How did you learn to read a map?

“In school?

Self taught?

I self taught the basics,,,but my brother, the forward observer in the Army helped me fine tune my skills.

Where did you learn?”

“Boy Scouts.”

“Self taught. When I got hardcore into backpacking, I did a lot of research on the net and bought books. I also did dayhikes where the sole purpose was to practice using the map and compass together. It's all second nature now. :-)”

“boot camp.”

“Army”

“Started with Scouting. Took 2 years of Geography in college. Man, with the right training, cartography can be awesome!

Map? What map? We don' need no stinkin' maps!”

“school, on the road with the family, self taught topos etc.”

“If I could navigate to a woman's heart as easily as I slip through the wilderness... my life would be devoid of quicksand.”

“Moooooo Haaaaaa Haaaaaaa”

“Obviously, bacpac, they don't teach that in Marine boot camp.”

“boy scouts”

“Hopefully they never will.”

“Damn,,,,third time in a row where I agree with bacpac.



I am sorely afraid I might somehow turn into a republican.”

“I am sorely afraid you will continue to attempt to become an Arkansan.”

“AAAAARRMMYY Training Sir!!”

“Trail and error.”

“tilt-boo hiss...
bacpac you've been in a talkative mood lately, lol.

I'm mostly self taught. I've got an orienteering book I've been muddling through. I'm not real comfortable with the compass.”

“I can't let a set-up like that go by unmolested, LOL

I was just thinking about how I could've used a GPS that last time I was at the Hensley Settlement near Cumberland Gap. The fog was so thick, I couldn't see but 20 or 30 feet. I came out of the woods into a field and the trail just disappeared. I knew the settlement was in that open area somewhere north of where I was, but the map wasn't that detailed.

It was kinda spooky.”

“i jsut look at it and figure out where i am....”

“Boy Scouts”

“In the Army also...But in the Canadian Army we couldn`t afford compasses.We all stood on each others shoulders and the one up top looked around and guessed.Either that or you spinned your beer bottle and where it pointed was North.Funny how north always pointed to the beer store!!!”

“I learned to read a map from...necessity!”

“Not sure what you mean by "read a map" -- if that implies using a compass with it? I don't know how to figure a bearing, etc., and would would to take an orienteering class.

However, looking outside of that, yeah, I can read a map. I know what the tight squiggly lines mean and whether you're looking at a bluff or a ravine or canyon. I love pouring over topo maps. :-)”

“Boy Scouts”

“Buddur taught me. We were standing around,looking at a map; he started rattling off spur, draw, etc...showing me each.”

“Self taught after 30 years but I'm always learning. Folks usually ask on the trail how to read a map. I'm surprised by how many people don't know or don't even bring a map. At least they stay on a marked trail. They don't understand that I would prefer to drop over the side (alone) than walk in a group. Maps are my 1st priority along w/ a compass. GPS is a nice reassurance tool. I got tired of carrying my 3-watt bag phone, so now it's a little handy dandy. It saves me difficulties with the little woman when I don't come home. She's threatened to call our neighbor ranger more than once. He would delight in embarrassing me.”

“my husband tought me part of it. I still have problems recognizing certain land features, like ridges, stuff like that... I think that's the hardest part. I just can't remember, keep forgetting.”

“I do not have this skill yet but hopefully I will learn soon.



Tanglefoot”

“Marine Infantry!”

“Self taught.”

“Self-taught.”

“If your map is more than 10 yrs old. You want to adjust for the current magnetic declination.
Anybody remember the math jingle for it. I allways thought that was joe cool.”

“I got lost...then I learned real quick!”

“What jingle?”

“Jingle bells,jingle bells it`s magnetic declination time again.Just ad 10 and take away 5 but first you find a pen .....etc...etc.”

“How does a Canuck do dec when he is so close to magnetic north?
3 degrees?”

“I"d forgotten the equation. I believe it was broken into fractions. I'll have to dig for it sooner or later!”

“Boy scouts at first. Rest is self-taught. Now, teaching boy scouts how to do it...”

“Self Taught - aka 'school of hard knocks'. I got thrown out of the Boy Scouts before they got to map & compass.”

“For a Canuck it`s all about the suspenders,the metal claspsdo the dec for us.And we wear tukes to hold all the info.in. We had you Yanks fooled all along you guys thought are tukes were just really cool fashion acessaries.”

“Self taught at first then refined in Boy Scouts, backpacking and working as a forester.”

“self taught mostly but I also read through Sgt. Rock's webpages on use of map and compass - some good stuff there - Link ”

“I actually paid attention back in school and boy scouts. Comes pretty naturally to me now. My job involves using blue prints, which are essentially maps, so my skills stay fairly sharp. A couple years ago I took a refressher compass and map course at LL Beans.”

“I think everyone knows what I'm going to say.

Boy Scouts”

“I read a book about it and I learned on my own!


8)”

“Army, and College...(Geography major, geology minor)”

“Paddles, I think I get it. If you
hold the compass out at arms length, you get current dec. If you bring the compass close into your suspenders and fashionable tuke, you get adjusted dec for the
map!!!
Hee hee hee!~”

“Boy Scouts taught the basics.

U.S. Army land navigation is more thorough.

I still have my Mountain Warfare handbook with navigation and lots of other cool stuff.
Sorry, I can't share the book, I'd have to kill ya.”

“You mean maps aren't just for decoration?”

“That too I have about 30 of them on my walls!


8)”