Hiking

Image via Wikipedia

Keep You Heading In The Right Direction

“The contented person enjoys the scenery of a detour.” -Unknown“

Some gadget geeky hikers these days make the mistake of believing that hiking compasses are antiquated and past their sell by date . . . I mean, who needs to take a compass or a map on their hiking trip when there’s the magical “eye in the sky” of GPS.  However, what all hikers need to remember is that compasses and maps do not need batteries, they don’t rely on satellite signals . . . reliable wilderness navigation needs a compass and a topo map . . . they’re not heavy, they don’t take up lots of space in your pack and once you’ve mastered the art of reading them it’s not difficult, so don’t be a jerk . . . take a compass and a map on your next back packing trip just to be on the safe side – okay dude?

If you have a compass and map you can:

• Take your bearings out in the field (or on a mountain, in a valley, along a forest hiking trail)
• Follow the bearings whilst you’re out in the field (or on a mountain, in a valley, along a forest hiking trail)
• Measure your bearings on the map
• Plot your bearings on the map

That way (with the help of a few landmarks) you can not only work out where you are, but also where you’re going, vital information to have whilst you’re out hiking, especially if you prefer to go deep into the back country on your hiking and backpacking adventures. If you don’t know how to read a map and compass then I suggest you learn before you go wandering about in the wilderness.

I wonder if he ever found Great Rigg . . . I hope so, he seemed to know what he was doing!

How to Choose a Compass for Hiking

The type of compass which backpackers and hikers generally opt for is an “orienteering” or “base plate” compass. Incidentally, “orienteering” is where you find out exactly where you and can pin point it on the map . . . whereas “navigation” is the art of navigating to and arriving at your chosen destination. Just thought I’d throw that bit in for you.  Okay, so let’s think about traditional type hiking compasses for a minute:

• Basic Compasses are brilliant for day hikers and backpackers who are quite happy hiking along trails and don’t go wandering off into the unknown. They don’t cost a lot but do have all of the essential features you’re likely to need.
• Advanced Compasses have more features (that’s why they’re called “advanced”). Mirrors and magnifiers for a start, not so that you can check out your make-up but so that you can navigate with more accuracy. Any hikers who aren’t content to hike the trails but prefer to travel into the back country should pay the little bit more for one of these babies.
• Accessory Compasses - you know the sort of thing, the type of compass which is included in your all singing, all dancing wrist watch (but you never quite got the hang of even changing the time, never mind working the compass) or the type which falls out of a Christmas cracker on the end of a key-ring . . . they can be quite good but cannot be relied upon for any serious navigation duties, even if they’re good at finding magnetic north (which is, incidentally, different from true north, but then again, if you’ve taken the time to learn about hiking compasses and map reading you’ll know that already won’t you).

Wow that’s a neat trick, I didn’t know that, but, I wonder if it’s the same all over the world! I know that South is the same all over the world (duhhh) but the sun isn’t always in the same place is it . . . anyway, if you’ve got a digital watch you’re really scuppered.

Okay, so as long as Red Fred is in the shed everything’s cool . . . and you’re heading in the right direction.