Learning LandNav

[CS1983]

Things I recall being helpful from all those years ago:

1) Pace count in different types of terrain, along with average deviation from azimuth (deviation can be offset with frequent shooting of azimuth)

(just throwing out examples here, not necessarily what mine were):

flat: 67 paces per 100m, no deviation
hilly: 72 paces per 100m, deviation terrain dependent (sloping one way or another, obstacles, etc.)
thick growth: dependent on obstacles. Looking at you with angry slits for eyes, Fort Stewart training area.

2) Don't forget to convert grid-to-magnetic and magnetic-to-grid, every time you shoot/plot, ESPECIALLY here.

3) Handrails, backstops, and intersections/known points are your friend. If present, USE THEM.

handrail -- something you follow which is on the map as well as visible, e.g., a stream, ridge, road (don't walk on the road; it's a handrail, not a path. Stay in the woodline), etc.

backstop -- something you do not advance beyond which is on the map as well as visible.

intersections/KP -- the glory of cross-country land nav is you can go more quickly (i.e., less stopping to confirm azimuth) if you can get to either an intersection or known point as a waypoint. Sometimes a straight-line distance is NOT more quick (e.g., straight line distance takes you over the top of steep terrain which you can otherwise go around).

4) Terrain/man-made objects are your friend, not your enemy. Frequently consult the wise old hills, marked (and visible) radio towers, etc. This is "terrain association", at least in a loose use of the term. Learning to match up what you see on the ground with what you see on the map is a valuable skill. Combined with back azimuth and plotting an intersection of those tells you exactly where you are, assuming you didn't mistake $terrainfeatureX for $terrainfeatureY.

Practice this by comparing a map with surrounding terrain in a KNOWN location.

5) If you see terrain lines start to stack on each other, remember it will be steep and plan accordingly. I'd rather walk fast and go around, providing I have something to associate with on the other side, than go over the top of a steep feature at a snail's pace.

6) No one ever got lost by shooting their azimuth more frequently and confirming data on their map. Save the speed records until you get comfortable. S&R has better things to do than find your corpse, or at least your dehydrated, hungry, hypothermic ass. You cannot get lost fast enough.

7) Moving back to a known position (IF you are sure you can find it), is better than moving forward to an unknown position from an unknown position. However, taking an extra few minutes to recheck your data, have a drink of water or snack, etc. is not a problem. You're not going to get more lost by getting your head back in the game. Depending on the situation, it's not an awful idea to pull a Hansel and Gretel -- leave waypoint markers. Obviously that's bad and dumb in a tactical situation, but last I heard the bear has yet to come over Badger Mountain. On that note, leave the WP markers so they are also visible from your return.

8) There's no shame in breaking out the GPS if you have exhausted analog options. Better to know where you are and reverse engineer your mistake than be tonight's news.

9) Check your damn azimuth! Again!

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I'm open to corrections on the above. It's been a lot of years since I had map and compass in hand and I might be misremembering, phrased poorly, etc.

[Martinjmpr]

Minor quibble here:

Things I recall being helpful from all those years ago:

...

3) Handrails, backstops, and intersections/known points are your friend. If present, USE THEM.

handrail -- something you follow which is on the map as well as visible, e.g., a stream, ridge, road (don't walk on the road; it's a handrail, not a path. Stay in the woodline), etc.

Unless OP is planning an ambush or trying to evade the law there's no need to avoid roads or trails.

From a tactical standpoint, I get it, it's beaten into your head that you avoid roads and trails but presumably the OP just wants to know how to get from point A to point B without having to rely on a GPS and in that circumstance there's no reason to avoid roads.

[JohnnyDrama]

Start small. An exercise we did while I was a search and rescue diver was to practice moving in a pattern. Start at point A, proceed X distance to a turn, change direction and go X distance, and hopefully end up at your starting point. Squares and triangles were popular patterns to practice. The exercise was intended to build skill and confidence with our compasses. We'd do this both on land and under water.

You could also practice using your compass while out hiking. Just practice shooting azimuths on landmarks to find yourself on a map. In steep mountains and canyons I've discovered ded reckoning is much less practical than terrain association.