THE COMPLETE OUTDOORSMANS HANDBOOK.pdf - Doczine

eading of your path of travel as shown by the protractor (eighty degrees).Determining a course with a Sylva or other good quality compass:1. Place your map on a flat, level surface. If you wish, you can draw a line from the objective to thestarting point, but this is not necessary.2. Align the transparent plate of your compass along the path of travel so that the line of sight is pointingin that direction.3. Turn the compass until the lines on the housing are parallel to the north-south lines on the map. If themap does not have north-south lines, you will have to draw one crossing your path of travel. The northarrow on the housing will now be pointing to true north.4. Turn the compass housing the number of degrees of declination marked on the map. (If thedeclination is east, this means a clockwise turn; if the declination is west, an anti-clockwise turn.) Theindex pointer now reads the magnetic bearing of the path of travel.5. To travel the line of direction required, turn the whole compass without moving the housing so thatthe north end of the needle points over the north end of the engraved arrow. The course to travel will bethe line of sight or the direction of the sides of the transparent plate.Occasionally someone gets lost in spite of having a compass and knowing how to use it, usually becausethe traveler lacked confidence in the compass. He "knew" that the compass was wrong and that his senseof direction was right. Compasses seldom lie. They may be affected by something outside the magneticinfluence, but that's up to the compassman to discover ahead of time. The compassman may also makemistakes. If he reads the headings incorrectly, he cannot blame the compass for getting him lost.Learning how to use a compass can be great fun. The way to start is in territory that you know. If youcan follow bearings with good accuracy in familiar country, you are ready for the wilderness.No one should go into an unfamiliar wilderness area without a good map. For canoe tripping, a map witha scale of two miles to one inch is fine. For hiking, a map with a larger scale is better, preferably onewith contour lines. Familiarize yourself with the map first. Look at the topographical features that youwill encounter along your route or path of travel. Learn the legend. To protect your map from moisture,cover it with clear, selfadhesive plastic sheeting or spray it with a clear plastic spray. There are alsoplastic map cases available which allow the map to be folded so that the sections that are in use arevisible. These are a good idea on any trip.WILDERNESS MAPSTopographical maps can be a tremendous asset to any outdoorsman. A topo map is different from a roadmap because it shows the features of the land - the topography. Also, it shows the type of vegetation, old