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Thread: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

  1. #41
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    It's tricky to deal with a whiteout even if you have a compass and know what you're doing. you have to know your starting point with great accuracy, and you need to move in straight line units regardless of the terrain, using (and interpreting) whatever terrain cues you can find to figure out how far you've gone. It's very difficult if you're alone. In a group the person with the compas can at least send someone else ahead and keep that person on the right bearing.

    There are almost as many ways to screw up with the compas as there are without it.

    In most cases, in a whiteout on a glaciated mountain with no obvious trail or terrain features to follow, I'd hunker down and wait for conditions to improve.

  2. #42

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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    Quote Originally Posted by bobwysiwyg View Post
    ... should a major EMP wipe out the satellites....
    Heck, I was merely worried about a major dunk in the drink wiping out my GPS. If a major EMP happens, we will have lots of things other than GPS to worry about in the next, er, 20 minutes.

  3. #43

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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    Can't let this one go by,,, navigation class for search and rescue folks. One of the new people, looking at a map and learning to use a compass,,, how come they make us learn to use declination, it's just so confusing. (it's almost 20 degrees out here).

  4. #44
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Hughes View Post
    Heck, I was merely worried about a major dunk in the drink wiping out my GPS. If a major EMP happens, we will have lots of things other than GPS to worry about in the next, er, 20 minutes.
    True. And EMP is a problem for things that are plugged into the electrical grid; the high tension wires work as antennae and convert the electromagnetic waves of the explosion into a voltage spike. Pretty sure satellites aren't plugged in ...

  5. #45
    multiplex
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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    i don't have a gps ... or a cellphone that has it ...
    ( my phone is about 6 or 7 years old. )

    but i know how to read a map, use a compass
    survive in the woods, and maybe do first aid/rescue
    if in a bad situation.

    i also carry a pair of tin cans and a string in case
    i am out of range and need to make a call.

  6. #46
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Knowles View Post
    I have gotten "lost" on a number of occasion, but I prefer to say, "I'm not lost. I just don't know where I am at the moment."
    "I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks."
    -- Daniel Boone

    I use the smallest Garmin that can still interface to a computer, the Geko 201. The simpler the tool, the more you have to use your brain. Kind of like LF...

  7. #47
    Format Omnivore Brian C. Miller's Avatar
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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    Quote Originally Posted by paulr View Post
    True. And EMP is a problem for things that are plugged into the electrical grid; the high tension wires work as antennae and convert the electromagnetic waves of the explosion into a voltage spike. Pretty sure satellites aren't plugged in ...
    The largest solar storm observed was in 1859, also known as the Carrington Event. (Wikipedia)

    If the EMP is coming from a solar flare, definitely kiss the satellites goodbye, as there is nothing to shield them. The power grid would be down, as all of the transformers would be blown out. Without the electrical grid, Pentagon planners guess that within a year, less than 10% of the US population will be alive. We have a really big house of cards, here.

  8. #48

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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    Quote Originally Posted by paulr View Post
    I'm not so swayed by old boy scout rhetoric....Everything I bring needs to earn its keep. Sometimes it's a hard decision and sometimes not. Compasses are easy for me leave home, since I've never needed one in the kinds of mountains I visit.
    I guess it depends on what you are preparing yourself for. I learned the hikers' ethic from my grandfather: "Be prepared to help another hiker out. Don't ever expect someone else to save your ass."

    I can't remember the last time I needed my compass. I'll use the map to gage my speed. But that's not why I bring them. If someone is lost, I'm going to help. And having a map and a compass (despite the half oz of weight) may mean the difference in getting someone out safely.

  9. #49

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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian C. Miller View Post
    Without the electrical grid, Pentagon planners guess that within a year, less than 10% of the US population will be alive.
    The rest presumably will die from boredom in the absence of TV and Internet.

  10. #50
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: LF hikers ― is “Map & Compass” a dying art?

    I'm more cautious now that I'm older. But when you grow up wandering off into the
    wilderness with nothing more than a Levi jacket, a book of matches, a rifle, and maybe a poncho, all this GPS talk makes me scratch my head. How did people get around for the previous million years?

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