How to Use Landmarks & Not Compass Directions
- 1). Study a map of the area you will be hiking or backpacking in before setting out. Ideally, you will always have your map with you when you're in the wilderness. However, if you lose the map due to circumstances beyond your control, by having familiarized yourself with the major landmarks in the area before your trip, you'll be able to navigate, albeit less precisely, toward safety.
- 2). Search the area around your current location for the landmarks you've memorized or that you can find on the map: for example, trails, streams or other notable features that appear on the map.
- 3). Compare the landmarks you find with their location on your map, then identify on the map your current location. The more landmarks you can recognize, the more precisely you will be able to determine where you are.
- 4). Identify your destination on the map. Finding a campground or other location where people who can offer you help are likely to be should be your goal when lost.
- 5). Orient the map to determine in which direction your destination lies relative to your current location. You can use natural methods of orienting a map, such as determining the placement of the sun, which rises in the east and sets in the west, or you can attempt to judge the shape of a stream or path and compare it to the map. Alternatively, you can calculate direction by choosing two landmarks and determining their spatial relationship to each other to orient your map.
- 6). Walk in the direction you have determined to be ideal, checking your map throughout the process by using the previous steps to ensure that you are continuing to travel in the appropriate direction.
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