Sunday 7 April 2024: Practical Map and Compass Navigation Group 7 * – S/E. An exercise in Callum Brae Nature Reserve.

Summary

From Garmin Connect (recorded on MAP66i) – Distance: 6.92km | Climb: 110vm (Elev Corrections Enabled) | Time: 1:44 moving +2:12 of stops = 3:56 | Grading: S/E; E(7).

Trip Report

No trip report, just a couple of notes to remind myself of comments made by the very experienced Garry Boxsell.

  1. If your compass has the ability to do so, you can set the grid-magnetic angle (declination) permanently on your compass using the small screw head in the bezel. Advantage – no need to GMA and GMS. Disadvantage – forgetting to change this setting if moving to an area with a different grid-magnetic angle.
  2. In flat, open country where no aiming point can be determined for use, replace an aiming point with a party member! From your current location, send out a party member along the desired direction of travel. Use “left”, “right” as needed. So they must remain within ear shot. Once in position, the navigator and rest of party move to the aiming person. Repeat. Technique can be called leap frog.
    This technique also useful at night and in whiteout conditions. May even have to use a rope/cord tied to the human aiming point.
  3. From experience, build up your metrics of how many paces and the time to cover 100 metres. This will vary according to the going (eg. track, open woodland, thick scrub), change in altitude (uphill, downhill) and load (day pack, overnight or multiday pack). Using your metrics, estimate the distance covered on a leg by either counting paces (transfer peddles from one pocket to another every 100 paces to help keep your count) or time to walk a leg (eg. knowing you walk at 4kph on a flat track with an overnight pack, in 15 minutes you should cover 1km).

Having walked this exercise 9 times, it’s time to give me a rest. No more programmed.