2019-05-01 Wilderness

60
MAY 2019

HOW TO

COMBINE MAP

AND COMPASS

Thecompassisanextremely

usefulaccessorytothe map.

ByNoel Bigwood

Therearemanysituationsinwhich

directionoftravelneedstobe

determined.Youmightbeata car

parkwithmultipletracksleaving

fromitandbeunsurewhichisthe

oneyoushouldtake.Theremaybe

nosigns,ortheymaynothelp–

doesRimuTrackgotoRimuCreek

ortoa standofrimu?Orperhaps

youwantto findthebearingof a

featureyouintendtofollow,for

example,a track,river,ridgeora

featureyoucanseeinthedistance.

Therearetwomethodsfor

determininga bearing with your

compass.

1.Identifya bearing

froma map

1.Firstlocateonthemapwhere

youwanttotravel – e.g. track,

riverorridge.

2.Placethecompassonthemap

withoneedgeofthecompass

alongthelineyouwanttotravel.

Ensurethedirectionoftravelar-

rowonthecompassisfacingthe

directionyouwishtotravel.

3.Rotatethedialuntiltheredand

blackorientinglinesinthebase

ofthediallineupwiththeblue

north-southgridlinesonthemap.

Ensuretheredendoftheorient-

ing lines face to the top of the map.

2. Identifya bearingof
   a featurefroma map
   Whenin thefield,youmaywishto
   findthebearingof a featureyouin-
   tendtofollow,forexample,a track,
   river,ridgeora feature you can see
   inthedistance.
   1.Holdthecompassasdescribedin
   point 6 aboveandfacethefeature.
   2.Turnthedialuntiltheredmag-
   neticneedlepointstothemagnetic
   variation(24°inthisexample).
   3.Youhavenowsetthecompass
   forthebearingforthefeature.
   Asbefore,youcannowreadthe
   bearingasthenumberaround
   thedialinlinewith the direction
   of travel arrow.

4. Youcanputthisontothemap

withyourcurrentlocationonone

edgeofyourcompass.With-

outmovingthedial,movethe

compassuntiltheredandblack

orientinglineslineupwiththe

bluenorth-southgridlinesonthe

map.Ensuretheredendofthe

orientinglines face to the top of

themap.

5.Yourfeatureshouldbealong

theedgeofthecompass.Itmay

bea littlebitoffdependingonthe

lineyouhavechosenbecausefea-

turesliketracksandriversarenot

deadstraight.Ifitiscompletely

off,considerif youhaveidentified

thefeaturecorrectly.

• NoelBigwoodisaninstructorwith
  Outdoor Training New Zealand

4.Youhavenowsetthecompassfor

thegridbearing.Youcannowread

thebearingasthenumberaround

thedialinlinewiththedirection

of travelarrow.Thefigureshows a

bearingof270°orwest.

5.To facethisbearing,findon the

mapthemagneticvariationforthe

area.Thisisthedifferencebetween

magneticandgridbearings.Inour

example,thevariationis24°.

6.Holdthecompasslevelinfront

ofyouwiththedirectionoftravel

arrowawayfromyouat90°degrees

tothelineofyourshoulders.Move

yourfeettorotateyourbodyuntil

theredmagneticneedlepointsto

24°– themagneticvariation.

Youarenowfacingthe direction

of your bearing.

Fnding the bearing on track

7.Ifyouwalkwiththeredmagnetic

needlepointingtothemagnetic

variation,youwillbetravellingin

the direction of the bearing.

Facing the bearing

Bearing from a map