Route Finding: Navigating With Map and Compass
To venture away from the security of known roads and trails requires the ability to find your own way without the help of road signs and trail markers. In Route Finding, veteran explorer and climber Gregory Crouch deftly guides you through the fundamental skills of land navigation, including terrain association, dead reckoning, off- and on-trail travel, map reading, using a compass, and even Global Positioning System basics. A valuable book for hikers, backpackers, climbers, hunters, anglers, and mountain bikers, Route Finding contains helpful and practical information on locating your position at all times and in all conditions. Filled with detailed instructions and descriptive illustrations, Route Finding is as packable as a compass and informative enough to take you into the wilderness and home again.
This is the first I have read of this book.
I learned the art of navigation by map and compass in Yosemite and in cruising timber in the early 90’s in GA, AL, SC and WV.
Mountains are easier (notable landmarks) w map & compass but the flatlands of GA were scary. Alone w only map and compass and land platt surrounded by nothing but pine trees and swamps it was easy to feel lost, no matter what you did to keep up with movement. You simply stuck to your grid and hoped you came out where you were supposed to before dusk. We had no communication tools, no one to communicate with if we had. Knee high snake boots and chaps and what water you could carry (never enough) for the summer heat. To this day I have never learned why we didn’t cruise in the “winter” months when foliage was less dense and you wouldn’t be saturated w sweat 50 yards from the truck.
Modern timber cruising is far different, GPS, didgitable grids of timber tract, and digital notebook for the tree count. Best of all communication in case of emergencies.
That certainly sounds like epic navigation! Also, one hell of a good scenario to learn dead reckoning.
This might be the most useful book I own. I have purchased over a dozen copies as gifts and rewards for my Scouts!
Thanks, Leesl! I hope the scouts find it useful. One day, we’ll have to put ’em through a real land nav course. Wouldn’t that be a kick?
Oh H@## yeah. I have made some lame ones, but you would do a more masterful job, maybe we can do a test run in Decmeber?
One of these days, we’ll make ’em a course of extreme desperation!