Compasses absent from gear lists

[Mark Armesto]

The time I need it, will be the time I don’t have it.

[Mole J]

I’m guessing you folks who don’t use a compass or GPS only go out in good visibility or stay on trails. Or maybe have good local knowledge.

Where we live, in the hills, the visibility distance is often less than 50m when the clouds are down to the ground. Sometimes all day long. Compass use is essential. (Or GPS) if mistakes are not to be made. Coming off the wrong side of a ridge is inconvenient at minimum, but it happens regularly to poorly prepared walkers.

For our Summer Mountain Leader Certificates, candidates have to demonstrate that they can navigate (gps free)  to a high standard for 6 days including a session in darkness or very poor visibility. As well as 2 days first aid training… .  Official Youth groups (Scouts/schools etc) are not allowed into the  mountains without a qualified leader

 

[Roger Caffin]

a session in darkness or very poor visibility
He he he
Being as how it was a fine night with a reasonable moon, ‘they’
not only took away our maps but they also took away our compasses. The country was rolling forest, the target was the dinner tent some km away …

“OK, we can handle this”, so off we set – each of us solo of course, dropped off at slightly different points. About 1/3 of the way along, navigating by the moon, I realised I had not allowed for the magnetic north correction. That got tricky for a moment while I worked out the necessary angle correction. Given the terrain and the fact that there was a ‘catcher’ road, I aimed slightly to the right so I would know which direction to turn along the road for dinner.

Actually, it is good fun playing these games. Try it some time. A huge confidence boost when you get there.

Cheers

[Catherine Harley]

^^^ What Mole said.

In Scotland (and rest UK) folks without compass/map and the skills to use them are regularly ‘helped’ back to civilisation by our rescue services and given a ‘reprimand’. The rescuers are volunteers – so being  that stupid is also really “bad form”.

[Greg K]

Mole J, yes I have done off trail travel only when I can see where I’m going.  If weather conditions are such that I have very low visibility, I either don’t go, or I stick to trails.

Locals in western Washington State joke about how we have two seasons: Winter and August.  UK weather is similar to the weather in western WA, except you don’t have August in the UK.  ;-)

[Roger Caffin]

except you don’t have August in the UK. ;-)
Not entirely true – we had a week walking on Dartmoor once and came back suntanned to London. My friends were outraged by our luck.
However, it has been said you can miss the UK summer if you go to the theatre at the wrong time …

Cheers

[Dean F.]

I’ll admit that it’s been a while since I needed a compass, since I’m pretty damned good at terrain association.  But I still carry one- usually a Suunto baseplate model, but I also have a full lensatic compass.  I could probably just carry a button compass or some such but I think that orienteering is half the fun of hiking in the first place.

And, yes Craig, I can manage declination, shoot back-azimuths to triangulate my position, etc. very well, thank you.

[BlackHatGuy]

This compass has yet to fail me.

[Geoff Caplan]

I’m with Catherine –  at least for the UK.

I was brought up walking and climbing in conditions like this:

In the Cairngorms, if you can’t navigate you risk leaving the planet early (and sadly, many do).

GPS has only changed this to a degree – in any critical situation I’d always carry map and compass in case of equipment failure, and I take care to practice my skills quite regularly. (This is easy when you live on Dartmoor – the Royal Marines train there and claim that if you can navigate the tors you can navigate anywhere…). On any UK project a compass is the first thing on my list. And as I enjoy navigation, the GPS often stays at home. The same for the Western Alps, with their notoriously fickle weather and dodgy waymarking off the main trails.

Even on well-marked US trails I’d be wary of walking without some kind of compass and physical mapping, particularly early or late in the season. If you follow the Facebook pages for the PCT and the CTD a lot of people seem to get in trouble when they are caught out in poor weather – they get discombobulated by a little bit of snow or fog. Others simply bail off the trail any time a front passes through as they don’t have the confidence to navigate in poor weather. There are a lot of people out there with pretty sketchy all-round skills.

When I finally get onto the PCT I would plan to carry map extracts for at least the more difficult sections, along with a proper baseplate compass. And some sketches and bearings for bailout routes. I simply wouldn’t feel comfortable relying entirely on electronics.

[Ben C]

When off trail, I’ll typically rely on a compass and printed maps.  If I’m ever concerned about whether I went down the right area, though, I will consult Gaia on my phone.  With Gaia, you can tell exactly where you are in a short amount of time with strong certainty.  I understand the concern with electronics on the trail.  And I don’t use it alone.  But it is really handy for a quick check to prevent a small bad turn leading into a much larger or longer one.  Consider it a backup if you want, but it’s superior to a map and compass as long as it’s working.  And I’ve never had it not work.

[Matthew / BPL]

I will consult Gaia on my phone…  And I’ve never had it not work.

I’m a big fan of Gaia as well. I use it primarily to confirm that I am where I think I am on my paper map. I have had it fail. 

On day two of the JMT I woke up to my quarterly lock code change requirement from my work. Apparently using Outlook on my personal phone enables my employer to require that I change my lock code every three months. No big deal, I just came up with a new lock code and then a few hours later I wanted to confirm my location using Gaia and my phone told me that I had to log into Apple’s server using my Apple ID to authenticate the lock code change. The only problem is you can’t get a cell signal in Yosemite. It was not until I was at the top of Donahue Pass 36 hours later that I was able to get a clear shot at a cell tower. We weren’t in any danger but it was a good reminder that I can trust paper maps and a compass (which I had with me) more than I can trust an electronic device.

[Ben C]

Ha, good story, Matthew.  Sounds like we use it about the same.  I especially like to look at it before going up an off-trail pass.  It’s nice to use to just make sure.

[Roger Caffin]

when you live on Dartmoor – the Royal Marines train there and claim that if you can navigate the tors you can navigate anywhere…
I will respectfully disagree with the RM. We have walked on Dartmoor. To be sure, it can be tricky when there is thick fog, but there are worse places (been there too). Ah well, nit picking.

As for a GPS failing – to be sure it happens. When I was reviewing the Spot in 2008, I was at one stage on the East bank of a large estuary. The GPS in the Spot had me on the West bank, 1.5 km away. A lot of water in between.

Map & Compass.

Cheers

[Edward John M]

Like Roger says “Always” and with a set of appropriate maps. Several reasons but the main one is they do not need batteries and they work for as long as your brain functions and at 32 grams including a 1:100,000 emergency map it weighs a lot less than even the lightest GPS

[Bob Moulder]

Roger, I agree with everything above about the hazards of reliance on electronic nav aids, use of compasses, maps, etc, but I must say that Spot has probably improved a wee bit in the last 9 years.

And it is not a navigation device. However, I cc myself on the email notifications I send my wife from Spot Gen3 and check them when I get home. I’ve done many of these the last few years and the pings are invariably within a stone’s throw of the actual location and frequently within pissing distance… depending on how badly one has to ‘go’    :^)

Of course there are some places where they can fail spectacularly such as slot canyons with little or no satellite coverage or reflections from steep mountain walls that confuse signals, or dense foliage (particularly if it’s wet)… all of this discussed ad infinitum elsewhere.

But your Spot exemplar is IMHO a bit outdated.

 

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Bob

Of course there are some places where they can fail spectacularly such as slot canyons with little or no satellite coverage or reflections from steep mountain walls that confuse signals
Just so.
We have a lot of cliffs and canyons around Sydney. We spend a lot of time crawling around them – or abseiling down them. All good fun. In that particular case I was under a cliff of about 100 m height. I suspect any GPS device could have failed there.

Cheers

[Author]

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