Introduction
This week we had to meet at the Priory,
a 112 acre area recently purchased by the University. The maps we
made last week were printed out and provided to us upon arrival. The
intent of this week's assignment is to learn how to use a map and
compass to navigate. Though it was not snowing or raining this time,
we still had knee-deep snow to walk through for much of the trip.
Methods
Upon arriving at the Priory, we were
instructed to go inside and gather our maps. We were then given a
sheet of paper with UTM coordinates on them. The coordinates
corresponded to the course we were going to be on. The professor had
designed three navigation courses, each with six points. My group was
assigned to the first course, and so those were the points we plotted
on our map (Figures 1-3). Once each of us plotted our points we were
given a briefing on how to use a compass and determine bearing.
Figure 1: Me, plotting our course markers on a map. We were given a sheet of paper with a list of each course and the respective UTM coordinates. |
Figure 3: Beatriz finding the bearing to each point on the map. |
When it comes to using a compass for navigation, it is important to know azimuth as well. The azimuth, or bearing, is an angular measurement based on a circle, and is measured in degrees. On a compass, North is 0 degrees (or 360), East is 90, South is 180, and West is 270. Magnetic declination would be taken into consideration, however, Eau Claire, Wisconsin is incredibly close to zero declination. The compass would then be placed on the map, with the travel arrow parallel with the intended path. Then, the compass housing is turned parallel with North on the map.
With all of the points mapped and the bearings determined, we headed outside to begin our adventure. We were lead to the first point to ensure that we started at the correct location, and then were left alone. We decided the best way to stay on course would be to split the responsibilities three ways. Beatriz determined the bearing, I walked ahead while she told me if I need to adjust in direction, and after a while I would stop, and then they would follow, with Joel counting the pace. This process went quite well, though it was difficult to follow a straight path due to the trees (Figure 4). In short time we found our first point (Figure 5).
With all of the points mapped and the bearings determined, we headed outside to begin our adventure. We were lead to the first point to ensure that we started at the correct location, and then were left alone. We decided the best way to stay on course would be to split the responsibilities three ways. Beatriz determined the bearing, I walked ahead while she told me if I need to adjust in direction, and after a while I would stop, and then they would follow, with Joel counting the pace. This process went quite well, though it was difficult to follow a straight path due to the trees (Figure 4). In short time we found our first point (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Joel and myself (left) at the first point. The markers are hanging from trees and can be seen from a fair distance away. Our bearing took us directly to it. |
The second point did not go over so
well. We continued with the same method we used to find the first
point, this time eventually coming to a valley, with a fairly steep
slope. We double checked our map, and it showed the point as being
more towards the top of the ridge around the valley. We looked down
into the valley and saw nothing, so we thought we may have moved off
bearing for a portion of the time. I walked to the East a ways to
try and find the point. Multiple times I got my hopes up when I saw
flags on trees, but unfortunately they were trees that were marked
for other reasons (Figure 6). When I returned to the group we took
another look at the map, and felt fairly confident that the flag was
all the way down in the valley. Each of us split off and branched in
different directions to find it, but to no avail. After about 30
minutes of wandering we all met back up and decided it would be best
to go back to our previous point and try again. Just as we were
about to head back, Martin, our field supervisor, came to check on
us, and was confused as to how we hadn't found the point yet. He
took us no more than 10m to the East of where we ended at the top of
the valley and pointed down (Figure 7). This is when we learned the lesson to
always trust your compass. Though the point appeared to be on the
ridge of the valley, all we had to do was look more closely to the
valley itself.
Figure 6: Tree with a flag tied to it. There were quite a few of these out there, and several times they got us excited thinking it was the marker. |
Unfortunately it was getting
quite dark and we were running out of time for the exercise, so
Martin brought us with him to show us where the next point would be
and to gather the other group on the same course as us (only starting
at last point). Once we found the other group we headed back to the
building and were done with the exercise. We were very disappointed
with having found only one flag, as most other groups finished their
courses.
Discussion and Conclusion
Having only found one flag, it was a
very frustrating experience. We spent at least 30 minutes wandering
around looking for a flag that was right in front of us had we only
looked deeper into the valley. However, there were some very
important lessons learned from this experience. The first is to
always trust your compass. We thought we had followed the bearing
properly, but because we didn't immediately see the flag like we did
the first time we assumed we must have went slightly off bearing with
all of the trees in the way. Had one of us simply decided to slide
down the ravine to check it out, we would have found it.
Our second lesson was to ensure we have
finer contour lines for future exercises at the Priory. Our map had
a two meter interval, while we did have a two foot interval at our
disposal. Had we used the two foot interval instead, it is likely
that the point would clearly have been in the ravine rather than what
appeared to be the ridge.
On the other hand, our navigation
method was quite effect. Each person was doing something and it was
done in an expedient manner. We look forward to doing another course
so we can use this experience excel in the future.
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