(Navigation: Techniques and Skills for Walkers (Cicerone Mini-guide): Using Your Map and Compass) [By: Pete Hawkins] [Jan, 2007]

by Pete Hawkins

Walking is one of the UK's most-popular hobbies, and effective navigation skills are essential if we are to fully enjoy our walking. This practical guide will help you acquire those skills. You'll get to grips with your map and learn just how easy it is to use your compass properly. Armed with these essential navigational skills you will be able to enjoy the freedom of the hills with confidence and safety. That's if you practise them ... so the guide also includes exercises to ensure your navigation skills stay fresh and available to use when you need them most.Pete Hawkins is a qualified mountain leader, freelance journalist and author of Map and Compass published by Cicerone. He runs Silva-sponsored Map and Compass courses from his Peak District home and writes on navigation for a leading walking magazine. Why use a map and a compass? Map essentials - scales and grids, Map symbols and contours, Walking with the map, Choosing your compass, Taking a bearing from the map, Taking a bearing from the ground, Walking with map and compass, Route planning, Night and bad weather navigation, New technology - GPS and computer mapping.

Genres: Geography

Paperback

First published April 30, 2007

Reviews

[Graham Cammock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exellent! Learned how to navigate using map and compass.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the subject. Wilkins is incredibly good at explaining concepts (the why as well as the how) and makes an initially inscrutable topic accessible.

The later sections regarding GPS and online mapping are now very dated, but the core text (using a paper map and compass) isn’t every really going to go out of style.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good

[Martinxo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent intro to using a compass and map together and thus hopefully not getting lost. So much for the theory, I'm off to Thetford Forest to try it all out, cheers!

[Vik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dusted off my compass to give this a go, my conclusion is that you make sure you have enough juice for your chosen GPS unit to last until you get to somewhere you know LOL.

[Bill Crowther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to navigation and using a compass. Clear and easy to understand.

[Yehuda Prizont]

Well written guide to navigating on land using a compass. I have generally not applied the techniques mentioned in the book but the explanations are fairly easy to understand for someone who is new to skill of using a compass. Also, the tips on reading maps, contour lines, etc. are valuable to anyone who goes hiking often and uses maps to do so.