[pct-l] Navigation. Which Compass skills are needed?

[Paul Robison]

I could not disagree more...

I use a brunton tdcl (60$) at work and am skilled in orienteering ... It is a good skill to know, even though we use WAAS to verify our location before I use a radar...

On the pct, I found compass orienteering to be difficult, cumbersome, and not worth the time.  Is is generally obvious when you are on the trail or not,  and between halfmiles maps and yogis guide, the crossigs of roads etc are well explained.  Also for less experienced orienteers finding a good feature to identify is difficult in places because the peaks really can look the same... Not that you cant do it, but it's time consuming, and for what... Yu're not finding your way 'to the next peak' your going along a trail... A trail that is typically obvious and well maintained.

When I came across a fellow thru hiker last year who had his gps,  he turned it on and said 'we're here, 2.7 miles to water and 4 miles from camp...3hrs 22 minutes till sunset.'. I was sold...

I'll be hiking with a garmin Dakota this year, and a cheapo compass for emergency backup, but never to find the trail direction itself

~Paul


Sent from my iPod

On 2011-02-13, at 1:45 PM, Ken Murray <kmurray at pol.net> wrote:

> Q: "Hi every body I was wandering which skills whith the compass do I need  
> to find my way and navigate on the trail?
> I use the wilderness press hand books.
> Thanks for helping out Julian"
> 
> A: "Any simple compass with a base plate. Adjustable declination is nice to
> have. You don't need a sighting mirror."
> 
> As you can see, Julian, here on the PCT, we don't worry much about having any skills, 
> we just focus on having the *right* equipement, so we look good!  :)
> 
> First, I generally think of "map and compass skills" as a package.  I would start off
> by saying that you really need to know how to read a map.  I guess even more basic is
> that you need to HAVE a map.  
> 
> You need to be able to find north, and so orient yourself, and a map.
> You need to be able to find yourself on a map, given views to landmarks.
> So, you need to be able to accurately determine angle to any visible landmark.
> 
> You need to develop the sense, by looking at a map,  of the direction that you will be
> hiking for the next hour, and the approximate time it will take you to get to 
> obvious features, such as a stream crossing.  Experienced people can often time it
> within minutes.
> 
> As you might guess, I am not of the school of hiking all day, then trying to figure 
> things out.  I prefer to remain continuously oriented, so that I know in a very short 
> time if I am moving in a wrong direction, or in a situation where I need to pay close
> attention instead of just enjoying the view.  It becomes second nature after awhile, 
> so that you don't really have to think about it much.  You get to the point where you
> will subconsciously think "I should be seeing a rounded peak to the NNW in about 10 minutes, 
> and a hanging valley to the ENE in about 20 min", as you move along. 
> 
> It is really worthwhile to take a nav course, particularly one that involves 
> "on the ground" practice.  Sierra Club in many areas offer such, at low/no cost.
> The one in Los Angeles/Orange Co is outstanding. 
> 
> In some areas, like the High Sierra, you barely need anything.  The PCT is a freeway among
> trails, with few side trails, except near roads.  In other places, there are so many 
> false trails, direction may be most important, as you'll never figure out which dirt
> path among many is actually the trail (thanks, ORV!)
> 
> Oh, and as for gear, I think declination adjustment is worth it--saves you a lot 
> of calculating, with a chance of error when you are tired, and I prefer the models
> that DO have a mirror.  The mirror is double functioning as a rescue signaling device, 
> and they generally fit into a lid that fits over the compass, which helps keep dirt out 
> of the mechanism.  You CAN get by with a very basic model, but you'll 
> spend a lot more time figuring out what you need to know.
>  However, your mileage may vary, as they say.
> 
> I've been happy with a Silva guide 426, which is high quality but inexpensive($20), has all the 
> bells and whistles.  I'd avoid the "military" stuff, which tends to be junk. Suunto and 
> Brunton also make reliably good models.  
> 
> 
> 
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