Posts tagged navigation
When browsing Wikipedia's List of peaks by prominence, I was surprised to see that the parent peak of Mt Meru (in Tanzania) is Mount Kenya (350 km away) and not Kilimanjaro (50 km away). The col be...
When I was browsing through the wikipedia page of the Denali mountain, I came across some piece of information. Refer the screenshot below. What does the term Prominence and Isolation mean?
There is a technique for navigation known as dead reckoning, what is this technique exactly and when would it be useful?
I was reading all of the answers to Are there any situations while backpacking that would require a watch? and surprised at the number of answers that said you need a watch so you would know how lo...
If I am trying to find out which way is north at night, and I can see stars, but not the North Star or the Southern cross or other recognizable constellations, because the terrain is limiting my vi...
Using a sextant to get accurate angle measurements is tough on moving vessel. It's even harder when the waters are rough. Is there a technique that is most useful in stabilizing the device and/or...
Sometimes compasses are less accurate than we would like them to be. They can be thrown off by their surroundings, have their polarity reversed, become demagnetized, develop air bubbles or be take...
Assuming I have memorized the major Latitude and Longitudes as they relate to the world, as shown in the image below and that I know how to identify latitude & longitude with a compass. What e...
Today I learned about the existence of the "gyrocompass". A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which is based on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of the Earth (or another planetary bod...
Background I bought my compass in the US last year. Next week I'm going to travel to Australia. Question Is my US-compass compatible with Australia? or do I need a special compass? Do I need an...
I often use Google earth to plan trips. One part of that is marking paths and seeing how steep they are. However Google Earth severely underestimated the steepness of slopes. For instance here i...
While navigating or orienteering with a map or compass one of the essential skills is the ability to find your position on the map with the aid of the compass. This can be important if you need to...
When navigating in the backcountry, you'll usually bring a topographic map that shows the terrain so you can tell if there will be steep slopes or cliffs that might make the route difficult. A sa...
This question is not as simple as it seems, and a few minutes of googling did not drop the answer in my lap. A comment at I never adjust for true north. Is this bad practice? suggesting that: ...
Are there any good hints, tips and ways you can use to navigate around and find your location in thick fog (apart from a GPS)?
What if it's night and you want to find north? How do you locate the North Star in the night sky?
A friend of mine loves to brag about his Mount Everest experiences. He's a great climber and adventurer but sometimes I think he might exaggerate his stories a little ;). However, lately he came up...
I am looking for a GPS device for road cycling (road navigation and gpx tracking) and mountaineering (topo maps, compass, barometric elevation / pressure). I am finding no products explicitly marke...
I just got an etrex 10, and I am using it mostly for geocaching. When you are navigating to a geocache is there a way to see your distance from the cache? I know the geocaching app has this.
My compass has become increasingly untrustworthy. Over the past couple years I had noticed that it often pointed pretty close to magnetic South, but it corrected after a light tap. In two recent t...
Because they rely on radio signals, GPS units generally do not work underground or underwater, but what about a plain ol' magnetic compass? Are the magnetic fields of earth present at all depths? ...
I've been using a topo app on the PC for years that lets you, among other things, trace a route on the map with the mouse, then it gives you the distance and height profile for that route (even tur...
In practice, how precise is a pedometer for estimating your progress on a trail? For example, if I'm to hike 10 miles, how far should I expect to be from the 10 miles marker? Is there data compari...
In a recent discussion about navigating from a deserted island, it was suggested that if I have a knife and natural resources I could create my own navigation aids. In this instance I was planning ...
The Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is defined as the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. source There were several attempts...
We've a map and a functional compass. A compass shows of course the magnetic north and the map provides us with the correct and current declination. The North Magnetic Pole is the point on the...
I totally need one of these This helps you estimate the slope angle on a contour map by measureing the gaps between the contour lines. This is to help you avoid avoid avalanche areas. I'm sure ...
I would like to start being a little more active by getting outdoors more. My state offers a "water guzzler" program that puts water in remote locations for wildlife. They also publish a large atla...
I've heard this is possible but I'm not sure on the details. Can someone elaborate?
I'm not from the mountains. Every time I go into the mountains I lose all depth perception. I can't tell by looking if a peak is 100 meters or a 1,000 meters above me. I have to stare hard and lo...
How to learn to find north using moon phases? I'm looking for easy-to-remember rule of thumb, at best some simple graphic. It's quite trivial by full moon. Since full moon is in direct opposition ...
Is there a good resource for quickly identifying peaks that are visible on the summit of a north-american peak? Currently I use a topographical map and painstakingly identify each individual peak....
Well does it? Or does it only grow on one side? Or does it grow only on the side further from the equator? Is there any truth to this old adage?
While kayaking or swimming out in the open waters, it is quite important to be able to judge distances accurately before attempting to get from one point to another, such as from island to island. ...
Possible Duplicate: Navigational gear worldwide I'm not that well travelled (never been outside of Europe!) but at some point I'd love to head elsewhere to perhaps hike somewhere a bit m...
What should I do when I get disoriented or lost? How can I find help or make myself easier to find? This is a general question to do when lost in the wilderness, whether it is a meadow or mountai...
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