Good clear explanation, I think most people will quickly grasp your explanation and demonstration, and good advice about the importance of prioritizing situational awareness. Plus using a map and compass exercises your brain. Studies have been done showing that using a GPS atrophies your natural sense of direction, your natural navigation skills. Comparing groups of people sent off to travel a route to a distant destination, the group that used a map had a better memory of the route they walked, and a better sense of the direction back to their starting point, than the group that used a GPS. Maybe others will find the phrase I invented to help me remember how to account for magnetic declination useful. [The map bearing WAvES to the Compass bearing, and the Compass bearing WAvES back(wards) to the Map bearing.] Where WAvES = West Add v East Subtract. {and WAvES back(wards) = reverse the math function}, Example if bearing to your destination measured on the map is 300˚, and local magnetic declination is 15˚ East, on the compass you would use a bearing (aka azimuth) of 300˚ - 15˚ = 285˚. Or conversely, if a measured compass bearing to a destination was 300˚ on the map you would use 300˚ + 15˚ = 315˚ map bearing to find the same destination point on the map. An FYI some people may also find useful - a ball park method for determining how far off course you could be if you fail to account for magnetic declination is: tan (deg of mag declination) x distance. Example for 15˚ mag declination to a destination 4km away. tan (15) x 4000 = 0.26795 x 4000 = ~ 1,072 meters. But most of the time I remember and use this approximation : 1˚ at 1 mile = 100ft. (it's actually closer to 92ft, but 100 is both easier to remember and easier math) And can quickly see that a 10˚ error, due to not accounting for mag declination, compass error, or error accurately following a bearing to the destination could put me off course by about 1,000 feet at 1 mile distance.

@backpackboat1

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the very helpful and detailed comment! Since I made this, the Suunto Clipper has been invaluable as my backpacking trips this summer were decidedly "off piste", check out my bushwacking series and the part 2 of my tombstone loop. Its easy to get complacent in the mountains with (normally) so many obvious/ visible reference points but as this summer proved one can end up in thick bush with no visibility and no trail. I like my clipper so much I'm replacing it with the Suunto Core watch (I don't like my current hiking watch anyway).

@michaeldorohovics1514

2 жыл бұрын

Great, thanks a lot for the info!

@backpackboat1

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it, thanks for watching!

Great video. Awesome information. Watching as I comment...Crow✌️

@backpackboat1

4 жыл бұрын

AS THE CROW FLIES HIKING doing the video forced me to really understand the theory. I have some very remote trips planned so wanted to be prepared! Thanks for watching.

Great info, I'm trying this for my next hike video. Subbed!

@backpackboat1

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I believe I was subscriber number 630 or so to your channel, love the content and appreciate the time and effort you put into it. Apparently others do too! Looking forward to one day seeing an El Camino trip video.

Haha. Just going through this decision as I am definitely a novice map and compass user. Glad I found this. Thanks.

@backpackboat1

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you found it useful! It turns out the Suunto Clipper was the most useful compass during my trips this summer, so much so that I’m planning to replace it with the Suunto Core watch, hopefully Santa is listening. Thanks for watching!

@jplimages

3 жыл бұрын

I use an APP called scenic map to look at the terrain before any hike. I looked up your locations in the video. That’s intense. I get out to Maycroft of McLean Creek for a few hikes once in a while but yours were something else!!

@backpackboat1

3 жыл бұрын

@@jplimages i do tend to get overly ambitious! I’m trying tone it done a bit. I hadn’t heard of Scenic Map, I’ll have to check that out. I use Gaia GPS for my trip planning.

So on a map with west declination you would add from map to field and subtract from field to map? Just the opposite of your example using a map with east declination?

@backpackboat1

3 жыл бұрын

Exactly. Thanks for watching!

sound is too poor.