We’re spoiled these days—there’s no denying it. With so many of us outfitted with dedicated driving GPS units in our cars and smartphones in our pockets, getting lost is a fleeting occurrence that is, at worst, a minor annoyance. The trouble with relying on all that technology is that in the event of an emergency or natural disaster, cell towers may not work and you might not be able to recharge the electronics that you’re using to navigate. It’s for this reason that having basic land-navigation knowledge and reliable tools such as maps and a compass can be invaluable additions to your preparedness kit.
GPS units are almost ubiquitous these days, so we’re not going to elaborate too much on the value and versatility of them in this piece. B&H offers dozens of handheld units and even more dedicated driving units that are in stock right now, and for preparedness, you should definitely have one when you’re out camping and hiking, or should some short-term emergency occur. However, to be truly prepared, these shouldn’t be the only arrow in your navigation quiver. How do I know this? Experience… In the halcyon days of the late ’90s, mobile devices weren’t particularly smart and GPS access was still restricted to military use—and it’s to this period that we must look for the tools we need for successful analog land navigation.
The most basic aspect of land navigation is knowing where North, South, East, and West are. First: The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. From early to mid-morning and late afternoon to early evening, this is easy to see. During the middle part of the day, or when it’s cloudy (or when the sun goes down), this gets a bit more dodgy, so you need to pay attention throughout the day and take notice of landmarks that face known directions and refer to them if the sun isn’t visible. There are other ways to figure out where North is, and (unsurprisingly) the Boy Scouts have great how-tos on finding North using an analog watch or just two sticks.
Obviously, a compass is the ideal analog tool for navigation, and B&H stocks dozens of them, with prices from less than $5 to almost $600. At the low end of the scale, the compasses will give you just basic direction readings of various (and over time, dubious) accuracy, mostly due to the all-important magnets becoming depolarized over time. Personally, these cheap ones are good for kids and learning navigation, but I wouldn’t trust my life to them. The high-end models, such as the Brunton Geo Transit or International Pocket Transit, will employ rare-Earth magnets that won’t demagnetize, and include declination adjustments, various leveling devices for increased accuracy, higher resolution, and the ability to measure angles to objects (great when used with topographical maps). I got my first compass when I was in ROTC and first learned orienteering and navigation and, in form and function, it was very similar to this basic $10 compass. It lasted a long time, and served me well but, alas, it couldn’t survive hitting a granite boulder at the bottom of a 30-foot fall. I replaced my old friend with this Silva Ranger CL, which I use as my primary compass, and the one to which I just linked above is a backup that I keep secured in my gear. While I’m happy with the two I have now, I’m eyeing Brunton’s cleverly named World’s Best Compass as an imminent upgrade (because not only is one none, three is always better than two).
For those who are eager to learn, a simple search of the Google will return numerous YouTube videos that teach compass and transit use and land navigation, not to mention an entire Internet of rabbit holes for you to fall down for refining your skills. If you have like-minded friends and/or family who are interested in learning proper land navigation and orienteering, I suggest picking up one of these Instructor’s Compass sets. Each one comes with 12 compasses, an instructional DVD, plus a full curriculum with all materials required. If you have A LOT of like-minded friends and/or family, there’s a 24-compass version.
When I started driving, I kept a road atlas of the contiguous United States and separate atlases for Nassau and Suffolk counties, on Long Island, where I live. Made by venerable (and perennial) favorites such as Rand McNally, National Geographic, and AAA, the large atlases don’t go into fine detail of local roads but will allow you to find your way from coast to coast—which is why I have the county-specific maps that go into granular detail about side roads, alleys, and service roads. Back in the day, I kept these in the pocket on the back of the front passenger seat so I could grab them quickly, but now I keep them in my emergency bag in the trunk. Every person who plans on evacuating via roads in an emergency, should have a set of local and more large-scale road maps.
If you’re heading off-road and off-trail to parks or remote locations, you can usually pick up reliable topographical maps and map sets from various sources like the US Geological Survey, the National Parks Service or hiking clubs, at costs ranging from free to try-and-explain-THAT-to-your-wife (husband). Traditional road-type maps are fine for basic navigation, even in the woods, but more detailed topographical ones allow you to “see” the terrain to help gauge the best route. Common sense says that running a straight line to where your destination will be is the best course; the reality is that there might be a steep cliff or drop-off, or a long (tiring) hill in that path that will wear you out or stop you cold, while taking a more indirect route will help you avoid those obstacles and make for a faster hike.
Key parts of preparing for emergencies or disasters is thinking ahead and looking stark reality in the eye. When things start going wrong, you can’t rely on the Grid supplying you power or being restored in a timely manner. Electronic navigation devices are easy to use and reliable with a quick learning curve, but they have a critical flaw—they are power-hungry. You can satisfy this hunger for a time through conservative use or external battery chargers, but eventually the power will run out. Do yourself a favor and pick up some basic navigation tools and arm yourself with some knowledge on how to use them and you’ll be better prepared in general and safer when you’re out on the trail.
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