... and the user guides (manuals) for most of those compasses are available on-line too - for free. I find it interesting to read guides from different companies and compasses to see what they recommend. Most of them use similar techniques, but every once in a while I'll find something interesting.

Ken K.

Thank you to all.

You've given me some excellent suggestions that I'll definately use.

..much appreciated.

Blake
www.outdoorquest.biz

Based on my experience, I'd say terrain association is a really important supplement to the disciplines I learned in Scouts and the Army (pace counting, walking a bearing, section ((aka triangulation)), resection, plotting azimuths and back azimuths, etc). Terrain association is the practice of connecting what's on the map with what you actually see in front of you. Terrain association is super useful if you're in an area with good visibility and distinctive terrain. In non-distinctive terrain (plains, flat dessert, etc.) or in low visibility conditions (rain, snow, heavy forest cover, etc.), terrain association is a little less useful.

HJ

Very impressive cord work.

HJ,

I am finding through teaching map & compass and GPS classes that some folks have a real problem visualizing the terrain features with a topo map.

I find that terrain association and map orientation is critical to back country navigation.

Blake
www.outdoorquest.biz

Relating a map to the real thing is something that some people simply cannot do. Whatever the circuit is that allows that, they simply don't have it.

My wife was one of those. She just could not follow even a simple sketched street map.

Give her a list of directions and turns, or go over the route once in advance, and she was fine. But if all she had was a map, she knew she needed to allow time for at least one wrong turn.

interesting corollary. A study was discussed on the radio. It found that people 18-25 YO were vastly more competent than people 25-40 when it came to finding information about a subject on the internet and using technology. However it found that the older group was better able to conclude results from a subject because they got most of their accumulation from reading books.

The end result is that while younger generation have speed and vastly more information at the tips of their fingers. Nothing beats the ability to read something and understand the concept.

The radio hosts, went on to discuss among other things, how with Twitter and Facebook, if you can't explain a complex topic in 144 characters, no one will read it. Society wants the info summarized but don't want to come to their own conclusions.

Ergo, to paraphrase Compugeek, its one thing to see where you are on your iPhone app, TomTom, GPS thingy and another to recognize a distinct peak at 186* azimuth and another at 275* azimuth and pinpoint yourself on a quadrangle map!

Another interesting corollary, the more *something* you get,
the more you start to speak in sweeping generalizations while ignoring the difference between facts and knowledge, all whilst ignoring that humans aren't born with either.... all humans can learn to relate a map to the real world, they just need persistence and good teachers.

Taking a step back and seeing the big picture is essential in navigation. Does what my compass/map/GPS is telling me make sense in the context of where I am and what the actual terrain is like? Everyone makes technical navigational errors. Your mind and "common sense" are your double check that keep you from doing something really stupid based on your error.

Your wife can't figure out things from a map? She's probably my wife's sister.

Yeah, that's tough if you can't visualize terrain. I guess you're really dependent on good map skills if you can't terrain associate.

Common sense thinking skills seem to be something from the past, don't they? Sigh. I much prefer dealing with older cops. Older cops, many of them, will actually talk to you and will give you a warning if something is no big deal and not causing any real harm. Younger cops, at least in my experience, are more by the book and just write you up even if there's no real problem. They seem to lack judgment. As a good friend of mine is fond of saying, "there's no substitute for good judgment."

HJ

Dead Reckoned Positioning anyone?