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"You need to learn how to interpret a topographic map, and recognize the terrain around you. That takes time & effort." And you can still make mistakes that th
by prawn 6y ago
"You need to learn how to interpret a topographic map, and recognize the terrain around you. That takes time & effort."
And you can still make mistakes that throw off your navigation. In the past, I participated in a sport that involved navigating through terrain for up to 24 hours (through the night) looking for targets. The compass work was never much of an issue (more a process), but making decisions based on the terrain was - is that the third gully since we left the spur or the fourth? And issues typically compound.
- aksss 6y ago> issues typically compound Nobody appreciates the rapidity and magnitude with which this happens until they’ve experienced it. It’s a very good experience to have so you can recognize it and hopefully stop the momentum of failure.
- prawn 6y agoDefinitely. In one example, we were following a bearing and counting gullies. It was hard to tell what would or wouldn't constitute a gully relative to our map contours. We ended up several hundred metres off course, on the wrong side of a ridge, and a target that should've taken 20 minutes to reach took 90 minutes. That was the Australasian Championship, so serious terrain, and you burn energy wandering around trying to work out where you went wrong.