Have no Compass. Kjetil Kjernsmo's illustrated guide on Finding the directions without a compass You are lost. I mean really lost. Standing in the middle of nowhere, and you have no idea where to go. If you are really in trouble, remember two things first of all: stay calm, think rationally, and you can survive a long time without food. Further thoughts about extreme survival skills is beyond the scope of this page, seek advice elsewhere beyond this introduction. This page is mainly about the northern hemisphere of the earth, actually north of 23.5 °, because I have never been to the southern hemisphere myself (would like to go there of course!).
For a start, it may be a good idea to climb a hill, and get a good look around. Let us start with the most accurate method. In the morning, at least before noon, the trick starts. Now, the line from the first stick to the second is west-east, like on the figure. There is a short, fast version of this one as well. Want to make your own compass? Magnetic Declination. Kjetil Kjernsmo's illustrated guide on Magnetic Declination Unfortunately, sometimes, for some quite often, it is even more complicated. There is something called magnetic declination. You see, the compass is pointing towards the magnetic northpole, and the map is pointing toward s the geographic northpole, and that is not the same place. To make things even more complicated, there is on most hiking-maps something (that is very useful) called the UTM-grid. On most orienteering maps (newer than the early 70's), this is corrected, so you won't have to worry about it.
If you are using a map with a "UTM-grid", you want to know how this grid differs from the magnetic pole. When you are taking out a course, you will do that more or less as described in lesson 2, but this time, you must also look out so that you don't align the orienting lines with the grid lines pointing west or east, or south for that matter. The declination is given as e.g. "15 degrees east". Uncertainty Kjetil Kjernsmo © 1997. Compass and Map interaction. Kjetil Kjernsmo's illustrated guide on Using the compass in interaction with a map This is the important lesson, and you should learn it well. It's when you use both compass and map the compass is really good, and you will be able to navigate safely and accurately in terrain you've never been before without following trails.
But it'll take some training and experience, though. I am not covering map reading here, guess you would have to consult other sources for that, but the lesson will be useful if you have a sense of what a map says. First, a quick summary of what you will learn in this lesson: Align the edge of the compass with the starting and finishing point. Here is our compass again: The principles are much the same as in lesson 1 but this time, you are using the map to tell you which way is correct instead of your intuition. Take a map. You want to go from the trail-crossing at A, to the rock at B. Time to be careful again! How to use a Compass. Kjetil Kjernsmo's illustrated guide on Using the compass alone This is a very easy lesson, and I would say, not sufficient for those who would like to travel safely in unfamiliar terrain. The first thing you need to learn, are the directions. North, South, East and West.
Look at the figure and learn how they are. You see this red and black arrow? But if you don't want to go north, but a different direction? Let's use that as an example: You want to go northwest. Hold the compass in your hand. Now, time to be careful!. A second problem might be local magnetic attractions. When you are sure you've got it right, walk off in the direction the direction of travel-arrow is pointing.
There is something you should look for to avoid going in the opposite direction: The Sun. When do you need this technique? If you are taking a long hike in unfamiliar terrain, you should always carry a good map that covers the terrain. Kjetil Kjernsmo © 1997.