Orienteering Compass Parts

Lets begin our introduction to compasses by taking a look at a standard, modern day,
orienteering compass, and identifying its parts. As figure 1 shows an orienteering compass
typically consists of three main parts: a magnetic needle, a revolving compass housing, and
a transparent base plate. The magnetic needles north end is painted red and its south end
white. The housing is marked with the four cardinal points of north, east, south, and west
and further divided into 2 degree graduations indicating the full 360 degrees of a circle. The
bottom of the rotating housing is marked with an orienting arrow, and meridian lines. The
base plate is marked with a ruler (and/or USGS map scales), an index line (bearing reading
line), as well as a direction of travel arrow.

Figure 1: The Parts of an Orienteering Compass.

Directions and Degrees

Figure 2: The Compass Rose.

Before beginning to use a compass one should familiarize himself with basic directions and
their degree readings. The four cardinal points are all 90 degrees apart, with East being at
90 degrees, South at 180 degrees, West at 270 degrees, and North at 360 degrees (or zero
degrees). Identifying the degrees by 45 degree increments gives us the eight principal
points of direction namely North (O or 360 degrees), North East (45 degrees), East (90
degrees), South East (135 degrees), South (180 degrees), South West (225 degrees),
West (270 degrees), and North West (315 degrees). Memorizing the eight principal points
can help one to instinctively associate directions and bearings, and help eliminate errors
when taking bears (bearings are explained in the next section). For example if you are told
that a landmark is SE of your location, you know that is 135 degrees, or conversely if you
know you need to go West but you calculate the bears as 90 degrees you will instinctively
realize the bearing is wrong, as West is at 270 degrees (turn your compass around, you
have committed the classic 180 degree error). You may have heard directions given in
terms like NNW or ESE, those types of directions are a result of distinguishing degrees in
22.5 degree increments resulting in the 16 traditional compass directions. Typically the
eight principal points are sufficient to know. See figure 2.

Bearings
One of the most important uses of a compass is taking, and following a bearing. A bearing
is the direction from one spot to another, measured in degrees, from the reference line of
north; in other words its one of the 360 degrees of the compass rose. To take a bearing
hold the compass in front of you with the direction of travel arrow pointing at the object of
interest. Hold the compass level and steady, and rotate the housing dial, until the orienting
arrow lines up with the red end (north end) of the magnetic needle, all the while keeping the
direction of travel arrow pointed at the object. Read the number indicated at the index line,
and that is your bearing. Now to follow that bearing to the object, lets consider an example.
Say you want to travel to a large rock outcropping on the horizon, which is currently visible
to you, but which may leave your field of vision when you walk into a dip, or when pending
clouds come in or the sun sets. Lets say your bearing on the outcropping measured 315
degrees (or NW). Assuming you still have the direction of travel arrow pointing at the rock
outcropping, and have not changed the 315 degree bearing setting on the dial, walk forward
keeping the magnetic needle over the orienting arrow (by rotating your body, and not the
dial), and the straight line course (as pointed out by the direction of travel arrow), will lead
you to the rock outcropping. En route, when the rock outcropping leaves you line of sight
pick out an intermediate landmark along the bearing, so you dont have to constantly look
down at your compass. Walk to the intermediate landmark, and repeat with another
landmark until you reach your destination.
Once you arrive at the rock outcropping, what bearing do you use to return to where you
came from? Actually you dont need any other bearing besides the 315 degrees already set
on your compass. To return, just point the direction of travel arrow at you, instead of
forward, and then rotate your body until the orienting arrow lines up with the red end (north
end) of the magnetic needle, and then walk straight ahead while keeping the magnetic
needle over the orienteering arrow (just as you did in going to the rock outcropping). That is
the easy way to backtrack, of course you could also calculate your back bearing by
subtracting 180 from your forward bearing of 315, and set the 135 degree (SE) difference at
the compasses index line and then use the same body rotating method mention earlier,
only this time youd have the direction of travel arrow pointing your way.
Try this. Take your compass to an empty parking lot or field and mark a spot. While
standing at the spot set your compass to any bearing between 0 and 120 degrees, pick a
landmark along the direction of travel and take 15 steps toward it. Stop, add 120 degrees to
your initial bearing, pick out a landmark along that bearing and walk another 15 steps
toward it, stop and once again increase your bearing by 120, pick out a third landmark and
again walk 15 steps. Notice you have arrived back at your original starting location.
Lets return to the example above where we took a 315 degree (or NW) bearing on a rock
outcropping, and lets suppose that enroute to the outcropping we encounter an obstacle
which we must go around thus forcing us to deviate from our straight line course. If you are
lucky enough to be able to pick out a landmark thats along the bearing, and also on the
other side of the obstacle, you have nothing to worry about, just go around the obstacle and
get back on course by reaching the landmark and aligning the red end of the magnetic
needle over the orienteering arrow, and continue walking.

Figure 3: Use Right Angles to Navigate an Obstacle.

If you cant see a landmark along your course, there are a couple of other methods you can
use to get around the obstacle and get back on your original course. One method is to have
a member of your party navigate the obstacle, and then treat him like a landmark. One he
has cleared the obstacle talk him into position along your original bearing. Also have him
take a back bearing on you to confirm he is in indeed back on course. He can do this by
pointing the direction of travel arrow of his compass at himself and then turning his body so
as to align the red end of the magnetic needle over the orienteering arrow, and he should
notice that you are along the bearing, if not he needs to move left or right.
If the obstacle is too large for the previously described method, or you are on a solo trip,
you can use right-angles to maneuver the obstacle. To do this turn 90 degrees and walk
across the front of the obstacle while counting your steps. To make a 90 degree turn
without changing the bearing setting on your compass, simply turn your body until the red
end (north end) of the magnetic needle points at the West marking (to turn right) or East (to
turn left), as opposed to the normal North marking. Once youre past the front of the
obstacle turn 90 degrees again, by rotating your body until the red end of the magnetic
needle is over the orienting arrow, and walk past the obstacle. Once past the obstacle, turn
90 degrees for a third time (by pointing the red end of the magnetic need at the opposite
marking or your first 90 degree turn), and walk the same number of steps you counted to
get past the front of the obstacle. Once the steps are up, turn your body to align the
magnetic needle back over the orienteering arrow (thus turning 90 degrees for a fourth and
final time), and you will be back on course. See figure 3.

Figure 4: Taking a Bearing From a Map.

Bearings can also be calculated from a topographic map, and then used in the field.
Assume you know you are at landmark A in the field, and you want to travel to landmark B,
but you cant see it. If you have a topographic map and you can identify both landmarks on
the map, you can use you compass with the map to get a bearing thus enabling you to
travel accurately to landmark B. On the map align either the left or the right edge of the
base plate through landmarks A and B with the direction of travel arrow pointing toward B. If
the base plate edge isnt long enough to reach both landmarks simply extend it with any
straight edge (for example a piece of paper), or draw a straight line between the points and

align the compass edge with the line. Without moving the base plate turn the compass
housing until the orienteering arrow points to the top of the map (remember that north is at
the top of the map). If you are lucky enough to have one of the maps north/south grid lines
visible under the compass housing you can align the meridian lines on you compass with
the maps north/south grid line as you turn the housing until the orienteering arrow points to
the top of the map. Now, read the bearing at the compasses index line, and follow the
bearing in the field! See Figure 4.
A word of caution, map bearings and field bearings can differ in the USA by as much as 30
degrees east and 20 degrees west. This difference and how to deal with it is explained in
the next section below on declination. Figure 4, has a map with magnetic north lines, rather
than true meridian lines, and so declination is not a factor.

Declination
A compass needle is influenced by the earths magnetic field which causes it to line up with
magnetic north. Maps, on the other hand, are typically oriented to the North Pole (which is
truth north). The difference between these two norths is called declination, and must be
accounted for when using your compass in conjunction with a map. There are places where
the two norths are the same, these places fall on the so-called agonic line, see figure 5. In
areas to the left of the agonic line the magnetic compass needle points a certain number of
degrees to the east of true north, and on the other side of the line the magnetic needle
points a certain number of degrees to the west of true north (in other words the magnetic
needle points toward the agonic line). We say areas to the left of the line have east
declination and those to the right have west declination. Figure 5 shows the 2005
declinations in the USA.
Note, declination numbers change over time as magnetic poles shift. Thus said its
important to know how old the declination information on your map is before heading out
into the field. Current declinations can be had at the NGDC website. The website also tells
you by how much declination is changing per year. Note that easterly declinations are
changing by a west amount (minutes), and westerly declinations are changing by an east
amount, thus over time magnetic north is approaching true north.
If you know by how many minutes on average the declination of your area is changing per
year you can use that to update an out of date map figure. For example if you have a map
from 1960, and you learn that the declination is changing by 0 7 W/year, multiple that
number by the elapsed years, and divide the result by 60 to get the degree change in
declination. For example, (2007-1960) * 7 = 329; since there are 60 minutes in a degree
329/60 = 5.48 degrees or about 5.5 degrees. So if declination on the 1960 map is 15
degrees east, the 2007 value is 15-5.5 or 9.5 degrees east.

Figure 5: 2005 USA Declination Map.

If you are simply taking and following bearings in the field, you can completely ignore
declination. Likewise if you are only calculating and working with bearings on a map
declination is unimportant. However, when you calculate map bearings from a map drawn
to true north and then use the bearings in the field, you may be thrown completely off
course if you dont adjusting them for the declination of the area. Consider this, say you are
in Rhode Island where the declination is 15 degrees west, and lets say your map bearing is
0 degrees (or directly north). You set your compass dial to zero, turn your body to align the
magnetic needle over the orienteering arrow, and take off in the direction of the direction of
travel arrow walking toward an intermediate landmark, without doing any bearing adjusts for
declination. In doing so, for each 60 feet you travel, you will be 15 feet to the west of your
course, thus after traveling one mile you will be one-quarter mile off course!
Fortunately, it a simple matter of adding to or subtracting from a map bearing to
compensate for declination. Also, modern compass are available which can be set to
automatically adjust for declination if you dont want to bother with the math, if so equipped
consult your compass booklet to learn how to set it. Here is all you need to remember when
converting a map bearing to a magnetic bearing for use in the field: If your declination is
west (you are on the right side of the agonic line, see figure 5), ADD the number of degrees
of declination to your map bearings, and if your declination is east (you are on the left side
of the agonic line, see figure 5)SUBTRACT the number of degrees of declination from your
map bearing. Of course if you are plotting a field bearing on to a map do the opposite: that
is ADD east declination to a magnetic (field) bearing and SUBTRACT west declination from
a magnetic (field) bearing.
Lets say you are hiking in Utah where the declination is 13 degrees east. You take a
bearing from you map and learn that your destination lays SE at 135 degrees. To use the
bearing in the field you would subtract 13 (the declination) from 135 resulting in 122 and
simply set your compass dial at 122 degrees and then follow that bearing to your
destination.

To get this clear in your mind, try this. Pretend your declination is 20 degrees east (your in
Alaska). That means the needle on your compass is pointing 20 degrees east of true north.
You need to travel due north (0 or 360 degrees), so set your compass to 360, hold it in front
of you and turn your body until the magnetic needle aligns with the orienteering arrow.
Think to yourselfmy compass is pointing off by 20 degrees to the east, my right, so to go
true north I really need to point my direction of travel arrow 20 degrees to my left. So rotate
you body counterclockwise until the magnetic needle lines up with the 20 degree marking
on the compass housing dial. Now the direction of travel arrow is pointing to true north.
Knowing where true north lies, now follow the declination adjustment rule by subtracting 20
east declination degrees from your 360 degree bearing and set your compass dial to 340
degrees. Again, turn your body until the magnetic needle aligns with the orienteering arrow,
and notice the direction of travel arrow is now pointing to true north! So that is why you
subtract east declination. To further cement this concept into your mind repeat this exercise,
but use a pretend west declination instead. In field orienteering its all about getting the
direction of travel arrow pointing in the correct direction.
Some compasses have a declination scale marked within the housing. If you compass is so
marked, you dont need to adjust a map bearing before using it in the field, instead you just
need to remember to align the magnetic needle with the declination marking rather than the
orienteering arrow, and then follow the direction of travel arrow as usual. When you take a
field bearing and want to plot it on a map, take it with the magnetic needle pointing to the
declination figure rather than the orienting arrow, and then you can use the bearing on the
map without adjustment.
A map trick used to avoid converting a map bearing to a field bearing is to draw magnetic
north lines on the map based off the diagram at the bottom center of all USGS maps. With
magnetic north/south lines drawn you can then align the meridian lines of your compass
dial with the hand draw lines and the bearings indicated at the index line are field ready
bearings. Figure 4 above has magnetic north lines drawn on it, and thus no adjustment
were needed to use the map bearing in the field.
A compass trick used to avoid declination adjustments is to place a piece of scotch tape
over the compass dial starting at the east declination and ending at the value of declination
plus 180. Map bearings can then be set on the compass dial as read from the map, but the
magnetic needle now needs to be aligned with the tape line, rather than the orienteering
arrow. Note if the declination is west, place the tape strip at 360 minus declination to 360
minus declination minus 180. The mechanical declination adjustment on so-enabled
compasses uses this very procedure.

Compass Dip
As learned in the declination section, magnetic needles are affected by the
horizontal direction of the Earths magnetic field. Bearing that in mind you
might not find it surprising to learn that they are also affected by the vertical
pull as well. You see, the closer you get to the magnetic north pole (located
near Bathurst Island in Northern Canada in 2007), the more the north-seeking
end of the needle is pulled downward. Whereas, at the south magnetic pole
(located just off the coast of Wilkes Land, Antarctica in 2007) the north-seeking
end of the needle is deflected upward. Only at the equator is the needle
unaffected by vertical magnetic forces.
To overcome magnetic dip manufacturers must design compasses that have the
needle balanced for the geographic area in which they will be used. Thus, a
compass built for use in North America, will not work in South America. The
North American compass will have the pivot point the needle rests on slightly
into the north half of the needle thus offsetting the downward pull. When the
compass is taken to South America, the imbalance will work in the same
direction as the vertical pull and the needle could very well rub against the roof
of the housing making the compass unusable. In other words you will need a
compasses manufactured for use in the part of the world you intend to use it.
As a result of these magnetic variances, the compass industry has divided the
earth into 5 "zones", which you can learn more about at thecompassstore.com.
Compasses with so-called global needles are available, and they can be used
accurately in any part of the world. Global needles are also useful if you tend to
take bearings while moving making it difficult to hold the compass level. Global
needle compasses can handle tilts up to 20 degrees.

Triangulation

Figure 6: Triangulating a Position On a Map

It was mentioned early that one of the most important uses of a compass is for
taking and following bearings. Equally important is using a compass to pinpoint
your exact location on a topographic map. If you can look at a map and
determine a line you are on, such as a road, hiking trail, or mountain ridge, you
can pinpoint your location with only one other piece of information. Say you are
on a hiking trail, and to the west you can identify a mountain peak. You take a
bearing on the peak and learn that is at 280 degrees. Next you adjust it for,
say, the 10 degree easterly declination of the area arriving at a map bearing of
290 degrees - remember to convert a field bearing to a map bearing do the
opposite conversion of a map bearing to a field bearing by adding east
declination and subtracting west declination. Next, with the adjusted bearing
set on the compass dial, find the landmark on the map, and point the direction
of travel arrow in the direction of the landmark with the edge of the base plate
on the landmark. Keeping the edge of the base plate on the landmark, rotate
the base plate (not the dial) until the meridian lines of the compass align with
the north/south lines of the map. Now plot this line back to the position line (in
this case the hiking trail) you are known to be on, and where the line crosses
the position line is your exact location. This method is known as free
triangulation.
If you are not on a position line, you will need to identify two landmarks in both
the field and on the map to pinpoint your location. This method is known as
triangulation. First take a bearing on landmark A, and adjust it to a map
bearing and set that on the compass dial. Follow the above described process to
orient the compass on the map by passing the base plate edge over the
landmark and rotating the base plate (not the dial) until the meridian lines of
the compass parallel the north/south lines on the map, and draw a line on the
map along the base plate edge. Repeat the process with the second landmark
and the intersection of the two lines is your exact location. See Figure 6.

Another use for triangulation is in being able to return to an exact location. Say
you are hiking and decide to stash a water bottle part way along the trail so you
can drink it on your return trip and avoid carrying it for the whole hike. You
take a look around, and stash the water bottle behind a rock. Next you pick out
two permanent landmarks which are preferably about 90 degrees apart, and
take a bearing on each. Make a note of each landmark and its bearing, then
when you return to the general area all you need to do is position yourself
where the two bearings match and you will find you hidden water bottle.

Navigation Tips and Tricks

Understanding Maps: To be truly strong at orienteering and navigation, one
must become very familiar with maps, and the abundance of information they
contain. Unfortunately, it would require a separate article to fairly explain maps,
but its still worth looking at some map basics here.
Know the scale of your map. All maps list their scales in the margin. A scale of
1:250,000 means that 1 unit (be it inches, feet, meters, or whatever) on the
map is the equivalent of 250,000 units in the real world. Most USGS maps are
1:24,000, (also known as 7.5 minute maps) where 1 inch equals 2,000 feet
(3/8 mile) in other words 2.64 inches equals one mile, thus a 7.5 minute USGS
map has a north-south extent of about 9 miles. Clearly, the smaller the scale,
the more detail is revealed.
Maps are drawn based on latitude and longitude lines. Latitude lines run east
and west (that is, parallel to the equator) and measure the distance in degrees
north or south from the equator (0 latitude), and are often called parallels.
Longitude lines run north and south intersecting at the north and south poles.
Longitude lines measure the distance in degrees east or west from the prime
meridian that runs through Greenwich, England, and are often called meridians.
Latitude and longitude are measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. One
degree equals sixty minutes, and one minute equals sixty seconds. The latitude
and longitude grid allows us to calculate an exact point using these lines as X
axis and Y axis coordinates.
Another way to identify a point on a map is with the Universal Transverse
Mercator (UTM) coordinate system, which similar to latitude and longitude also
uses a north/south and east/west grid. On the USGS maps you will see
markings for both grids. The UTM grid is more precise than latitude/longitude
because USGS maps identify UTM scales every thousand meters compared to
only every 2.5 minutes (about 3500 to 5000 meters) for latitude and longitude.
Working with one meter number, can be less confusing than working with three
degrees, minutes, and seconds values.
Trip Planning and Pseudo Maps: Before setting out on a back country trip into
unfamiliar territory, it is wise to carefully study a map of the area, and make
some notes. Note such things as landmarks, bearings between landmarks,
distances and elevations. Notes of this type can save valuable time in the field,
and will help you both stay orientated as well as assist in measuring your
progress. I refer to such notes as a pseudo map.
There is a tool on the Internet that I like to use to make my pseudo maps
called ACME Mapper 2.0. This tool allows you to enter a latitude/longitude and
it returns a topographic map, which can be zoomed to various scales. It also
allows you to mark spots on the map, and then it gives you the distance

between marks as well as bearings to them. I find it faster than measuring

distances with a ruler on the map, and a very precise way to calculate map
bearings.
Even with a pseudo map at hand sometimes it can be useful to track distances
as you are hiking. A trick to do so is to count your double steps. Typically one
double step (that is just counting the steps of one of your feet, while ignoring
the other) is about five feet. So, a thousand double steps is about one mile.
Also, if you keep an eye on your watch, and time yourself over known
distances, you soon get an idea of how long it takes you to cover distances over
various terrains.
Altimeter: An altimeter can be a useful companion to your topographic map and
compass, assuming one knows how to calibrate it. As you hike the altimeter
approximates your current altitude (based on atmospheric pressure), and you
can use that information as a "Z" coordinate, if you will, to determine your
location on a map. Knowing your general location on the map, if you find the
contour line of your current elevation you know your position.
Aiming Off: When navigating to a target, if you realize that it could be easily
missed if you get slightly off course one way, whereas missing the target the
opposite way wouldnt be a problem, you should use a trick known as aiming
off. Consider this example; you leave your car at the north most end of a road
that runs south to north. Leaving your car you walk SW at 240 degrees, making
your literal return bearing 60 degrees. Returning you worry you will miss your
car, if you get off course a bit and end up to far north, where there is no road.
On the other hand, if you were to miss your car by being to the south you
would cross the road, and you could just follow it back to the car. To avoid
going to far north, you intentionally aim off so you will end up south of your car,
thus guaranteeing you encounter the road. To do so, in this case, you might
follow a return bearing of 70 degrees.
Awareness: When hiking, or mountain climbing, in an area unfamiliar to you,
make use of a topographic map and compass to learn the area. As you spot a
landmark, such as a mountain peak, take a field bearing on it, and convert it to
a map bearing. Starting at your current location pinpointed on the map (see the
section on triangulation), plot the converted bearing on the map, and see which
mountain it passes through, and then read the name of the unfamiliar mountain
from the map. That quickly and that easily, you will learn the area, and that
knowledge will help you stay oriented and lessens chances of becoming lost.
Reverse Bearing: When hiking in and back out from somewhere one should
know who to calculate a reverse (or opposite) bearing. For example, if you
walked south following a 177 degree bearing, and turned around to return to
your starting point what bearing would lead you back? Simply look at your
compass and the straight line across the dial (the number on the opposite side)
is the return bearing. The easiest way to calculate the opposite bearing is to
add 180 degrees to the original bearing when it was less than or equal to 180
degrees, and to subtract 180 when the orginal bear was greater than 180. So
for our example, the return bearing for the orginal bearing of 177 is 177 + 180
= 357 degrees (or almost due north). One can also leave his compass set to
the orginal bearing and turn the compass 180 degrees by lining up the white
end of the magnetic needle with the orienting arrow, as opposed to the normal
red end of the magnetic needle.

Another orientation trick, which I learned as a child from reading Louis

L'Amour books, is to occasionally turn around and have a good look at the back
trail, because a trail looks difference in the reverse direction.
Its also beneficial to pay attention to wind directions. For example some areas
are known to have winds that blow from the west. If you are hiking in such an
area, even if the wind isnt blowing, you can often observe the results such as
pine trees being leaner on their west side.
We have all heard the saying that moss grows on the north side of trees. Why
not verify if that is true in your area?
If your trail crosses, or parallels a stream or river, pay attention to the direction
it flows. Does it flow east, or northwest?
Being aware, will reduce lost time, and disorientation, and make your outdoor
experiences more rewarding.
Wristwatch as Compass: A watch with an hour hand can be used as a makeshift
compass. If is set to the correct time, simply point the hour hand at the sun,
and in that position, the point halfway between the current hour and the 12, is
south. In a vice versa way a compass can act as a watch. For example knowing
the sun is in the east at 6:00 am, southeast at 9:00 am, south at noon,
southwest at 3pm, and west at 6pm, you can take a bearing on the sun, and
get a good idea of the current time.

Figure 7: Finding the North Star.

The North Star: In the Northern Hemisphere, Polaris (the North Star) is visible
all year round. To find it, locate the Big Dipper and follow the two pointer stars
at the end of the cup to the tail of the Little Dipper, Polaris is the last star on its
tail, see Figure 7. Roughly the distance to the North Star from the Big Dipper is

5.5 times the distance between the two pointer stars forming the non-handle
side of the cup. The Big Dipper rotates around Polaris.
The North Star can be used to measure declination. At night, place two sticks in
the ground lined up with the North Star, with the taller one to the north of the
shorter. Set your compass dial at 360, and point the direction of travel arrow
north at the longer stick. Look at the compass needle, and note the difference
between its bearing and true north, the difference is declination.
In the Northern Hemisphere, latitude is obtained by measuring the altitude of
Polaris. At the Equator (0 of latitude) the North Star is on the horizon, making
an angle or "altitude" of 0 degrees. Whereas at the North Pole (90 of latitude),
Polaris is directly overhead making an angle or "altitude" of 90 degrees.
Likewise, at 30N the star is 30 degrees above the horizon, and so on. In other
words, in the Northern Hemisphere, if you know your latitude, you can use that
as an angle from the horizon to locate the North Star.
To measure your latitude, point a stick at the North Star, then measure the
angle the stick makes from a level horizon. Note, some compasses, include an
inclination gauge (not covered in this article) by which you can easily measure
the angle.
Determine East and West Via a Shadow: To determine east and west, place a
stick in the ground so you can see its shadow (alternatively, you can use the
shadow of any fixed object). Ensure the shadow is cast on a level, brush-free
spot. Mark the tip of the shadow with a pebble or scratch in the dirt; try to
make the mark as small as possible so as to pinpoint the shadow's tip. Wait 1015 minutes, as the shadow moves from west to east (the opposite side the sun
moves on, ie the sun moves from the east to the west -- but both the shadow
and the sun move in a clockwise direction). Mark the new position of the
shadow's tip with another small object or scratch. Connect the two shadow tip
markings with a straight line and you have an east-to-west line approximation.
Stand with the first mark on your left, and the second on your right, and you
will be facing toward true north. Midday readings give more accurate
approximations.
Global Positioning System: The U.S. Department of Defense has 24 satellites
orbiting the earth, which give off signals that handheld GPS devices can pick up
and translate into a users position and altitude to within roughly 50 feet. These
devices are useful, but are not a replacement for knowledge of the basics of
orientation and navigation with a compass and map. Also always remember
that a GPS unit is a delicate, battery powered device that can fail or be easily
damaged. Never rely solely on, nor allow yourself to become dependant on
such a piece of equipment.
The tops of pine trees tend to dip to the north.
If you do lose your way, keep a cool head - a cool head can accomplish much, a
rattle one nothing. Note that lost people tend to wander in circles; as such
above all dont run around aimlessly. First stop, relax, and think, then look
around for a familiar landmark, or climb a tree or a hill to try to find one.

Estimate the time you have been traveling, and the remaining about of daylight
- this will help you figure out how far you have traveled. If possible consult your
compass, if not possible pay attention to sunset or sunrise which will indicate
east and west, or use a wristwatch as a compass. Consider blazing your way by
leaving small marks indicating the direction you have taken such as arrows in
the dirt or snow, peeled bark on a tree, toilet paper on a tree branch, and/or
rock cairns. If it gets dark it may be best to stay put, as such build a rousing
fire, making it easier for others to find you and allowing you to stay warm. At
night find the North Star and mark that direction on the ground to guide you
come daylight.

Other Outdoor Tips and Tricks

Figure 8: Estimating Remaining Daylight Hours.

Estimating Remaining Daylight: If you can see the sun and the horizon you can
estimate the remaining daylight time. To do so, hold your hand up so it appears
that your pointer finger is just touch the bottom of the sun. Then count the
number of finger widths to the horizon. Each finger is worth about 15 minutes
of time. For example, if you can fit eight fingers (two hands without thumbs)
between the bottom of the sun and the top of the horizon there is about two
hours of daylight remaining. Note that this trick doesn't really work when one
is near either of the poles, as the sun hovers over the horizon longer at those
locations.
If thirsty and cant find water, suck on a pebble or a button, it will relieve the
dryness.
Make a sundial from a piece of stick stuck in the ground where the suns rays
can cast a shadow from the stick onto the ground. Refer to a watch to mark the
hours, then when the watch goes missing or the owners leaves camp, or the
batteries die, you can use the sundial to tell time.
To prevent sickness, keep your feet and inner cloths dry, your bowels open, and
your head cool. A warm head makes you sweat causing you to remove your
hat, and then leaving you open to a cold.

The surest way to stay both fit and healthy is to simple make a point of walking
each and every day. Consider this statement by Soren Kierkegaard a 19thcentury Danish philosopher, "Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every
day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness."
To dry the inside of wet boots, heat peddles in a frying pan or kettle, or in the
fire and place them in the boots, shaking the boots now and then.
Reliable Weather Indicators
"Red at night, campers delight; red in morning campers warning."
A red sunset indicates clear weather, whereas a red sunrise indicates rain and
wind.
Pale Yellow sky at sunset indicates wet weather.
"Rain before seven quits before eleven."
In other words morning rain often makes clear afternoons.
Slow rain tends to last, but sudden rain is typically short in duration.
Heavy dew indicates dry weather to follow.

Summary
In summary, a compass is an invaluable tool that every outdoors enthusiast
should understand how to use. Two of its main uses are to measure bearings,
and to pinpoint locations.
When working with bearings one needs to be aware of declination and how that
causes map bearings and magnetic (field) bearings to differ. Remember its
simply a matter of subtracting an east declination from a map bearing to
convert it to a magnetic (field) bearing, and a matter of adding a west
declination. Of course, when converting a magnetic bearing to a map bearing
apply the opposite of the rule. Remember, the magnetic needle of a compass is
for use in the field, and is never used on a map. Also recall that the top of a
map is always north, so when taking map bearings always turn the compass
housing to point the orienting arrow at the top of the map.
Of course a compass isnt the only thing that will help you stay oriented in the
back country. Always study a map before entering unfamiliar territory. In the
field always carry a map and pay attention to the surroundings, as well as make
use of natural direction indicators, like shadows, stars, wind, and landmarks.