When there is no cell phone coverage and the batteries in your GPS have died, how do you find your way back home?

Recently I took a long trip which included driving the lengths of Wyoming, North Dakota, Kansas, and visiting eastern Colorado.   When visiting these areas, I am always impressed by how frontiersmen found their way around.  In these very flat lands with few natural landmarks and tall prairie grasses, how did they know where they were, or decide how to get to where they wanted to go?  

I encountered the same wonderment when travelling through eastern Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.  The rolling hills and carpets of dense forests seemed to go on forever.   One hill looks just like the other and in most places, visibility through the trees is limited to mere yards.   I think back to when Daniel Boone blazed a wagon road over the Cumberland Mountains to reach the Cumberland Gap.  How on earth did he keep his team on-track to arrive at that point in the mountains?

The answer to these questions is: I don't know for sure, but I can share some ideas.

Following Game Trails:

• Before humans arrived in North America, there was wildlife.  Wildlife often follows the same routes in their daily and annual routines, typically finding the easiest route through the forest or rough terrain.  Due to repeated use, game trails were formed.   Native Americans would later use these same game trails, enlarging them in the process.

• When early Europeans began exploring North America, they used these same trails.  Men learned that trails always started from somewhere and went to somewhere else and that it was much easier to follow a game trail than try to blaze one.

Remembering the Past:

• Sometimes explorers simply remembered where they had been in the past and simply repeated those routes.

Wandering Around:

• I believe that in many instances, early pioneers did not care where they were going but were simply exploring.   All they needed to do is to remember the route they used to get to where they were and then simply reverse course as needed.  

• I often use this approach when I am in a vehicle taking a trip.  I see an interesting road and go up it simply to see what is there.  Often, this results in having to turn around and retrace my route when I encounter dead ends.  I have learned to not use this method when towing a trailer.   However, you do end up in some very interesting locations.

Dead Reckoning:

• Dead reckoning is a method of route finding that is somewhere between Wandering Around and Orienteering with a map and compass.  

• With dead reckoning you continually mentally reorient your frame of reference to keep track of which way is north.  You mentally track how far you go in each direction.  As you make turns in your travels, you always know which way is which and about how far you traveled.  

• I am always surprised by how well dead reckoning works for me, especially in the desert.  By monitoring my turns and distances I mentally create a route like with a GPS.  I am highly visually oriented and detailed 3D mental imagery is easy for me.  I can actually "see" maps in my head and I just follow them.  

• Not everyone has the ability to use this technique.  I have some friends who could get lost in a parking lot.  They need more sophisticated methods for navigating.

Orienteering With a Map and Compass:

• Over time, crude maps of these new lands were developed and that greatly aided early explorers.  Marking the location of water sources was a lifesaver for those who followed the explorers.

• Current maps are highly accurate and can be relied on for navigation.   Almost everyone has used a road map at some point.  These are very simple to use, but you need to keep track of the approximate direction of which way is north.

• Orienteering often involves highly detailed and highly accurate USGS topographical maps. 

When relying upon a map and compass for route finding, determining which direction is north is critical.  There are several ways for finding North.

Finding North

In the northern hemisphere, in the north sky are the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper constellations.  These are also known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (Great Bear and Lesser Bear).   As shown above, the two right side stars making up part of the Big Dipper's cup point directly to Polaris, the North Star.   Polaris is a very bright star and stands out well.

The North Star points almost exactly true north.  As the earth rotates in the night sky, the North Star will not move (to the naked eye).  This is a very good reference for the north direction.

Compass Method

Most people are aware that a compass needle points to the north.  Easy, you now know which way is north. 

Not quite so fast.  The needle points towards magnetic north, not geographic north.   The difference between magnetic north and geographic north is call declination.

What causes declination is that the magnetic north pole and the true north pole are not in the same position.  To make this even a little more confusing, the magnetic north pole moves continually.  As a result, the declination at a given location on the globe is always changing.    

To summarize:

• There is a variation on the earth's surface between true north and magnetic north which is call declination.

• The declination changes depending upon where you are on the earth's surface.

• The declination changes over time.

The above map shows the declination across the United States.    The declination at a specific location consists of two attributes:

• Degrees of angle of declination

• Direction of declination, either east of true north or west of true north.

Note that the declination for a specific location can be found on USGS Topo maps for that region. 

Adjusting A Compass for Declination

Orienting a Map

Orienting a map is the process of aligning a map in the same orientation as the surface of the earth.  This is done by knowing which direction on earth is true north and rotating the map to be the same.   There are a few tricks that you need to know though to be able to do this properly.

Make sure that the compass is set-up with the correct declination setting.   Place a map of the area on a flat surface.  Set the compass on the map.  Position the compass so that the long side of the compass is aligned with the north-south lines on the map.  Rotate the map with the compass on it so that the needle is aligned in the compass body's red arrow outline like the photos shown above.  This is called "Orienting the Map".

Note that having anything which is magnetic near the compass at this point will affect the accuracy of the map orientation.  This includes magnetic materials in the ground.

When a map is oriented properly, the geographic features shown on the map are aligned with the actual geographic features on the earth.   Once this has been achieved, the map can be used for precise navigation.

Establishing a Bearing

Once the map has been oriented properly, it can be used for establishing bearings.  A bearing is a direction of travel from where you are to any specific location of interest on the map.  

Assuming that you know where you are on a map, you start there.   There are two distinctly different ways to use bearings.

• You have a identified a landmark and you want to use your map to determine what it is and where it is on the map.

• You have identified a point of interest on your map, and you want to know how to get there.

Assume that you want to know the direction to walk to go from point "A" to point "B" in the example below.

Start by orienting the map

Triangulating your position

If you are uncertain of your location on a map, triangulation can be used to determine your position.  

Start by orienting the map.  (Yes, I know the map is upside down)

Hold the compass out at arm's length.  Close the lid of the compass not quite 2/3 of the way like is shown above. 

Center the black vertical line on the mirror with the center of the needle's pivot point.   At the top of the black line on the mirror is a small "V" cutout.  Holding the compass out at arm's length, use the mirror and black line to make sure that the needle says centered in the red arrow outline.  

Position the "V" cutout on Jackson Peak, in this case.  

Rotate the declination ring until the compass needle is centered in the red arrow outline.  

Without letting the map move, place the compass so one edge is aligned with Jackson Peak and make sure that the compass needle is centered in the red arrow outline.   Draw a line along the edge of the compass.

Repeat this process for Scott Mountain in this case.  Draw a line along the edge of the compass.

Your position is where these two lines intersect.  In this case, you are on top of Whitehawk Mountain! 

For ease of reading, I will rotate the map to be right-side up.

These are just the basics of orienteering, but it should provide a basis for some hands-on practicing.