Map and Compass Navigation

Your phone is a great navigation tool, until the battery dies, the screen cracks, or the cold drains it on a ridge miles from the car. Map and Compass Navigation is the plain-spoken guide to finding your way with tools that never need a charge. No math background required. If you can read a clock and count your steps, you can learn this. Inside, you'll learn how to: Read a topographic map and see ridges, valleys, and saddles in its contour lines Measure distance, estimate time, and count paces to know how far you've come Choose the right compass and understand every part of it Master declination, the step that trips up more beginners than any other Orient a map, take a bearing, and follow it through trees and around obstacles Use handrails, catching features, and aiming off so small errors don't matter Find your position from the landmarks around you Use your phone and GPS as part of a complete system, not the only plan The book ends with an eight-week practice plan, mostly in parks and on familiar trails, that builds each skill until it's second nature. Book 4 of The Trailhead Series, practical outdoor guides for people who are just getting started.