Compass/Map Question

“Well, we're planning out trip to Allegheny National Forest and pretty much all set to go but...

We have a GPS that I've had for a while and can use pretty well (Def well enough for the area we'll be camping in) but I want to take a long a compass (and map of course) to try things old fashioned way. Now, the Army way of teaching you land navigation is well... minimal to say the most, so I have a few questions.

well, just one really...
Ok when I've figured out which direction I should be moving from the map and adjusted for declination to get a bearing, the next step is to point yourself in that direction, sight something on the horizon and move towards it... but my question is, when Im turning my body to head in the direction I figured, do I also adjust for declination then?

Simply put, do I adjust for declination both when getting a bearing from the map and then when sighting in that bearing on the horizon?”

“That depends. Does your compass have a declination ring? If it does and you have set it then no. If it doesn't you just add or subtract the declination every time you plot a new bearing.”

“to answer your question, if you have done what you said...ie...obtained your grid azimuth from the map....then adjusted with the current declination for the area...the result is your magnetic heading...just adjust your compass to that heading and move. With my compass I just set the degree heading and rotate the compass so the N arrow aligns where it's supposed to and go. Remember you have done all your computing "grid to magnetic already"...with the magnetic number in hand thats all you need as far as compass. Hope i didn't confuse you any more....lol”

“Do NOT sight in on the Horizon....It will often not be visible as you enter and exit Ravines, gully's, stream beds, and forested areas....Sight only to objects directly in front of you, and then move to those objects...most people will be looking down at the wet rocks, sightseeing etc....and when they look back up, it's...Was it that tree or that one I sighted on?...

Best thing anyone ever taught me about a compass...trust it....the compass will not lie to you...you may misinterpret what it says, but IT will not lie....”

“Good compass info here.

One more tip..In fog or at night, you can use a person (if one is available, don't try it with animals, they tend to run off) as your sight marker.

Have a buddy run out ahead and spot him from your last position..move a little left, now right, now left again, now (you get the idea). You can leap frog to save time. We have used this at night when it was difficult to sight on something.

Also, of you have a ravine or canyon to cross and you are lucky enough to find something really unique on the other side, you can use it to cover a lot of ground quickly. Super Trolls advice is critical here though...be sure you can recognize it when you get there. Using "the really tall tree" wont work.”

“Super Troll is right. Trust the compass. One time I was in Quetico and was sure the compass was wrong--we got to the camp site in the rain. The next morning I followed my gut and not the compass. WRONG. Spent an hour paddling in the wrong direction. I wasn't where I thought we were. Things on the water look so different from the maps! lol”

“I've found that two ref. points work well, one way out there, a mt, tall tree, and one along the line of site at eye level. The far one gives you something to keep coming back to as you move around things. The closer one so you can put the compass away for hands free work. Sorry Troll, compass do lie. Large bodies of metal can made it give bad readings. To check this record a reading walk the leg and shot the baring back to the point you stated it should be 180 deg different.”

“Wow, thanks for all the great info. 2sock you nailed my actual question but thank you to everyone for contributing, I didn't know more then I thought lol

(Maybe i'll br bringing along that GPS for 'backup' lol)”

“FYI-

If you are using landmarks to triangulate your position, you must SUBTRACT the declination to determine the asimuth. Keep in mind that declanation may be negative, depending where you are...

Triangulation:
This is a fun thing to do if you have two peaks in sight. Figure out the angle with the compass to each peak, then subtract the declination and draw a line from that peak at that angle on your map. Repeat with the next subsequent peak, and voila! Where the lines intersect is your exact position!

-percious”

“You sight on a landmark only to get the bearing. Once you have the bearing, you follow the bearing. You can navigate to visible, intermediate landmarks that fall in the line of that bearing, as already said, so you don't have to hold the compass in front of your eyes the entire ways.

Whether using the compass or the GPS, you still need to use that computer stowed atop your shoulders.

Test yourself with both methods. When you are doing it right, you will build confidence and it will become second nature.”

“glad I could help you out....have fun with the clan.”

“I mark my map with lines drawn in with the declination. When getting a heading from the map, line your compass up with those lines and forget about declination. This will keep a person from making mistakes. I mostly use the gps to give me a updated bearing from my position. I then use the compass to go generally in that direction. If I want to check something out a little off course I just go and then get a new heading from the gps. Using the gps lets me explore a lot more.
BAMA”