Map Reading Skills

Map reading is an essential component in the armoury of knowledge of the survivalist or outdoorsman.

To some, map reading seems a complicated artform, where in fact it is really easy.

Below is a link from the Ordanace Survey, the UK's Premier Map making organisation:- Map Reading Made Easy Peasy

www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk...

I know it looks very simplistic, but sometimes thats all it needs to be able to learn it .......... enjoy

Incidently, the map used on page 7 is about 7 miles from where I live

Here is a more 'advanced guide' to map reading:-

leisure.ordnancesurvey.co.uk...

[edit on 23/7/08 by Wotan]

[edit on 23/7/08 by Wotan]

Thanks for the post Wotan. Good beginner map lesson!

reply to post by Wotan

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Something you should have added is using a compass. Most people rely to much on GPS. What happens if something goes wrong with the satelites?

Or, indeed, navigating without even a compass.

Who knows how to use a wrist watch, for example?

demonstrations.wolfram.com...

(conversely, a compass can be used to tell the time)

reply to post by Essan

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Thats cool. I've been in to survival my whole life and been able to survive in the woods with just a knife since i was 7 and i didn't know that.

GPS?? What the hell is that? You obviously have too much money to spend on Gucci kit.

Good ole' Silva Compass ...... old tech, but reliable.

reply to post by Wotan

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Your funny! The only GPS i have is about 12 years old and was given to me by my brother. The only navigation i ever use are my eyes, maybe a map, and sometimes(not very often unless it's to stay familiar with) an engineers compass that is 22 years old.

Yes; and those same people are most likely helpless when confronted with written instructions of any kind or with a train schedule.
It's called functional illiteracy, and it's a very, very serious phenomenon afflicting the society at large.

This happens to be one of my pet subjects, but I'll write about it some other time. (Or not.)

Meanwhile, would someone, please, explain this to me: I am a lover of compasses and often gift people with them (they all LOVE it!) - but, for someone who were lost (and not looking for 100% exact locations), wouldn't the trajectory of the sun be enough to determine the directions?
(It is for me - and I am no girl scout.)

And BTW, if anyone happens to get lost in a deep forest at night time... you better stay put until the morning anyway.
Really.


.


[edit on 3-8-2008 by Vanitas]

reply to post by Vanitas

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Yes the sun would be enough except at mid-day when it's straight above you. Then it's harder to tell direction and average people would get turned around.
Oh and you can still travel at night if your careful. Moss grows on the north side of trees so you could still tell direction.



[edit on 3-8-2008 by Anuubis]

MOST mosses grow on the northern side of a tree in the Northern Hemisphere but NOT ALL do though ........ be careful there.

It would be my luck that i would find the moss that doesnt

reply to post by Wotan

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True. So let me rephrase that most "common" moss grows on the north side. South side in the southern hemisphere. Look for large concentrations of moss. Sorry i'm used to taking people out in the woods and just showing them.

maps compass gps are for those that are lost
I do not get lost

Hehe, no problem

All that comment tells me is that you never been any where then.


SAS/ SBS / Paras/ Royal marines/ Green Berets / Delta Force / US Marines / SEAL teams... UK military helicopter pilots, American helicopter pilots............

The list of units that at one time or another have been geographically misplaced is HUGE. Thats just the military.

Add to this experienced climbers / hiikers / hill walkers....... Starts to make your comment look a wee bit silly.

reply to post by Dan Tanna

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Your example of military units being off target is flawed. Most of the time it's caused by misinformation in the chain of command. And i have never been lost in the woods either. I've been hunting since i was a little kid and spend every moment i can out there. So it's entirely possible solo1 hasn't been either!

Nope.

No one can ever, hand on heart say that they have never been any where outside of their most local environment and never ever got even a small bit misplaced. No one.

I know people who have summited Everest and yet got lost on the brecon beacons. It happens.

trick is, getting 'un-lost'.

reply to post by Anuubis

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I am glad to see someone agrees with my "simpleton" mentality regarding the sun... :-) There are few sights quite as ridiculous as a grown man (just reminiscing...) trying to determine the direction of the West by means of a compass - with an open sky overhead.

And, luckily for us, the sun travels much faster than we do, so there's no harm in waiting a few minutes, to see where it's heading. (Well, unless you're observing the sky to find the direction of the nearest toilet or something... But how likely is that? )

I also see we have been fed the exact same fairy tale at school, Anuubis - regarding the moss, that is.
The reality - or so they tell me - is that moss shuns sunlight and seeks moisture.
In many parts of the world, including most of continental Europe, the north is indeed the direction that "yields" the least sunlight (too many reasons to go into that right now) - but there are many, MANY cases where there are natural obstacles blocking the sunlight, or other natural causes that make moss grow on sides of a tree trunk other than the northernmost.
(I remember as a little girl being puzzled by the "North" changing direction so abruptly in the forest! )

Oh, regarding the forest-night-don't move advice: forests can be an extremely tricky terrain, even for those who are familiar with them. (And anyone lost in a wood clearly wouldn't be familiar with that particular location.)
At night, they can become a death-trap, especially in mountainous regions.
(Not to mention the probable waste of time - and a huge waste of energy when one should be conserving it - trying to find your way through a darkened maze.)

Interesting topic.
I would've thought more people would be interested in it.









[edit on 3-8-2008 by Vanitas]

reply to post by Dan Tanna

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And there is nothing, NOTHING quite as magical as being "lost"...

(God knows how many times I've wished with all my heart to be lost in Venice, for example - but those darned yellow signs - FERROVIA, anyone? - broke the spell every single time... )




[edit on 3-8-2008 by Vanitas]

reply to post by Vanitas

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For one it's not a simpleton mentality, it's common sense. And moving in the forest because your lost is not always the situation. About 6 years ago a buddy and i were elk hunting and came across 2 bulls fighting. The one was the biggest bull i'd ever seen and would have easily broken the Idaho state record. I wasn't about to let him get away, but didn't have a clear shot when they took off. So we tracked them for about a mile and a half till it started getting dark, by the time we were half way back it was pitch black and in mid october you don't stay in the woods without a tent or good shelter. So we hiked all the way back to camp in the dark. It's just a matter of taking your time and being careful.

I know. I was just being modest.