That fancy phone GPS is a wonder, sure… until the battery dies or you drop it in a creek. But a trusty map and compass? They’ve been guiding folks for ages, and theyll never let you down if you know how to use ’em. Learning this skill aint just old-fashioned, its smart.
Know your compass parts
First things first, lets get friendly with your compass. It might look simple, but each bit has a job. Most hiking compasses, the good ol’ baseplate kind, are what we’re talkin’ about.
Heres the main stuff you’ll see:
- Baseplate: The clear plastic slab everything’s mounted on. It’s got rulers on the side sometimes, pretty handy.
- Direction-of-Travel Arrow: This arrow is printed on the baseplate and, you guessed it, points the way you want to head.
- Rotating Bezel (or Azimuth Ring): This is the dial that spins around the compass housing. It’s marked with degrees, from 0 to 360. That’s your bearing.
- Magnetic Needle: The star of the show. The colored end (usually red) always, always wants to point towards the Earth’s magnetic north. This is key.
- Orienting Arrow: This arrow is marked on the floor of the compass housing, inside the bezel. You use it to line up with the magnetic needle. Often called “the shed.”
- Orienting Lines: These are lines parallel to the orienting arrow. They help you line up your compass with the north-south lines on your map.
| Compass Part | Quick Job |
|---|---|
| Baseplate | Holds it all, often has rulers |
| Direction Arrow | Shows your intended travel path |
| Magnetic Needle | Red end seeks magnetic north |
| Rotating Bezel | Sets and reads bearings in degrees |
| Orienting Arrow | Align needle here; “put red in the shed” |
| Orienting Lines | Align with map’s grid lines |
Get familiar with these parts. Twirl that bezel, watch that needle. It’s simpler than it looks.
Get your map facing north
Before you can figure out where to go, you need to get your map and the real world talkin’ the same language. This means “orienting” your map, so north on the map actually points north in reality. Its a super important step.
- Lay your map out flat on the ground or another stable surface. Avoid placing it on anything metal, like your truck hood, ’cause that can mess with the compass needle.
- Place your compass flat on the map.
- Now, look at the north-south lines on your map (longitude lines, or the edge of the map if it’s aligned north-south). Line up the edge of your compass baseplate, or one of the orienting lines inside the bezel, so it’s parallel with these north-south map lines. Make sure the top of your map (North) is generally pointing away from you.
- Here’s the magic… Without moving the compass from its spot on the map, carefully rotate the entire map with the compass still on it. Keep turning them together until the red end of your magnetic needle is “boxed” inside the outline of the orienting arrow on the compass dial.
Voila! Your map is now oriented to magnetic north. The features on your map now line up with the actual terrain around you. This makes everything else way easier.
Pull a direction from your map
Okay, map’s oriented. Now, lets say you’re at a known spot on your map (Point A) and you want to get to a visible landmark or another point on the map (Point B, like a campsite or a peak). You need to find the bearing, or direction in degrees, from A to B.
- Keep that map oriented! Dont move it.
- Place your compass on the map so the long edge of the baseplate acts like a ruler, making a straight line between your current location (Point A) and where you want to go (Point B).
- Super important: make sure the Direction-of-Travel Arrow on the baseplate is pointing from A towards B. If it points the wrong way, you’ll be heading 180 degrees off!
- Now, hold the baseplate steady. Carefully rotate the bezel (the dial with the numbers) until the orienting lines etched inside the bezel are parallel with the north-south grid lines on your map. And, critically, make sure the “N” for North on the bezel (or the top of the orienting arrow within the bezel) is pointing to North on your map. The magnetic needle itself doesn’t matter for this specific step, we’re just using the map.
- Once those lines are parallel and the orienting arrow is pointing to map north, look at the index line (the little mark on the baseplate where the bezel degrees meet the Direction-of-Travel Arrow). The number on the bezel at this index line is your bearing to Point B! Write it down.
That number, say 120 degrees, is your magic number to follow.
Walk that line in the field
You’ve got your bearing from the map. Now it’s time to use it to walk through the actual woods, hills, or whatever landscape you’re in.
- Hold your compass level in your hand, right in front of your chest. Make sure the Direction-of-Travel Arrow is pointing straight away from your body.
- Now, keep the compass level and rotate your entire body (and the compass with it) until the red magnetic needle is “boxed” perfectly inside the fixed Orienting Arrow on the compass dial. You’re putting “red Fred in the shed,” as they say. Don’t just turn the compass in your hand; turn yourself.
- Once that needle is perfectly aligned in the shed, stop. The Direction-of-Travel Arrow on your compass baseplate is now pointing exactly along the bearing you got from the map.
- Look up, sighting along that Direction-of-Travel Arrow. Pick out a distinct landmark in the distance along that line – a unique tree, a big rock, something that won’t wander off.
- Put your compass away (safely!) and walk to that landmark.
- When you reach it, take your compass out again. Double check your bearing: hold the compass, turn your body until red Fred is back in the shed, and sight a new landmark along the Direction-of-Travel Arrow.
Repeat this process: take a bearing, pick a landmark, walk to it. This is much more accurate than just trying to eyeball it. And watch out for metal stuff near your compass when you’re taking readings – belt buckles, pocket knives, even some eyeglasses can throw it off. Happy trails!