Wilderness Skills - Olympia Mountaineers

3. Twist the graduated dial, keeping the straightedge on both points, until the north on the graduated dial
points to the map’s true north and the meridian lines also point true north.
4. Read the bearing in degrees by looking the tick on the dial at the direction pointer.
Orient the Map
This is useful for a quick assessment of your situation and for generally “orienting” yourself to the items on the
map and what they look like in the field.
How to:
1. Set the graduated dial so that north lines up with the direction pointer.
2. Line up one of the compass’s straightedges so that it’s lined up with a north-south line on the map.
3. Keeping the map and compass pressed together, so they don’t shift relative to each other, turn the map
until the compass needle is lined up in the orientation arrow.
4. The map is now oriented to the earth. Things to the right of the map are east, to the left, west.
Triangulation
Triangulation is the process of finding two or more lines that intersect on the map, so that where they intersect
is your location. Triangulation is sometimes referred to as "cross bearings", or "intersection". It requires a
minimum of known two lines, which can be compass bearings to two known landmarks, or they can be “lines”
in the terrain: an elevation contour line, a ridge top, a creek or gully, a power line, a shoreline, a road, etc. The
closer the two lines are to right angles to each other, the more accurate the positioning you get from
triangulation. The most common landmarks are two peaks.
How to:
1. Take a bearing to the first object. See Bearing to an Object (Field Bearing) above.
2. Transfer the bearing line to the map. See Field Bearing onto a Map above. Note: The map does not
have to be oriented to do this. Disregard the magnetic needle; the compass is only used as a
protractor.
3. The point at which the bearing was taken is somewhere along the line formed by the straightedge.
4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the second known landmark. Your location is near where the lines or bearings
cross on the map.
Wilderness Skills Module Page 72 of 73
Olympia Mountaineers - Hiking, Alpine Scrambling and Basic Climbing