Navigation is a tool that isn’t just useful for outdoor adventures, it’s also a vital life skill we use on a daily basis. Through a series of events, us Scouts learned modern navigation with a GPS, navigation with a map and compass, navigating with constellations, and we learned how to estimate the width of a creek and the height of an above-ground structure. Keep reading so you can learn the basics of navigation too!
GPS Navigation
GPS Navigation is just a matter of pulling up Google/Apple Maps and setting your destination. These maps actively track your location and orient the map for you. All you have to do is follow its directions!
Navigation With a Map and Compass
Navigating with a map and compass requires keeping track of your current location on the map and reorienting the map before every turn or crossroad.
To keep track of your location, mark your map after every turn you take. Your map will most likely have labeled trails, so if the hike you’re going on has trail markers and signs with the names too, you shouldn’t have much trouble knowing your location on the map and on the hike.
Make sure to orient your map when starting and before any change to the trail you're on. To orient your map:
Take your compass and point it North.
Find the tiny printed compass on your map.
Align your map’s North to the true North on the compass.
Once you and your map are facing North, you can take a right or a left (or continue going straight) based on the trail you’ve chosen. Since your map is aligned with you, a right on your map is a right on the ground and vice versa!
Take a Bearing with a Compass
To take a bearing with a compass, point towards what you’re taking a bearing of. Make sure your compass is parallel to the ground! Once your compass is positioned, turn the dial so that the “red is in the shed” which just means the red magnet that always points to the North is fitting into an arrow or mark which indicates North on the dial. Then, look at the degree of the dial which aligns what you’re taking a bearing of.
Something to note when taking a bearing is declination which is the difference between Magnetic North and True North. Magnetic North is the North the compass’ needle gives us due to the Earth’s magnetic field. True North is the real North of the Earth regarding the North Pole.
Different places on Earth have different declinations so search up the declination of where you live beforehand. Then, when you’re orienting your map, turn the dial an extra few degrees depending on your declination.
Navigating with Constellations
The first thing that often comes to mind when thinking about navigation with constellations is the North Star, commonly referred to as Polaris. So how do you find it? Well first, you should know that the North Star is in a constellation known as the Little Dipper or Ursa Minor. To find Polaris, you need to find the “pointer star” of the Big Dipper. I’ve circled it in the image below. 5 paces from this pointer star is Polaris which is at the tip of the “handle” of the Little Dipper.
Now, you might be wondering. Why do we mainly use the North Star for night navigation? Why not use another star that shines just as bright? Well, the reason is that the North Star is directly above the North Pole. So as the Earth is rotating around its axis, all of the stars seem to be rotating too…EXCEPT for the North Star which is right on top of the Earth.
Estimating the Width of a Creek
To estimate the width of a creek, stand on one side of it. Position yourself right in front of an object that's on the other side of the creek and take a bearing of it. Then turn (left or right - doesn’t matter) and walk along the side of the creek in a straight line until you are 45 degrees from the location where you took your bearing. For example if you took a bearing of 155 degrees, you would walk until you were at 200 degrees. Then calculate the distance which you walked. That distance is the width of the creek. So, how does this work? Well, we’ve created a right isosceles triangle where one of the equal sides is the width of the creek and the other equal side is the distance you walked.
Estimating the Height of a Structure
Stand far away from a structure so that it appears quite small. Raise a stick/rod and align the top of it with the top of the structure. Then, hold it like you would a TV remote and keep your thumb straight. Shuffle your thumb up or down so that the tip of your thumb is on the same level as the base of the structure. Mark the spot on the stick/rod where the tip of your thumb is. Then rotate the rod by 90 degrees (left or right - doesn’t matter). The length of the tip of the rod to the tip of your thumb is to scale with the height of the structure.
Thanks for reading,
Sabya Challa
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