Navigation, the Cinderella of bushcraft and survival?

[BenR]

I spent a very enjoyable Saturday walking in the Peak District. Everyone else seemed to have stayed at home so I had the whole of Bleaklow to myself.

As I was working my way round (and doing a little map and compass work) it occurred to me that a great many threads on Bushcraft UK seem to involve stuff like lighting fires by rubbing a coke can with chocolate yet there is very little on such fundamental skills as finding your way around.

To me, navigation is as essential a bushcraft/survival skill as any other. How can you hope to find your way around in the great outdoors if you can't use a map and compass? Why go through all the business of building a shelter, starting a fire, finding water and trapping food when you can simply navigate your way out of a survival situation?

Why do such skills never get talked about? Is it simply that route finding in poor visibility is not as sexy as fire lighting by friction?

 

[johnboy]

I think you hit the nail on the head.

It's just not as sexy as all the other stuff.
Navigation is an art as much as carving a spoon.
But always gets over looked.

' I'm assuming you can navigate' Ray Mears says in Essential Bushcraft then gets on with loads of info about axes, knifes, eating torido worms and drinking water from vines.

In fairness there are books available about navigation. But there as dull as dish water compared to living off the land and building snow holes.

Navigation is a bit bookish involves a bit of maths so could be considered a bit boring.

Knowing exactly where you are Is a fundamental skill be it in the Peak district on the M6 or deep in the rainforest.

I navigated across the North Moor on Dartmoor once using a 1:50,000 map a button compass and a pacing cord. In typical dartmoor clag.
and a very satisfying 'exercise' it was too. (in a peverse way)

However leave the UK with it's excellent OS mapping.
Go not to far to say the Pyrenees......

The maps are inaccurate the relief is incorrect and good navigation becomes a challange, and thats Mainland Europe. Go further afield and the mapping gets even worse and accurate navigation becomes as much of a potential life saver as fire lighting.

Maybe there should be a Navigation forum on Bushcraft UK???

Cheers

John

 

[boaty]

Is it simply that route finding in poor visibility is not as sexy as fire lighting by friction?

Navigation might be seen as a 'solved' problem - all you need is your GPS gadget and a head full of map references

But what happens when your batteries run out

 

[ESpy]

Well, with two different metals - say copper and zinc, you fashion a rudimentary battery, using some suitable electrolyte, like vinegar, lemon juice - hey, I bet urine would work...

I'll get me coat.

 

[martin]

Well, with two different metals - say copper and zinc, you fashion a rudimentary battery, using some suitable electrolyte, like vinegar, lemon juice - hey, I bet urine would work...

I'll get me coat.

I know "Garmin Etrex" are waterproof, but I'm not lending you mine. :shock: :-? :rolmao: :yikes:

 

[Fallow Way]

Hi there,

I would have to say that learning how to navigate is just as `sexy` as any other skill.

I smile every single time I look at Polaris (true-North Star) or walk with the Sun showing me it is South East I am heading.


Nomad

 

[alick]

Did you know - I didn't until I found out the hard way - that back in the days before GPS, the sailor's DECCA navigation system had to be fed a position accurate within about 4 nautical miles, otherwise it couldn't work out where it was and lock on to a signal.

Now there was this sailing boat that we hired.....
Everytime we started the engine (becalmed in fog, charging the battery...) it wiped the DECCA. Taught me never to rely on gadgets !

On a serious note, navigation is one of the major subjects covered in night classes run by the Royal Yachting Association. This goes a bit beyond the basic Silva compass / OS map material and is interesting if you're into the subject.

I'd also be interested to hear any tips from orienteers, that's a game where fast & accurate navigation and an ability to read terrain quickly must be a real edge.

Cheers.

 

[alick]

Johnboy,
Sounds like the voice of experience :-D

Were you using the Reynolds (was it) guidebook or the brown backed ones by Battagel. D**m, I remember those. Worst descriptions I've ever tried to work off !

 

[Mikey P]

Nav is one of those things that might not be 'sexy' but - let's face it - a large proprtion of people who find themselves in a 'survival' situation would not be there if they could navigate properly. Think of navigation as preventative rather than curative.

Believe me, there comes a magic moment when the features on the ground and the marks on the map suddenly make sense and then you've got it. In terms of maths, it's not that difficult - people get scared of converting bearings from maps to magnetic North and vice versa. There's a lot of rubbish talked about this but a very simple way to remember it:

'Grid to Mag, Add. Mag to Grid, Get Rid.'

This means that when you move a map bearing from the map to your compass (say you want to walk on a bearing), you add the mgnetic variation for the region you're in (see the OS website for the right value). Conversely, if you take a bearing of a feature with your compass and you want to transfer it to a map, you subtract the magnetic variation from the bearing on your compass.

I learnt nav in the forces and, even though GPS is excellent (especially when maps are rubbish, like when someone suggested above), everyone should learn basic compass work. You can do this in the Scouts, with orienteering or rambling clubs, in the TA, or get a book and teach yourself - although it's easier for someone to show you. Once you've got it, you'll never forget it.

Now, once you've learnt the map and compass stuff, you can start to try things like looking at natural guides to direction, like the stars, plant growth and direction, etc. Then, you can try to nav using natural methods, knowing that, if you get into trouble, you can nav out using your map and compass or GPS skills.

Sorry if the above sounds a bit preachy but, once people actually have a go at compass work, they're often surprised at how easy it really is.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Brian]

I agree with Mike, get the basics of map and compass sorted then move onto the more complicated stuff. I also learnt map work in the forces and I had to be very accurate too as I was a Forward Observer directing Artillery fire. Once I had mastered the basics I was then shown night navigation and the use of hand angles, even had to do some exercises in the Oman to confirm what I'd been shown. It's very satisfying when you get it right.

Brian

 

[Roving Rich]

Well I learned navigation at secondary school and in the scouts. Its only let me down once when I first encountered crappy french maps.
Best practice i ever did was night time orienteering. Where you had to be aware of what is under your feet, moving from point to point around objects on a bearing.
Agood book on the subject - Mountain navigation by Peter Cliff, it seemed to be the best at the time, but things have moved on.
Cheers
Rich

 

[Justin Time]

On the basis that there's no such thing as a stupid question .... what are hand angles?

Justin