How to Do Everything - Hiking

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I usually carry both a map and compass and a gps on long trips. That said Ive hiked all my life on day trips with nothing but knowledge of the areas and dead reckoning. yes I know the jokes about why the word dead is in dead reckoning. in forty eight years I have only been "lost" once. That was in a white out. I had the map and compass but we left a known area before taking any bearings ( the snow had not closed in yet.) Once the white out hit and not being in a known location the map and compass were almost useless. When we did pull out the map ( my companions insisted) we were actually 150 yds from our car. After consulting the map and plotting a bearing we skied two miles and 1000 vertical feet down away from the car. We did finally reach a known location and made it out. The next day I bought a GPS. I still regard them as back up devices to knowledge and intuition. Mankind has navigated far longer without these aids then with them.

Most sure fire way to find your way, drop the compass, become intimately familiar with terrain features and reading terrain features on a map, and move along smartly.

I enjoy the challenge of navigating by map and compass and believe it is a good skill to have, but it is not foolproof, even for someone who is competent. The requirement to do a 'resection', (aka find current location on a map), involves observing two land features, and then being able to correctly identify them on the map. That is often easier said than done, especially if a person is already lost. I always take a GPS unit with me as a backup safety precaution.

READ A RATTLESNAKE'S BODY LANGUAGE.. why would anyone need to know this? i deal with rattlers a lot. it dont matter if the snake is hunting or sun bathing. if u step on it, it will bight. it dont matter what mood the snake is in, if your in rang of a bight, move slowly away. it will still bight you happy or not and in the end it seems simple to me. eat the snake or just leave it alone. the best thing u can do in rattle snake country is ask the locals if they have became used to humans or not. rucky chuck, nor cal. perfect place to get rattle snakes to eat but the snakes here are familiar with humans, they will slither right across your foot and wont rattle but even with that said they will bight u the second u move. easy place to get to but very bad place for children.

Yes, navigation skills in general are fading. But also I think reliance on technology even as simple as a compass passes up other tools and techniques largely unused by modern hikers. All my life, I've rarely a compass, and almost never even carry one EVER. Against the advice of the so called experts, I generally rely exclusively on the sky and terrain (sometimes with a map) for navigation. Just as ancient sea goers, and literally every body before the development of the compass, I use only the sky. The moon, the sun, the stars even the wind and time of day can help you determine directions quite accurately if you know how to use them. I think everyone should know how to navigate using the sky. It’s a very ancient, highly developed and reliable method. also few tools are ever needed… I use only my wrist watch to pin down degrees and tend to be just as accurate as my hiking mates with their fancy compasses and GPS units… though cloudy days can mess with you sometimes, a clear day and night is optimal.

Dont hold the compass in your left hand if your wearing a wedding band.

I never trust the compass reading that the other scout dad gives me. He keeps forgetting that his hydration pack valve has a magnetic clip on it. He hasn't given me the correct reading on the first or secont try in over a year! LOL

With the advent of cell phones, gps, plb's and other electronic toys map and compass skills are deteriorating or may never even be learned. I learned how to use compasses decades ago using an editon of "Be an Expert with Map and Compass" which is still in print, and then had those skills refined in the US Army and two different forestry colleges. Military people and foresters are the kind of folks who spend lots of time nnavigating around the outdoors and their lives depend on their map and compass skills. Hanging out with people who do orienteering or geocaching is also a good way to pick up these skills. I feel that topo map and compass knowledge are two of the most critical and important skills for anyone who ventures outdoors. I even carry two compasses with me, in case one gets lost or broken. You don't need expensive ones; I have always had fairly good use with Silvas that cost under $20.

Drop the compass and get a good topo map. Land Navigation by Terrain Association. Find a promanant land feature and direct yourself off of that.

Heck with the pantyhose! Men's dress sock under smartwool socks. 25 miles a day for 4 days with that and only one hot spot. USMC!

The areas that truly require GPS are those where a compass just won't work, like a lava bed (lava is often magnetic). I live in New Mexico, and often travel in the Grants Malpais lava bed.

As many have mentioned in Backpacker, the best place to use a GPS is in an area where you can see most of the sky, so your GPS can find several GPS satellites and give you a good location.

The areas that truly require GPS are those where a compass just won't work, like a lava bed (lava is often magnetic). I live in New Mexico, and often travel in the Grants Malpais lava bed.

As many have mentioned in Backpacker, the best place to use a GPS is in an area where you can see most of the sky, so your GPS can find several GPS satellites and give you a good location.

dont forget the following mnemonics:
Timid (true) Can (compass)
Virgins (variation) Dead (declination)
Make (magnetic) Men (magnetic)
Dull (declination) Vote (variation)
Companions (compass) Twice (true)
Add Whiskey (west) add Elections (East)

works even if you are not politically correct (Note: variation is error inherent to the measuring device).

I calculate how long I travel Adam West (or as I call it: True West) then I subtract 4 from the original number. If I reach Kanye West, I know I've gone to far off course and I usually turn around.

I agree with WayneB. The moment you start to wonder in the direction you FEEL is right is the moment you get yourself even more lost. If you don't know for sure which way to go then don't move! It's good to be in-tune with nature Donald, but you can't always trust your head.

I don't like the "East is Least, West is Best" type navigation memory aids because I find that confusing. Here is how I remember things:

East declination = + (positive)
West declination = - (negative)

True Bearing = Magnetic Bearing + ( one of the above declinations, positive East or negative West)

TB = MB plus ( declination, E is pos, W is neg )


Magnetic Bearing = True Bearing - (pos East or neg West declination)

MB = TB - ( declination, E is pos, W is neg)

These are easier for me.

A penciled in line of travelis also useful as you hike around obstacles

Declination Best set uisng the notation on Topographic maps for the area vs. standard bar chart for the world

Sometime ago I sent a comment to someone at Backpacker regarding your solution for using Declination. It seemed almost impossible to find the right contact.

Your declination solution was wrong in the magazine and is still incorrect on this website. However your marketing department is able to flood my inbox with Backpacker Ads.

& now the real solution. You should tell your readers the entire rhyme & then they will be able to solve their declination equation

Declination Least = Magnetic Track is Least
Declination West = Magnetic Track is Best

Darrel