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With the news items of people getting put in terrible situations by relying on gadgets to get somewhere knowing the Basics never hurts. I thought this article was worth looking into especially when traveling in an unknown outdoors area:
With all the electronic gadgetry that exists -- cell phones, GPS units, personal locator beacons -- why bother learning how to navigate like pathfinders of the last (20th) century, with map and compass? Well, for starters you won't worry about your batteries failing you.
Sadly, I must admit that my map and compass skills are horribly, horribly rusty. Many years ago, while filling out some spare credits in my college days, I actually took an orienteering course in which I learned how to negotiate through the backcountry with map and compass. I recall that the first field trial ended miserably, with me and my partner finishing, if memory serves me well, ahem, dead last. But that was motivation, and we crushed the competition in the next field trial.
That class taught me that orienteering not only was fun, but that map-and-compass skills were valuable and shouldn't be overlooked.
But that was many, many years ago. About five years or so ago I invested in a book and a new compass with hopes of brushing off the rust that had bogged down my skills and once again becoming at least passable in the field. After all, it's easy to see the merits of being able to navigate in the backcountry with map and compass.
Well, sad to say but the book pretty much never stirred from its spot on the bookshelf, and the compass stayed safely tucked away in the drawer. But the arrival of a new book, or at least a new edition of an old, but venerable, book on orienteering has me once again anxious to get out in the field and rediscover those long-lost skills.
Be Expert With Map and Comp**** The Complete Orienteering Handbook ($18.95) first came out in 1955 when Bjorn Kjellstrom decided it was time the general public had a guide to help them attain map-and-compass skills. The late Mr. Kjellstrom certainly had the credentials for this task -- a Swedish champion in orienteering, he was one of the founders of the Swedish Orienteering Federation, and helped launch the U.S. Orienteering Federation, of which he was director of for several years.
The third edition of this book arrived in December, and it has been revised and updated by Mr. Kjellstorm's daughter, Carina Kjellstrom Elgin. While the book maintains the strong underpinning of how to become competent with map and comp**** Ms. Elgin has brought it into the 21st century by addressing GPS devices, noting helpful websites, and providing an updated guide to international orienteering symbols.
Perhaps the most obvious reason to become proficient with map and compass is what I noted in the second sentence above. Your batteries might fail you or there might not be a cell phone signal. More so, the skills improve your self-reliance, something that shouldn't ever be overlooked or undervalued.
The book starts slowly, introducing the importance of map and compass skills and how they're used in every day life. But then you dive into the nitty-gritty in Part 1, learning about the details of topographic maps -- how they're made, what the squiggly lines represent, the various scales mapmakers use, how to tell paved roads from dirt roads, and springs from wells. The authors even suggest field exercises you can try to hone your skills. And they provide a fold-out map attached to the book's back cover for use in developing your map-reading skills.
Compasses aren't given short shrift, either, as a primer on their history is contained in Part 2. This section of the book also details today's compass designs, explains what the various components and scales on compasses are used for, and instructs you on how to find your bearings. Again, the authors provide you with exercises -- some that involve the map provided in the book -- to build your compass skills.
Parts 3 and 4 are devoted to orienteering, both the simple skills of navigating your way across a landscape as well as the challenges of competitive orienteering.
Today's counterpart to competitive orienteering, in which individuals or teams see which can most quickly negotiate a course requiring you to use map and compass to find checkpoints, is geocaching, where much the same is accomplished, but with GPS devices. While geocaching certainly is growing in popularity, interest in map-and-compass orienteering is not waning. According to Be Expert With Map and Comp**** in 2009 the annual O-ringen orienteering competition in Sweden attracted 8,000 participants from 43 countries.
Not only does this book provide a wealth of information, information that can make you more comfortable in the backcountry, but reading it with your youngsters could help increase their interest, and comfort, in the out-of-doors.
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...g-handbook5183
With all the electronic gadgetry that exists -- cell phones, GPS units, personal locator beacons -- why bother learning how to navigate like pathfinders of the last (20th) century, with map and compass? Well, for starters you won't worry about your batteries failing you.
Sadly, I must admit that my map and compass skills are horribly, horribly rusty. Many years ago, while filling out some spare credits in my college days, I actually took an orienteering course in which I learned how to negotiate through the backcountry with map and compass. I recall that the first field trial ended miserably, with me and my partner finishing, if memory serves me well, ahem, dead last. But that was motivation, and we crushed the competition in the next field trial.
That class taught me that orienteering not only was fun, but that map-and-compass skills were valuable and shouldn't be overlooked.
But that was many, many years ago. About five years or so ago I invested in a book and a new compass with hopes of brushing off the rust that had bogged down my skills and once again becoming at least passable in the field. After all, it's easy to see the merits of being able to navigate in the backcountry with map and compass.
Well, sad to say but the book pretty much never stirred from its spot on the bookshelf, and the compass stayed safely tucked away in the drawer. But the arrival of a new book, or at least a new edition of an old, but venerable, book on orienteering has me once again anxious to get out in the field and rediscover those long-lost skills.
Be Expert With Map and Comp**** The Complete Orienteering Handbook ($18.95) first came out in 1955 when Bjorn Kjellstrom decided it was time the general public had a guide to help them attain map-and-compass skills. The late Mr. Kjellstrom certainly had the credentials for this task -- a Swedish champion in orienteering, he was one of the founders of the Swedish Orienteering Federation, and helped launch the U.S. Orienteering Federation, of which he was director of for several years.
The third edition of this book arrived in December, and it has been revised and updated by Mr. Kjellstorm's daughter, Carina Kjellstrom Elgin. While the book maintains the strong underpinning of how to become competent with map and comp**** Ms. Elgin has brought it into the 21st century by addressing GPS devices, noting helpful websites, and providing an updated guide to international orienteering symbols.
Perhaps the most obvious reason to become proficient with map and compass is what I noted in the second sentence above. Your batteries might fail you or there might not be a cell phone signal. More so, the skills improve your self-reliance, something that shouldn't ever be overlooked or undervalued.
The book starts slowly, introducing the importance of map and compass skills and how they're used in every day life. But then you dive into the nitty-gritty in Part 1, learning about the details of topographic maps -- how they're made, what the squiggly lines represent, the various scales mapmakers use, how to tell paved roads from dirt roads, and springs from wells. The authors even suggest field exercises you can try to hone your skills. And they provide a fold-out map attached to the book's back cover for use in developing your map-reading skills.
Compasses aren't given short shrift, either, as a primer on their history is contained in Part 2. This section of the book also details today's compass designs, explains what the various components and scales on compasses are used for, and instructs you on how to find your bearings. Again, the authors provide you with exercises -- some that involve the map provided in the book -- to build your compass skills.
Parts 3 and 4 are devoted to orienteering, both the simple skills of navigating your way across a landscape as well as the challenges of competitive orienteering.
Today's counterpart to competitive orienteering, in which individuals or teams see which can most quickly negotiate a course requiring you to use map and compass to find checkpoints, is geocaching, where much the same is accomplished, but with GPS devices. While geocaching certainly is growing in popularity, interest in map-and-compass orienteering is not waning. According to Be Expert With Map and Comp**** in 2009 the annual O-ringen orienteering competition in Sweden attracted 8,000 participants from 43 countries.
Not only does this book provide a wealth of information, information that can make you more comfortable in the backcountry, but reading it with your youngsters could help increase their interest, and comfort, in the out-of-doors.
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com...g-handbook5183
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