How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

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miked
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How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by miked »

I'm curious how the expert off trail navigators here went about learning how to read a topo and navigating in the wilderness. Was there a particular source you found helpful? were you guided by others?
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AlmostThere
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by AlmostThere »

I'm not an expert, but everything I learned was from reading things like the OA navigation guide and coursework, either from local resources or from search and rescue.

I find that teaching others really helps me hone the skills and keep them fresh, too.
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rlown
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by rlown »

Map skills started in boy scouts (map and compass stuff), but that wasn't as helpful as the basic and advanced seamanship classes taught by the coast guard auxiliary. On the water, you can't always see the rocks, but they had great sections on laying out a course, following it and adjusting as you go.

When i take a map, I generally mark it up with sightings before i go out, so i can refine where i really am in the field.

I admit on trips in heavily wooded areas, i like my gps. The map/compass still come along..
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I probably learned a good sense of direction exploring city parks and streets when I was a kid. In the 1960's I started as a climber, not backpacker, and there were few trails that lead to the peaks we wanted to climb! I climbed with an organized group whose elders taught us younger ones how to navigate. My map skills were definitely perfected as a geologist. We not only get formal training in cartogrophy we take underground data from drilling and create topographic maps of rock units below the earth. During and after college I taught for the National Outdoor Leadership School where I learned more about the fine points of micro-navigation. This is not reading a map, rather picking the best route in tough off-trail terrain. As a geologist, I have a real good feel for the general topographic trends based on what type of rock. For example, if you know the joint systems in the Sierra, you can get around a lot easier! To this day, I do not use a GPS- I do not even know how to operate one. A lot of navgation still boils down to a good sense of direction and simply paying close attention to what you are walking through.
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paul
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by paul »

I pretty much learned it by doing it, although I did read a few things about how to read maps. I'm lucky that I have a good sense of direction and I have a knack for visualizing in 3-D. But as WD says, most of it is paying attention all the time, keeping track of the little details of terrain as well as the big landmarks. Fortunately the High Sierra is the cross-country traveler's Eden, with a lot of easy terrain at or above timberline so you can see where you're going.
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by AldeFarte »

Self taught. I have always been fascinated by maps and geography.
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rlown
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by rlown »

37.93945,-119.43139

Ok, I'm playing with this topic and Joseph's topo stuff for the first time, but..

Hypothetically, how would you choose to get to Mattie Lake from Glen Aulin (south on the map)? Mav, you can't answer.

Second question, how would you plan your trip from a topo to get to Virginia Lk (to the North beyond Cold Mountain) from Glen Aulin? I will add that there are trees in the way of everything until you crest out on the second question.

You have to scroll the map around but for some orientation, Mattie is down in the left-hand corner, and Virginia is North of cold mountain. You can change the zoom level with the scroll bar on the upper left.

Might not be much of a test for those that have been there, but it took us 4 tries to get it correct..

Russ
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by giantbrookie »

I began as serious topo map geek at a very early age. This plus also being a rockhound (picked up some really nice quartz crystals hiking up Pacheco Peak in 1966 or so at age 7) inevitably led to being a geologist, it would seem. My dad had a lot of topo maps around and I was really fascinated by all manner of maps. One day when I was 6 I looked at topo maps and taught myself how to read them. I recall drawing myself a few cross sections (true scale) to calibrate how steep things were. I started out as a peak bagger, so most of what I did with my dad was off trail except for the approach. The route descriptions in those days were really vague so a lot of studying topo was in order and I did a lot of that both in real planning and daydreaming (much as I do now). I had a hand in some planning of trips by the time I was 9 or so. I recall celebrating my 10th birthday on a Sierra Club trip to Sawtooth Pk and Mineral Pk. From the summit of Sawtooth I pointed out all the major summits in view to the participants (all adults) on the trip, using multiple topo maps (the view from Sawtooth spans several 15' quads). This ended up getting written up in the Loma Prieta peak climbing newsletter Scree and my parents kept a copy in a photo album. My dad, who could read a topo very well, still was the primary route finder between the two of us up until I was 14 after which he much handed all of the planning and route finding duties to me.

My challenge now is teaching others to read topo. I teach students all the time (geology), but haven't ever consistently sat down with Judy and trained her in topo reading. Lee (will turn 9 in April) can't quite do it yet, and I haven't formally tried to train him, but he seems to be picking it up on his own.
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by balzaccom »

Self-taught, but my family did endless road trips in cars when I was young, and we all loved "reading along" by following the map, planning out the routes, and checking off the highlights as we passed them.
'
From there it was an easy transition to topo maps and backpacking.
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-R ... 0984884963
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Re: How did you learn navigation/topo reading skills?

Post by Herm »

Wandering Daisy;
Your description
Wandering Daisy wrote: My map skills were definitely perfected as a geologist. We not only get formal training in cartogrophy we take underground data from drilling and create topographic maps of rock units below the earth.
is an interesting one, and brought recollections of making fence diagrams, for I too trained as a geologist (BS CSUFullerton 1994).
Herm
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