Along marked trails, you can of course go on tour without constantly looking at the map or using a compass. But it is still important to always have a map and compass with you.
It can be both exciting and critical to sit down with a map and plan tomorrow’s tour. You see what to expect, plan upcoming rests, where you can get water, if there are any difficulties along the way and more.
If you travel outside of the marked trails, a map is determining to plan your route, make the right choice of route and orient yourself properly.
Maps age – always use the latest edition. Trails are rerouted and closed, new trails are added, such as bridges and lean-tos. So, even if nature’s appearance changes very little, much can happen with everything provided in print besides the actual topographical map.
A compass helps you keep on course, even if the weather is bad. You can also orient yourself with the surroundings; in which direction do the various points of the compass align and which mountain are you looking at.
A GPS can be good to have, but is absolutely not necessary. Learn the aim of a compass, in the same way as with a GPS, and you can determine exactly where you are. An invaluable lesson the day the GPS batteries die, for example.
Small compass lesson
1. Place one of the compass’ long sides, or any of the sidelines, over the start and end points on the map. Direction of travel arrow (not compass needle) will point towards the destination.
2. Rotate the compass housing until the lines in the compass are parallel to the map meridians (north-south lines). The compass housing’s N-marking (N=north) will point towards the map’s north.
3. Take the compass in your hand. Turn around until the red part of the compass needle is in line with the arrow in the compass housing. The arrow of the compass needle will point towards the N-marking in the compass housing, i.e. the compass needle will cover the compass housing arrow.
When you then follow the compass’ direction arrow (not the compass needle), you will come to your destination.
4. To maintain the same direction for a longer time, aim for an object lying exactly in the direction of travel according to the compass. It is crucial to use the compass each time you choose an object, since the smallest deviation will successively increase, meaning that you will completely miss you goal and destination.