Table Of ContentTHE ESSENTIAL
WILDERNESS NAVIGATOR
SECOND
EDITION
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THE ESSENTIAL
WILD
NAVI
ERNESS
GATOR
SECOND
EDITION
DAVID SEIDMAN
PAUL CLEVELAND
WITH
Illustrations by Christine Erikson
RAGGED MOUNTAIN PRESS / McGRAW-HILL
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CONTENTS
Introduction 8
What's New in this Edition 9
1 A SENSE OF DIRECTION
10
Locating Your Sixth Sense 11
How Not to Get Lost 16
Why We Get Lost 19
How to “Get Found” 23
2 MAPS
24
The World in Your Hands 26
Types of Maps 27
Three Dimensions into Two 30
The Language of Maps 31
Reading the Terrain 38
Latitude and Longitude 47
Scale 48
Distance 50
Direction 51
Putting Yourself on the Map 54
Map Care and Gear 58
3 COMPASSES
60
What Compasses Can Do 62
Earth's Magnetic Field 63
How Compasses Work 64
Make Your Own 65
Declination 66
Compass Types 68
Orienting Your Compass to Magnetic North 71
Orienting Your Compass to Geographic North 72
Bearings 74
Deviation 77
Following a Compass Course 78
Testing Your Skills 82
4 NAVIGATION
84
Map and Compass Combined 86
Orienting the Map with a Compass 89
Finding a Course from the Map 90
Locating a Mapped Object in the Field 92
Locating an Observed Object on the Map 94
A Bearing from a Mapped Object 96
Other Lines of Position 98
Warning Bearings 99
Crossing Lines of Position 100
Returning to the Same Spot 101
A Running Fix 102
Finding Distance Off 103
Measuring Distance Covered 106
Dead Reckoning 107
5 NAVIGATION IN USE
110
Route Planning 112
The Practice of Navigation 113
On the Trail 115
Hitting What You Aim For 116
Landmarks as Guides 120
Sources of Error 121
When You Are Lost 122
6 LOOKING TO NATURE FOR CLUES
124
Finding North and South at Noon 127
North and South from a Shadow 128
Quick but Inaccurate 129
Movements of Sunrise and Sunset 130
Bearings from Sunrise and Sunset 131
Polaris 133
The Southern Cross 135
Other Stars 136
7 EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
138
Mountains 139
Snow 142
Deserts 144
8 ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION
145
GPS 101 148
Getting Started 150
E-Maps: Topos and Charts on CD-ROM 151
9 APPENDIX
154
Bearings of Sunrise and Sunset 154
Declination Corrections 156
Metric Conversion Tables 157
Orienteering 158
Sources of Maps, Books, Compasses, Videos, GPS Manufacturers,
and Electronic Mapmakers 159
Travel Plan 165
Index 167
Acknowledgments 173
INTRODUCTION
This book is for all outdoorspeople, and for those what cannot be sensed. We do this with maps,
who would be outdoorspeople were it not for the which are the most effective way of portraying
fear of getting lost. Staying found is not an instinct parts of the world beyond our vision. Of course,
or an innate skill; like riding a bicycle or mastering you could also use the written word, but think
municipal bus routes, it can be learned. how cumbersome it would be to describe even the
Indeed, the basics can be learned quite quickly, smallest patch of land in sufficient detail to allow
and most outdoorspeople are content with that. strangers to find their way. If a picture is worth a
But the more time we spend outdoors, and the thousand words, then a map is a complete guide-
more adventurous we become, the greater the book. But it is a guidebook written in its own lan-
chances of encountering a situation that baffles guage, a language we show you how to interpret.
our orienteering skills. It could be a trick of the Once you can do this, the world is in your hands.
weather, a few minutes’ inattention, a decision to Next we give you a point of reference that can
cut across country to a visible destination rather be used anywhere on the planet and a gadget that
than following the trail—and suddenly panic is ris- always shows where it is. This gadget, as you
ing as you’re forced to admit to yourself that you might have guessed, is a compass. It gives way-
don’t know where you are. finding insurance and, once you know its tricks,
This book explains how to stay out of those sit- provides the ultimate in dependability. As you’ll
uations, and what to do when you doget lost. It see, it is a guiding finger that does a lot more than
has been laid out in a progressive format. You start point north.
here, go to there, and then finally wind up where Next, you’ll put it all together. Taking your new-
you want to be. Once you’ve learned something, found sense of direction and ability to read a map
you use it as a steppingstone to other knowledge. and use a compass, you can start to navigate. And
As ideas accumulate, you’ll be surprised how far as you practice, you’ll learn when you can relax
you’ve progressed. It will all be done in small precision for the sake of convenience and speed.
doses. It will be easy to head back if you think You’ll discover that, in practice, land navigation
you’re not yet fully in the picture—which is how consists for the most part of orienting off sur-
you should explore any unknown area. rounding landmarks such as distant peaks, river
drainages, or slope aspects and angles. The com-
Chapter 1 provides basic training for perceiving pass is used mostly to orient the map to these
the environment. No one is born with a sixth landmarks, and then for rough intermediate bear-
sense. What passes for it is the learned ability to ings that help you field-check that you’re follow-
observe—to see, smell, hear, and sense details in ing the appropriate “line of least resistance” in the
the world through which you pass. You have to desired direction.
learn all this, and we show you how. This chapter As time goes by, you’ll find most often that you
contains the most important sentence in the book: just travel with map in hand, keeping up with
If you plan to return along the same route, turn passing landmarks, rather than plotting and fol-
around frequently to see what your path will look lowing exact directional vectors. Vegetation, ob-
like on the way back. stacles, and game trails (which can be followed
In chapter 2 we take the next step, to learn quickly) will all divert you somewhat from your
