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

[Paul Robison]

because i already have a reputation for beating a dead horse...

... if you get lost off trail,  it is all the more reason to buy a GPS,  so you 
can have a LOT more map areas with you ; )

real life story,   we were happily plugging away right before idyllwild when i 
hurt my ankle last year... and on halfmile's maps we could see the corner of a 
road about 1/4 mile off the trail,  we considerred bushwhaking it to maybe hitch 
in early cause my ankle was really swelling.
...  in the end thank god we didn't this was the spur of a dead end road.  with 
a GPS,  we would never have been tempted to make such a mistake.  thank god Echo 
was able to carry basically both of our gear the rest of the way to paradise 
cafe...

~Outpost.




________________________________
From: Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com>
To: Paul Robison <paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com>
Cc: Gerry Zamora <gerry0625 at gmail.com>; . <pct-l at backcountry.net>; Ken Murray 
<kmurray at pol.net>
Sent: Sun, February 13, 2011 11:36:50 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Navigation. Which Compass skills are needed?

You don't need an expensive compass.  I carried a cheapo, and didn't use it once 
as the only time it really mattered was in the High Sierra where we had no trail 
for long periods.  We happened to have mostly sunny days, and the sun is due 
south at noon, and you can extrapolate easily from that for the other times of 
the day.  Everywhere else, we had trail, and if you took a wrong turn, it wasn't 
orienteering you needed to get back, but basically following your footsteps back 
until you figured it out.  

That being said, I've used topo maps and compass for over 40 years, and am 
comfortable looking at terrain and maps.  Even with that however, we had many 
discussions in our group in the High Sierra, as to which was the best way to 
proceed.  We were lost for parts of everyday, in that we had no trail, and if 
you couldn't see the terrain because of forest, you just had to continue until 
you figured it out.  Others were not so fortunate.  I met several groups who 
didn't have experience in this, and were lost for several days each.  One pair, 
coming over Donohue Pass took the wrong stream and were lost for a day.  Two 
other groups ended up going East and out into the Mono Lake area, and the other 
ended up going west into the Sierra Foothills.  

No one was hurt, but it wasn't fun, and they were scared in the snowy Sierra 
without maps for the areas off trail.  My suggestion to anyone who doesn't have 
map and compass skills is to practice in the deserts a bit.  Really look at your 
maps, and check out your compass.  Just get a feel for it.  If when you enter 
the Sierra there is a lot of snow, as we had last year, and you are still not 
comfortable, try to hook up with some folks who are.  Without great skill 
yourself, it's just the prudent thing to do.  If it's mostly melted out, don't 
worry about it, just go for it, but if it ends up deep snow, get with some 
friends.  We did, and the hardest part of the trip also ended up being the most 
rewarding and the most fun, and much safer.  

Shroomer 



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