Navigation: Techniques and Skills for Walkers

by Pete Hawkins

Owning a compass isn't everything.  Knowing how and when to use it is!  Contrary to what many walkers think, using a compass is straightforward and easy to learn.

This practical guide will help you get the most out of your map and give you the key skills to using your compass.  It's then down to you.  As with any skill, knowledge isn't enough.  Practice will make perfect, and with that will come the freedom and confidence to enjoy our hills and mountains.

Pete Hawkins is a qualified mountain leader, freelance journalist and the author of Map and Compass published by Cicerone. He writes the monthly navigation column for a leading walking magazine.

    •    Why use a map and a compass
    •    Map essentials – scale, grids, contours,
    •    Map symbols and contours
    •    Walking with your map
    •    Choosing your compass
    •    Taking a bearing
    •    Taking bearings from ground
    •    Walking with your map and compass
    •    Route planning
    •    What to do at night or in bad weather
    •    New technology - GPS & computer mapping

Genres: Geography

128 pages, 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.