orienting arrow and the compass needle are aligned to magnetic. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. But then you dive into the nittygritty in part 1, learning about the details of topographic maps how theyre made, what the squiggly lines represent, the various scales mapmakers use, how to tell paved roads from dirt roads. Using compass is kind of like rotating a paper map in your hands, in order to properly orient it with your actual position. Be expert with map and compass, the complete orienteering. Be expert with map and compass bjorn kjellstrom, carina. The mountaineers organization in seattle uses wilderness navigation. It is a useful tool in planning a trip or locating your position on the ground. With your map properly oriented, position your compass on the map with the straight side of the base plate touching both your current location and destination location. Guide to safe exploration of the wilderness, with instructions for using a compass, reading maps, planning an outing, navagating in the field, and understanding. About maps a map is a scaled representation of the earths surface. I went to a really good weekend map and compass skills and topo map reading class at the smokey mt. This guide on how to use a compass and map should be enough to get you started and give you the confidence to use the skills for yourself in the hills. Finding your way using map, compass, altimeter, and gps by bob burns and his son mike burns.
The essential wilderness navigator section hikers backpacking. While entire books have been written about navigating with a compass, every compass. A small drainage where deer or elk might escape detection or where you might find emergency shelter will make a small indent or v, on a contour linewhere the water has lowered the. Finding your way without map or compass harold gatty. How to navigate by map and compass appalachian mountain club. The wealth of valuable data and advice in this volume much of it. It needs no batteries, works with any map, and even works without a map. Next, lay the compass on your map so that the long edgedirection of travel arrow is aligned with the northsouth meridian lines.
I have been reading a lot of books about compass navigation this year to. I have also done surveying, where i am, in a sense making the map. Best book or reference guide for using maps, a compass. Map and compass outdoor experiences can become safer and more interesting if you know how to use a map and compass. Explain to kids that a map is a birdseye view of the world and how navigators use the four cardinal directions.
The case cover should be pointing toward the top of the. Then identify your current location and the location you want to reach on the map. After tracing out your route, pull the string straight and measure it against the scale line in the map legend. Compass basics a compass is one of the most basic navigation tools any hiker can own.
Clear, so you can see the map below it, it has at least one straight edge for taking bearings and transferring them to your map rulers. Gps chapter completely updated to reflect newer models and. Obvious examples of the simpler tools available are the protractor, map, compass, and pace count. I have been using a map type compass for over 60 years, and find this book excellent.
Luckily it isnt too hard to use your compass and when paired with a good map. The second half of the book is more geared towards those looking to compete in orienteering events for which the author regularly opines his deeply abiding love, and thus isnt essential for mastery of map and compass, but i know of no better manual for navigational skills for hikers, hunters, fishermen, and. There is no need to turn the compass or the compass housing to do this. The official navigation textbook used in outdoor education courses by thousands of students. An orienteering compass is part of the essential survival gear, and most people take one with them into the mountains without knowing actually how in the world does it work. This book concentrates on using the two most important tools for navigating which are good compass with adjustable declination and mirror and a proper map. While entire books have been written about navigating with a compass, every new compass user needs to know the basic concepts. The compass ebooks are an electronic version of our popular materials. Clear, so when placed on top of the map you can still see the map features. North arrow of the lensatic compass will point 11 degrees west of true north. I was on the navigation committee for years, was lucky enough to meet bob and attend a lecture by him, and usually reread the book once a year, even though ive been an. A compass is one of the most basic navigation tools any hiker can own. Map reading lesson 2 unit 10 land nav by map and compass. Route evaluation essay taking bearings, measuring distance and estimated time.
Popout map london by compass maps, other format barnes. Turn the compass housing until north on the dial is aligned with north on your map. She does not go over utm and gps, for that the previously mentioned wilderness nav book is great, or this free online tutorial by map tools. The compass feature works from only your current location, so it may have limited application. The needle should swing off to sides, unless you are facing north. The classic map and compass navigation guiderevised for the age of gps gps devices are great, but they can break, get lost, or easily be hampered by weather conditions, making basic map and compass skills essential for anyone who spends time outdoors. How to use a compass navigating with a map and compass. If youre looking to feel more comfortable in the wilderness, this book will teach you. You need to make use of some or all of the compass features for different tasks. Turn the degree dial until the orienting arrow aligns itself with the magnetic needle. How to use an orienteering compass survival gear book. How to use a compass the most important piece of gear to help you find your way. Put your compass down on a flat surface and align one edge of the compass with your starting point in this case, camp 22. Also called the azimuth ring, this outer circle has.
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