This is the important lesson, and you should
learn it well.
It's when you use both compass and map the compass
is really good, and you will be able to navigate safely and accurately
in terrain you've never been before without following trails. But
it'll take some training and experience, though.
I am not covering map reading here, guess you would have to consult other sources for that, but the lesson will be useful if you have a sense of what a map says.
First, a quick summary of what you will learn in this lesson:
Here is our compass again:
The principles are much the same as in lesson 1 but this time, you are using the map to tell you which way is correct instead of your intuition.
Take a map. In our first example, we look at a map made
for orienteering, and it is very detailed. Well, not really. We look
at a fictitious map I drew myself, but never mind. To the point. You want to go
from the trail-crossing at A, to the rock at
B. Of course, to use this method successfully, you'll
have to know you really are at A.
What you do, is that you
put your compass on the map so that the edge of the compass is at
A. The edge you must be using, is the edge that is parallel to the
direction of travel arrow. And then, put B somewhere along the same
edge, like it is on the drawing. Of course, you could use the
direction arrow itself, or one of the parallel lines, but usually,
it's more convenient to use the edge. At this point, some instructors
say that you should use a pencil and draw a line along your course. I
would recommend against it. First, it takes a lot of time, but offers
no enhancement in accuracy of the method. Second, if you have wet
weather, it may destroy your map, or if it is windy, you may loose
it. You should keep your map (preferably in a sealed) transparent
plastic bag, and if it is windy, tied up, so it can't blow away. But
most important is that any drawings may hide important details on the
map.
Time to
be careful again! The edge of the compass, or rather
the direction arrow, must point from A
to B! And again, if you do t his wrong,
you'll walk off in the exact opposite direction of what you want. So
take a second look. Beginners often make this mistake as well.
Keep the compass
steady on the map. What you are going to do next is that you are going
to align the orienting lines and the orienting arrow with the meridian
lines of the map. The lines on the map going north, that is. While you
have
the edge of the compass carefully aligned from A to B, turn the
compass housing so that the orienting lines in the compass housing are
aligned with the meridian lines on the map. During this process, you
don't mind what happens to the compass needle.
There are a
number of serious mistakes that can be made here. Let's take the
problem with going in the opposite direction first. Be
absolutely certain that you know where north is on the map, and
be sure that the orienting arrow is pointing towards the north on the
map. Normally, north will be up on the map. The possible mistake is to
let the orienting arrow point towards the south on the map.
And
then, keep an eye on the the edge of the compass. If the edge isn't
going along the line from A to B when you have finished turning the
compass housing, you will have an error in your direction, and it can
take you off your course.
When you are sure you have the compass housing
right, you may take the compass away from the map. And now, you can in
fact read the azimuth off the housing, from where the housing meets
the direction arrow.
Be sure that the housing doesn't
turn, before you reach your target B!
The final step is
similiar to what you did in lesson
1. Hold the
compass in your hand. And now you'll have to hold it quite flat, so
that the compass needle can turn. Then turn yourself, your hand, the
entire compass, just make sure the compass housing doesn't turn, and
turn it until the compass needle is aligned with the lines inside the
compass housing.
The mistake is again to let the compass
needle point towards the south. The red part of the compass needle
must point at north in the compass housing, or you'll go in
the opposite direction.
It's time to walk off. But to do that with
optimal accuracy, you'll have to do that in a special way as well.
Hold the compass in your hand, with the needle well aligned with the
orienting arrow. Then aim, as careful as you can, in the direction the
direction of travel-arrow is pointing. Fix your eye on
some special feature in the terrain as far as you can see in the
direction. Then go there. Be sure as you go that the compass housing
doesn't turn.
If you're in a dense forest, you might need to aim
several times. Hopefully, you will reach your target B when you do
this.
At this time, you may want to go out and do some training, so you could check out some suggested exercises.