Often, outdoor adventures need a little bit of navigation, whether it’s by using a simple map and compass or constellations or even a GPS. And during an event on December 18, 2021, us Scouts learnt the rudiments of navigation!
In the afternoon (around 2 o’clock), we started off with learning how to estimate the width of a creek and the height of any above-ground structure at Mission San Jose High School. (Check out Navigation_101 to see an in-detail description of what we learned.) The adult leaders gave us a thorough tutorial which we picked up pretty quickly. We were done in half an hour. Well, we would have been done sooner if it weren’t for the nerdy argument we had on right-angled isosceles triangles. :D
After this, our parents drove us to Ohlone College where we went over how to use a GPS and began the night hike. For the GPS navigation, we opened up Google/Apple maps, typed in our destination, and went over the route. Right after that, we put our phones away to make sure we don’t get distracted on the hike and fall/trip. Then, we were on our way.
It was finally time for the highlight of this event: night navigation!
We hiked Mission Peak’s Ohlone Trail for 1-2 hours or so until it started to get dark. This time, we didn’t hike to the peak but stopped at a decent point with a great view. We identified Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, and marveled at the full moon! Since it was a full moon, it was too bright to see the North Star, so our Scoutmaster drew a diagram of it in Ursa Minor and gave us a general idea of the constellations. The adult leaders also taught us how to use the moon to know what direction we’re facing. The full moon was rising in the East (North-East to be precise), meaning the sun was setting in the West (North-West). Knowing this, we found we were facing the North. More on what we learnt about constellations: Navigation_101.
After this discussion, we hiked down in the dark, keeping track of the Scouts frequently and taking extra precautions as it was pitch black by this time. With the hike finished soon after at 6, the navigation event had come to an end!
Thanks for reading,
Sabya & Olivia
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