Navigation skills

Courses are useful, but going out and practising may be what you really need. With a course you have an ‘expert’ there to support you; on your own trip you have … YOU.

Cheers

Orienteering?

https://www.phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/papago-park/orienteering-course

Good link, Ken!

Orienteering is a very effective way to jump-start navigation skills in a safe and hands-on way. The things learned this way are far more likely to stick with us because they involve integrated physical and mental activity.

The Columbia River Orienteering Club (CROC) videos are excellent resources.

http://www.croc.org/navigationvideos/

I suggest getting out and practicing on day hikes anywhere that you have good map coverage and sufficient topography to practice the basic skills described in the videos.  This will give one confidence to do the same on a multi-day trip.

I learned to navigate x-c mostly through books like this one.

The nice thing is you don’t really have to go outside to learn the basic skills. Of course, once you do it solidifies in your brain. Also, it takes time to really learn how to read a topo map and know how to choose your route based on what you “see” in the map. Learning how to cross country navigate has really become much easier thanks to phone GPS. Now you can train and then double check with your phone GPS to make sure you are lining things up the right way. I will the first to admit that I now mostly use GPS to navigate but I still pull out the Map and compass when I need to identify distant objects

To start off, I’d choose something easy. If you are willing to drive a bit to the Sierras from AZ there are plenty of “easy” x-c routes and passes that many others here can recommend such as Humphrey’s Basin, 20 lakes basin and etc.

Here’s an outstanding book by a writer who trains SAR teams and Special Forces around the world. His experience as an educator shines through – it’s very clear and practical, and laid out in a progressive, course-like structure. Over 150 5-star reviews on Amazon.com and co.uk and the best I’ve found by quite a distance.

https://goo.gl/LbVHPs

Learning Orienteering will be a good start but it’s only a subset of what you’ll need in wild country. This book will fill the gaps.

If you absorb and practice all the relevant techniques in this book you’ll become an outstanding navigator. I read it once a year and practice the techniques regularly in nasty weather on Dartmoor.