Don't Get Lost in the Woods

[buck460XVR]

To be honest I have always been able to get myself out of the woods with ONLY a compass. Just a general knowledge of which direction roads are located and and a compass to keep you walking in a straight line will generally be enough.

Thing is, a good compass is so inexpensive, so small and easy to carry and so simple to use, no hunter should go into the woods without one. The sun don't always shine, the wind sometimes changes directions and moss don't always grow on the north side of the tree. That main hyway you can always hear from your treestand can go suddenly quiet when it starts to snow heavily and the wind is howling. Bloodtrail a deer thru new and strange territory for a distance while only looking at the ground for blood and then try and figure out where you are and the shortest drag back to the truck. For the cost of a few dollars, a compass will almost always get you home.

It will also tell you what direction the wind is now blowing so you can adjust your stand for the afternoon. It also tells you the direction the Tom that gobbled only once is in and how to get closer to him when hens show up and he goes quiet again. It also stops the argument when you and your hunting buddy don't agree which way it is to the truck.

 

[H&Hhunter]

GPS is a great technology. It really is. However like all technology there is a learning curve to using s GPS. A GPS is one of the few tools available that allows the hopelessly lost to know their exact lat long position on the planet. Knowing your exact current position and knowing where you are in relation to your truck, camp or home are two vastly different things. As I said there is a learning curve involved with GPS.

Of course there is a learning curve involved with simply understanding direction on this planet as well. One morning I was driving with a buddy, we were being blinded by a brilliant sun rising in our faces. My buddy was lamenting to one of our other buddies in the back seat how his GPS was out of service and he had no WAY of knowing what direction we were headed without it. I let them whine a complain for about 5 minutes until I finally couldn't take it anymore. I said guys we are headed EAST at the this time. My buddy turned to me and stated that there was no way to know that without a compass or a GPS and that I should shut up. I simply replied that I at the moment I had a solid STAR FIX and we were indeed headed East.

That was the end of that conversation.......

I swear people get to reliant on technology and they forget the basics sometimes. I carry a small GPS that I use to mark camp and the truck and a kill if we get one down in the back country. But I also carry a compass. I can take one compass shot once in the day and know were I am from there on. Where they really come in handy is on a foggy or snowy or rainy day with low visibility in flat country. If I am going to get disoriented invariably that is when it is going to happen.

I've been powerful disoriented twice in my life. Once brown bear hunting on the AK Penninsula and the other time in North Texas. Both were foggy low vis days.

 

[Bobson]

Interesting you mention the learning curve for GPS, H&H. When I signed up for my map and compass course at REI, I noticed that they also teach a "GPS navigation" course - and, IIRC, it cost twice as much.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Topographical maps are awesome, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to use one with a compass.

I haven't looked through all the comments yet, but you can download and print topological maps for anyplace in the US for free. Here's one site for you:

https://maps.google.com/gallery/details?id=z4f-ZuCLmiKg.kUOos96GzVzs&hl=en

Zoom into the area you're interested in, click in on the green dots in the grids you want, then click "Download From USGS".

You'll DL a zip file which will contain an Adobe file with the map. You can print them out as a full sized poster if you have access to a plotter printer, or print them on regular paper. I'd advise a full sized printout, of course. Heck, you can have Adobe print out sections of the file which can be assembled into the poster size.

 

[Bobson]

Thanks, Chief. I've got several maps downloaded already from the USGS site, and I agree they're great and will certainly be useful.

 

[buck460XVR]

For most of my life I have hunted a huge parcel of public land. Over the years I cannot count the number of times that folks have come up to me and asked which way Road X is. I will point and tell them the direction. The area is mostly flat with large expanses of woods and swamp. Invariably, not long afterward, I will see them again as they make their 2nd or 3rd circle.

The nice thing there is, that if one gets away from familiar landmarks and easy access like logging roads, streams and the edges of large swamps, you generally have the place to yourself. If not, odds are there will be a line of strips of orange surveyor tape, spaced every 20 yards for a far as you can see. I like to take them down about half way to where folks wannabe. Or even move them one direction or the other. Then while they wander around trying to figure out where the heck they are going and why they can't find their stand, they kick up deer and I get action. I like the look on their faces when you tell them that tying orange tape to the trees on public land is considered littering and punishable by a $500 fine. I then pretend to write down their backtag number.


Folks nowadays are always looking for the "easy way". Used to be we marked good fishing spots by triangulation or landmarks. Now folks need a GPS so they can fly right up and start fishing. Used to be we learned the woods and the way in and outta stand. Do it enough times and you can do it in the dark. Things always look different in the dark. Now I see folks walking thru the woods with their head buried in teir GPS. They are unaware of the game and the good spots they are going past, much less notice any landmarks they might need to get out if their batteries die. A $5 compass from WalMart may not take you right to your stand via the easiest way, but it will get you outta the woods and back to your truck.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I co-authored the Infantry School's Orienteering Handbook, so I know a bit about land navigation.

I recommend a topo map and a good, protractor-style compass (Silva or Suunto) and a good GPS (I like Garmens.) The topo map is a planning tool -- you can't see much on the screen of a GPS, so you need the topo map to comprehend the whole area. And if your GPS fails, the battery runs out, you can't get a fix, you can use map and compass.

Constantly refer to your topo map to keep you oriented. Learn to visualize the terrain from the map -- I can take you places where if you don't understand the terrain, you're in big trouble. In mountains, you can wind up on a steep slope that you can't either climb or descend before nightfall.

 

[twofifty]

Vern, for civilian use which would you recommend:

- the Suunto or Silva-type folding baseplate mirror compass w. liquid-damped magnetized needle,

or

- the military compass (w.o. baseplate or mirror), with sighting lens or prism, with magnetized field-damped basecard?


Would you care to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of both systems for civilian, in a 7.5min and 15min quad map environment?

 

[Readyrod]

Don't need no stinking GPS, don't need no stinking compass, well sort of. I have an excellent sense of direction, though I think it's more from practice than natural ability.
The first step is to have a feel for North. All you need for North is the sun and a watch. Actually your shadow is better than the sun, it's easier on your eyes to look at your shadow, your shadow is more accurate, and I think it's better under cloudy conditions. As for the watch you can roughly estimate time using your own criteria. It's not hard to develop a sense of North. Every once in a while look at your watch and try to figure out where North is. Then check it out on your stinking compass, which should be on your keychain if you are any kind of self respecting outdoorsman. (this is my carry compass, just because it's so cool: http://www.russellsformen.com/liquid-filled-brass-case-compass/p/RULhhhCOMhhhP/) After a few weeks/months you get a feel for North. Try it out, it's amazing how easy it is.
Then you have to use your eyes and figure out terrain. Look at the lay of the land. Which way do the hills and drainages go. Look behind you, cause that's what it's going to look like on the way back. Notice/fix in your mind any major changes of direction. Keep track of landmarks like mountains and which direction they are in. (your compass helps here) Fallbacks are very important. If your favorite trout river runs North South and you are West of it you know that you only need to go east to hit the river and find your way. Same goes for roads, power lines, etc. Sometimes you don't need to know exactly where you are, you just need to know which direction to go in.
Then learn how to read a topo map. Topo maps are fracking cool. (they look great on the wall of your mancave btw) This is how I use them. First look at the surroundings. Notice any features. Get in a spot where you can see the area, a clearing, a rise, a lakeside or riverside, anywhere you can get a good view, and notice the main features and their directions. Then look at the topo map and work it out. I'm telling you it's more fun than a video game.
And use your GPS. I've never used a GPS but I know enough that it could be a very useful item, especially for pinging specific spots like that fishing hole or whatever. I'm definitely going to get one at some point, I'm just waiting for the right model and price.
Thing is, if you work on the basic skills it's amazing how little you need that "stinking" technology. Though the technology is helpful, I must admit.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Readyrod,

That is some great advice. I do have a question though. How do you use your shadow and watch technique on a dark overcast night? Or in a blinding snow storm or thick fog or a soggy rainy day when no shadow is cast?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Vern, for civilian use which would you recommend:

- the Suunto or Silva-type folding baseplate mirror compass w. liquid-damped magnetized needle,

or

- the military compass (w.o. baseplate or mirror), with sighting lens or prism, with magnetized field-damped basecard?


Would you care to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of both systems for civilian, in a 7.5min and 15min quad map environment?

The military uses several different kinds of compasses. The most common are the lensatic and the M2.

The lensatic is an old, obsolete design. It has a fold up lens that allows you to shoot an azimuth and the genuine issue version has glow in the dark marks. The M2 has the mirror arrangement and is primarily used by the Artillery. Civilian versions are called "pocked transits" and are used for rough surveying.

The Suunto and Silva protractor compasses are best -- first of all, they're cheaper than the military versions (although some crude knockoffs of the lensatic are available).

Next, they are just as accurate and they KEEP your azimuth -- you shoot an azimuth by setting the bezel and rotating your body until the magnetic arrow is lined up with the arrow in the bezel. You don't have to remember the azimuth when moving.

Third, the oil-dampened movement is quicker and less shaky than the magnetic dampening of the lensatic and M2.

Finally, I have swung thousands of compasses -- that is mounted them on a wooden fixture and taken readings all around the clock. The lensatic, especially, shows a sinusoidal error curve, and the Suuntos and Silvas do not. I attribute this to the lack of magnetic damping.

 

[jlr1962]

The compass in my phone is not bad. The maps feature would work as well. You should not be in the woods or on the water without a real compass and the ability to use the compass. I was lost as a passenger in a boat at night out on the water ONCE. That will never happen again. I will have a compass at all times when fishing. Some of the lakes here are very easy to get lost on. Ray Roberts being the worst in my opinion. Great fishing though.

 

[Art Eatman]

"How do you use your shadow and watch technique on a dark overcast night? Or in a blinding snow storm or thick fog or a soggy rainy day when no shadow is cast?"

I'm smart enough to stay in camp at times like that.

One thing too many people don't do when in new country is periodically stop and look back behind them to see what landmarks would help find the way home. Doing that cuts down on the need to bother digging out a map or firing up a GPS. Mark 1 eyeball + brain = Easier travelling.

 

[Readyrod]

How do you use your shadow and watch technique on a dark overcast night? Or in a blinding snow storm or thick fog or a soggy rainy day when no shadow is cast?

Yea obviously I don't. I was joking when I called them "stinking" compasses. Here in Japan it's amazing how many overcast days you can get. I always carry a compass with me. I have one of those wristwatch compasses that I have on a watchstrap, without the watch, that I sometimes use. It makes it easy to do a quick glance and keep track. I was in a fog whiteout once when ski mountaineering here and it was a learning experience. Couldn't see anything. Used whistles to stay together. Luckily our guide knew the mountain really well and guided us out or we would have had to dig in and bivouac. Even a compass was useless in that situation. A gps would have probably worked though.

 

[Readyrod]

By the way, you used to be able to get compasses with little adjuster screws that you could use to adjust for declination. It moved the North arrow. I can't seem to find one anymore. Now they all seem to have a printed scale on the base. Anyone have any suggestions for an adjuster screw type compass?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Bpth Silva and Suunto make them -- essentially the bezel has two bottoms. You twist the bottom one so that the arrow is offset to account for declination.

 

[SleazyRider]

Why not just orient the map using the magnetic north arrow printed on the map and forget about declination?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Why not just orient the map using the magnetic north arrow printed on the map and forget about declination?

That's a perfectly acceptable technique. BUT the diagram on the map is usually not accurate -- the proper way to do it is to rule off magnetic north-south lines on the map and use them instead of the longitude or MGRS lines.

 

[Readyrod]

I just double checked and my nice Suunto that I haven't used in ages actually has the adjuster screw. My oops/brain fart.