can someone recommend a good book to teach me how to use TOPO maps and compass?

vash · vash's Garage

i tend to get lost. i really want to learn how to meander through the woods and get back. i have hinted to my wife that i want a GPS unit, but i think knowing the basics would be key. anyone read any good mountaineering books?

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

There's one I have but it's in storage from moving, I think the title is "Staying Found" or something like that. I got it at REI. Everyone should know how to navigate in the wilderness just ask "Moses".

LakeCleElum · 10-17-2008, 07:39 PM

When it comes to knowing your way in and out of the woods, some are born with a true talent, some will never have it and others can learn it. A cheap GPS is invaluable; check www.edgegps.com

I've spent a lot of time in the woods over the past 40+ years on both dirt bikes and snowmobile....I think it has a lot to do with have what some term as a "photographic mind".....Can you look at an unmarked 5-way intersection and retain a "picture" of that in your mind for months on end? If not, stop on occasion, look around and make a few notes; make a point to "pay attention"......

I rode with a guy once that had the ability to ride down a trail one time, come back five years later and not miss a single turn!

I've been in areas where we had to ride home from a lodge we had snowmobiled to the day before. Picture 20 inches of new snow overnight, not a single track; not having a clue whether you are on the forest service road or heading cross country into a box canyon. Then the fog rolls in. I've been in serious trouble before, but never out overnight......Good luck, getting lost sucks...

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

book is 'be expert with map and compass"

pwd72s · 08:32 PM

Two I have:

Be Expert with Map & Compass (The orienteering handbook)
by Bjorn Kjellstrom

publisher Charles Scribner's sons

USA Army field manual no. 21-26
"Map Reading & Land Navigation"

Both very informative, but the Kjellstrom is the better learning tool for the beginner.

You are wise to want to know more than GPS use...following a compass bearing is relatively simple...ditto reading contour maps. They always work...in times of emergency, our miltary can "turn off" GPS satellites at will.

notmytarga · notmytarga's Garage

I have "GPS Land Navigation" by Furguson on the shelf. Good GPS theory and practical applications.

Mr_Wizard · 10-18-2008, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

i tend to get lost. i really want to learn how to meander through the woods and get back. i have hinted to my wife that i want a GPS unit, but i think knowing the basics would be key. anyone read any good mountaineering books?

United States Marine Corps Green Monster (Knowledge Book)!!!!

id10t · 10-18-2008, 05:40 AM

Learned how with the Boy Scout merit badge book...

Don't forget that topo maps only really work where you have topography, and the ability to see... so here in N Florida, they are useless for me w/o a GPS unit to get my actual position. In mountainous areas, the story is different.

charleskieffner · 10-18-2008, 06:36 AM

never been lost due to the boy scouts and ability to read maps. actually a map fiend........love 'em. hell you can look at them and damn near see whats there without ever laying your eyes on area.

advent of gps makes it a no brainer. learn how to read maps, what all those squares mean(there will be a quiz) green means what? white squares mean what?

if totally lost despite gps, find a high transmission line, a high capacity gas line, a telephone line....................and SHOOT IT! best done with 30.06 or larger belted magnums.............THEY WILL FIND YOU...........OR YOUR ASHES!

quiz: take zoomy gps and press waypoint. should read wpt. 1. thats where the hell you are NOW! next walk to liquor store. hit gps again waypoint button. should read wpt.# 2 . thats the liquor store. buy a bottle of tequila(good stuff). place in brown paper bag. start drinking.

next wonder around streets. when you come to first guy that wants a "pull" off yer bottle........hit waypoint again. wpt. #3. now continue this until bottle is completed.

now you should have a map of where you started and where you are presently. to get home either backtrack..........or cross country(hump it)it back to waypoint # 1 and you will be home.

hoped ya liked the simple analogy.

Rikao4 · 10-18-2008, 06:52 AM

+1 on the ARMY FM 3-25-26..

and if you going out there..
please..upgrade your First Aid kit & know how

Rika

Seahawk · 10-18-2008, 07:51 AM

I learned to fly night vision goggles before GPS...nap of the earth stuff. Orienting position, heading, turn points and timing became almost second nature. I could look a the lines on topo and anticipate the contours I was going to see. And remember, in nap of the earth flying you should always be below the ridge line.

How? Practice, practice, practice.

All the books mentioned are no doubt excellent. The key is and always be knowing exactly where you are when you start, updating you progress and, if any doubt should arise, returning to your last known, certain point on the map and begin again.

The best tip I ever got was in how to fold a map properly and knowning how to orient the map to your heading so that map features will appear to your eye with the map.

I would also recommend getting a topo of remote places you can drive on weekends. As a passenger, plot your route, anticipated points of reference along your route and mark your progress. Pull off when you can and orient yourself. It is a cheap way to have a good drive and practice you skills.

I really enjoy the art of orienteering without GPS. Have fun!

lm6y · 09:12 AM

http://www.maptools.com/ has a few good tools to use on topo's.

I found that using the UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) grids help a lot. I have grids drawn on all of my topo's, then use this tool: http://www.maptools.com/products/UTMGrids.html to get an exact location. If you use a GPS with the UTM coordinates, I find it much easier than with Lat/Long.

lm6y · 10-18-2008, 09:15 AM

Forgot to add this program: http://jdmcox.com/ works great with a GPS, or without one. I have all of Southern Illinois downloaded on a laptop. It's kinda handy in the woods to have really big maps.

scottmandue · 10-18-2008, 09:46 AM

Don't know that I would want to trust a GPS if I were going out in the wilderness.

What if you drop it, it gets wet, batteries die, or it just stops working as electronic devices sometimes do.

Also have heard stories of being led to the edge of a cliff via GPS, not fun if you were in a emergency situation.

Just my two cents.

Another boy scout here that used maps when hiking.

pwd72s · 10-18-2008, 09:50 AM

No GPS during my 1970's backpacking days...so map & compass use was mandatory if you went off trails. I'd imagine that thanks to GPS my once "secret" little lake in the Mt. Washington wilderness area is now overrun with GPS equipped folks. It was only a few miles from the skyline trail, but once we left the trail on our compass path to this lake, my buddy & I saw nobody.

I wish to stress...our government can shut down GPS satellites at will....map and compass is more dependable than electronics any day of the week.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by id10t

Learned how with the Boy Scout merit badge book...

Don't forget that topo maps only really work where you have topography, and the ability to see... so here in N Florida, they are useless for me w/o a GPS unit to get my actual position. In mountainous areas, the story is different.

streams & pond work too

not to mention roads - which are hard to avoid back East

lm6y · 10-18-2008, 01:12 PM

I never said I use only a GPS. If I go somewhere I've never been, I take maps, map tools, compass, cell phone, GPS, extra batteries, a lighter, and a coat no matter what the weather is.

I meant to imply that even if you are a cartographer with every map known to man, you would be foolish to not use every tool that is available to survive in unfamiliar territory. If you can't read a map, you have no business in the wilderness with a GPS or not.

Believe it or not, you can use a GPS WITH a map guys. Most of the good GPS units have topo maps on the screen, so you can "survey" the terrain around you. If you get led to a cliff with that, you would have done the same with a topo map.

scottmandue · 10-18-2008, 01:34 PM

I just take Lassie with me whenever I go hiking... that beeyotch never gets lost.

charleskieffner · 10-18-2008, 06:12 PM

another real helpful way to achieve nirvana knowing where yer at or not at........

IS: find a friend with a boat. yep das boot will do even better, but any boat is otay.

next go to lake about 3pm. buzz around, get to know the place. bigger the lake the more to know obviously. look for landmarks. next as it gets dark(no moon night) whip out the gps. punch in waypt #1 and start buzzing around, continue punching waypts about every 10 minutes at 5-10 knot speed, by now you will realize..........yer screwed!!!! BIG TIME!

hand helm over to qualified skipper and watch him plot directions if hes familiar with lake. starting to get the picture what coxswains(ME-USCG) and pilots get to deal with at night or foul weather.

with that stunt behind you and a belly full of beer at the slip/dock/marina. wake up following morning hungover as a goat, and drive to those exact waypoints you punched and get an idea what being oriented is all about.

we did the above drill countless times. try it with just a compass/watch only and see what fun you'll have. with gps and a plotter there isnt a reason in the world a boat/ship should ever run aground or onto a CHARTED OBSTRUCTION or get lost. same with hikers and hunters. buy quality and every question you'll have there will be an answer.

models you can download to yer computer like my lowrance handheld and its bigger kuzzin king kong lowrance in my race truck(moveable to other vehicles) are great to backtrack and monday morning quarterback what the hell you did and where the hell you went.

for hunting elk in BIG COUNTRY............the only way to figure out where the hell you is and where the hell you aint and figure out which cattle tank is where and how to get there and back to camp. all forests/dezerts/ocean start looking the same after a few daze.

famous indian quote " WHERE DA FUCH R WEE"!

Evans, Marv · 10-18-2008, 07:06 PM

Vash,
You are in the San Fran area. There should be a chapter of the Sierra Club around somewhere. They offer workshops, if you can stomach the Sierra Club types. Lots of active sports equipment stores offer classes or workshops too. Beats reading a book. They'll take you out at the end of the workshop & give you the chance to use it or get lost.