Land Navigation: Tips and Tricks

Land navigation is tricky. Especially if you don’t have the time, or area, to properly practice actual land navigation in an unknown area through unknown terrain. In my suburban area, I can not properly train my guys in land navigation, They would just say “I know where I am”, and that would be that. Technically, that is a form of land navigation called “Terrain Association”. We also have a lot of roads in the Northeast to use as a “land mark” to double check your location on a map. If you get lost, find the nearest intersection, pull out your Atlas or roadmap, and double check it. Bingo, you are right there… You have successfully located yourself on the map. But this is risky; Roads are high speed avenues of approach, and you are on two of them. That’s twice the trouble, good luck running if you get spotted.

Badlands Fieldcraft, a contributor to the mission at AP, has a great introduction to the kit you need. And some theories of use.

Linked here: https://www.americanpartisan.org/2021/02/badlands-fieldcraft-junk-on-the-bunk-navigation-kit/
Land navigation requires less “stuff” than you would think. I think my water purification kit weighs more than my land navigation kit; A lot more. Although the maps are a pain to carry and protect.
Land navigation is very, very important. There is a reason it’s used to thin the heard at SFAS, Rangers, Recon, and countless other units worldwide. If you cannot find your friends or foes, you have a very serious problem. Plus you have exposed yourself; Not good. During the age of drones and cameras, you’ll want to move out during “G-Weather”. “G Weather” is usually low hanging cloud cover, rain, or snow that lasts a day or two. Snow is my last choice because of the ability to track your marks in the snow. There is a reason that the Taliban, AQI, and ISIS takes the winter months off. They know the score.
Land Navigation has some long standing myths and legends. I’m going to address some of those myths in this piece. There are quite a few. Some persist for understandable reasons, like a gun “Fudd” myth, others are harder to verify the origin of the rumor. The best answer is pretty simple, like “Who has the time to pretend getting lost in the woods, and possibly get lost for real?” Very few people. Mostly just military and a few Boy Scouts from the real sticks.
Myth Number 1, you have a natural sense of direction. Unless you are intimately familiar with your area of operations, you don’t have a natural orientation or some sort of magic brain compass. Truthfully, without a compass, if you walk into the unknown woods(At night or day), or a corn field, within 30-40 minutes you will make a circle back exactly to your location plus/minus 50 meters from your point of entry; Assuming there are no dead reckon points like a mountain. This is why the police wait for bank robbers at their point of entry into a woodline and then you see the robber reemerge down the street some minutes later. Our soon to be convicted felon didn’t have a compass… You naturally make circles, about a 2 kilometers in circumference. Your body has a built in safety mechanism. You automatically RTB; or Return To Base. Don’t be that guy; And don’t be the guy who uses the moss on the south side of trees, or the north side of trees, to navigate. The rising sun, or setting sun doesn’t work either as a land navigation tool. The moss grows on all different kinds of trees in different patterns and the sun changes throughout the year. For sailing you can use the sun and stars with a high degree of accuracy, assuming you have precision instruments, good star maps, or great memory. For hiking in the mountains and the woods it’s a very, very poor choice. I only use the sun as a metric of general cardinal association. I never have, and never will, voluntarily use it to actually navigate to a fixed point on a map.
Legend Number 1, If you walk into a corn field, you can follow the lines, but they are rarely straight, except in places like Iowa. In the woods, you can maintain a straight line of travel by using a simple trick. Cross on the left, and then right, and then left etc… etc… of each tree you pass. This will keep you in a relatively straight line in between shooting azimuths, or if you lose sight of your dead reckoning marker. People naturally favor passing objects on their left or right, the same way you favor your left or right hand. When evading at a high speed, don’t forget to use this trick, or you will circle back to your threat.
Dead Reckoning markers can be major landmarks such as a radio tower, building, or mountain. “Swimming” through the woodline works. One left stroke, one right stroke. In tall grass, you can hold out an open hand, take a fixed number of steps, and then switch hands, taking another fixed number of steps. Applying a small amount of “leaning” into the grass(So to speak). This method is tricky, and takes some practice. But you will instinctively favor movement to one side, and then the next. Maintaining as straight a movement as possible. It works much, much better than nothing. This works in the tall corn too, assuming the lines are not straight. It’s kinda like feeling your way through a dark room in principle. Bamboo is nearly impossible to move through, so I’m not even going to bother explaining that; Except to say you need to trail blaze and bushwhack. String lines help maintain a straight cut; Mason’s line is best.
Myth Number 2, “Ranger Beads”. Ranger beads are a marketing gimmick. One brush against a tree, branch, vine, or your weapon; And your ‘Ranger Beads” have been reset. At which point, they are no longer useful. Ranger Beads are garbage. Ranger beads would be sold in packs of two if they actually meant something.
Legend Number 2, You should make two “Pace Cords”. A pace cord should be about 18 inches long, you should have two of them, and you will want to tie a standard loop knot to mark every 100 meters of movement high on the pace cord. You want to easily tie 12-15 knots in a pace cord. Which is about “1 click” so to speak, granted, you should mark your pace count on the 100 meter step, but you simply don’t march in perfectly straight lines. Know your pace count, and don’t forget to mark your pace cord. Two are used in case you need to record your movement back, because of a wrong turn, change in terrain, or poor choice of route(Which happens NBD). The thicker the pace cord material used, the better. A large loop knot is easier to untie, and with cold hands or gloves, you can feel the knots easier in the dark. The reason you use a pace cord? Try counting your pace and remembering your pace count at the same time while shooting azimuths, using trig, and 8 digit grid markers. That’s a lot of numbers to remember… spare yourself the inevitable headache. Do you really feel like remembering all these numbers? Do you write down your rifle DOPE? Same principle. Have plans to burn these documents.
Myth Number 3, Your Pace Count. Your pace count changes. Roll your ankle and see what happens to your pace count… Or walk with someone who has a higher pace count in the “110” range at night. Guess what? You now have a 110 pace count “Mr. I workout all the time and have a 60 pace count“. No you don’t. Your pace count is somewhere in the high 70’s or 80’s. And your nighttime pace count in the woods is somewhere around 100-110. Probably more. Me? I’m in the 80-90’s day or night. Unless it’s really rough terrain. I’m 6’4” and I have a lot of experience in the woods. Uphill with lots of deadfall? It’s 110-120… easily. When I really move out, that drops down into a more “Danger Ranger” pace. But that’s a rare exception, usually movement to a TIC or “Troops In Contact”. That is no longer in my job description; Barring extreme emergency circumstances.
Legend Number 3, Test your Pace Count… Your pace count changes based on the incline or decline of the terrain, your pace count changes by day and night, and your pace count changes in the woods, on wet terrain, in different types of footwear, and your pace count changes based on your level of exhaustion. It can also change based on your gear; Your pace count in a combat vest is different than your LBE/rucksack. Also, your pace count changes based on mission; Like reconnoiter, which is a much, much slower pace or MTC/BC(Movement to Contact; Break Contact) which is basically a sprint. You need to test these all and memorize them. A 100 meter pace count range takes some practice and testing. Run your course a couple times, and pick the average. Don’t forget to run it at night, and in the rain/snow, and in different terrain like fields, jungles, prairie, or woods. Test uphill and test downhill. Test in boots, test in tennis shoes, and even snowshoes if you live in that kind of area. If you are getting swallowed by a marsh or glade, I would bet your pace count can hit the 150-200 range pretty easily.
Myth Number 4, Your Compass You should have two compasses. Of the same brand. You need to check both of these compasses for deviation from “True North” and you need to know your Magnetic declination; Which is usually, but not always, annotated in the legend on your map. Two different compasses vary, on average +/- 5 degrees in my experience. That’s not a big deal. It sounds bad, but it’s not terrible. If you have a compass that favors “Left” or “Right” take a few extra steps wide to the right or left on your first steps after shooting a new azimuth, or checking your azimuth. Or, even better, pick the tree 20 feet to the left or right(depending on weather your compass favors one or the other), not the one directly ahead and inline with the azimuth you “shot”. Problem solved. Know your compass like you know a rifle. National Parks are a great place to test compasses and get some fresh air. Usually a compass comes with a little piece of paper that tells you how accurate it is; Kinda like a competition pistol or rifle. Mark your compass with it’s quirks, or write them down. Kinda like zeroing your rifle or making a DOPE book. Scientific Processes.
Legend Number 4, Your compasses are precision tools. THEY will save your life. Take care of THEM, and THEY will take care of you. Treat your compass with respect. You want two compasses in case one of them gets eaten by the green monster. You will also switch hands with your rifle and compass. It’s nice to switch things up; Your muscles will thank you. I keep the front of my LBE fairly symmetrical. Same pouches, same bottles, same compasses. There is very little difference between the left or right side. If my kit is asymmetrical, the weight is generally balanced on both sides.
Myth Number 5 “The Green Monster”, The wood line, or the jungle, can change GREATLY in it’s flora as you move through your terrain. In my AO, we have salt water marshes, swamps, crop fields, prairie, and various species of tree and vine. A “Draw“, which is an area usually defined by an open water source at the lowest elevation, can have a variety of vines, poison plants, thickets of saplings, and specialized plants like very large ferns. You are best served navigating around a draw. Your movement can be as far as one click over, and one click up. Moving through a draw at the end of the summer in my AO is a disaster of a movement. Draws rarely get better the farther you move into one; “The Draw is a Wall
Legend Number 5 “The Draw”, The Green Monster will eat every piece of gear you own. Compasses, rifles, water bottles, pouches, knives, axes, sleeping bags. Everything. Nothing is safe from The Green Monster. TIE DOWN EVERYTHING. Consider going around the draw, terrain permitting. The Draw makes a great place to camp, and a terrible place to cross. The draw is extremely noisy to navigate, and is nearly impossible to navigate at night without white lighting by necessity. Don’t forget to bring green glow sticks so your buddies can find each other and you. Some red ones if it’s REALLY dark with 0% lumen, canopy, cold, low clod cover. That’s dark… Chem sticks are brighter in the summer than the winter; Because of the hot/cold chemical reaction.
Myth Number 6, Your Map, your map is accurate… This is a myth. Your map has markers that simply aren’t there anymore, or were never there. Water, buildings, roads, railroads, and power lines may no longer be marked on your map. They are vestigial markers from a time long since past. During the age of rapid development, a map that is only a few years old can change radically. Roads are renamed, fields have been repurposed or cleared, streams can shift, developments can be built, and fields can be turned into “green” buffers zones to protect from excessive runoff. Expect this to rapidly change and become a reality with the current pace of flight from cities, the renaming of everything, and the “greening” of farmlands near waterways. This will change a lot more than you think on your map. Your map also changes by season. The date of the map will annotate the season it was made for.
Legend Number 6, Your Map is about 80-90% accurate. In my experience, you can have faith in about 90% of your map, but this depends on your location. Be VERY, VERY careful of microterrain. Microterrain can be misread very easily, forcing you to turn at a stream that isn’t marked on the map, but you think that you have hit your backstop. This can also be true for roads, and green zones. Most map makers include false roads, or other markers, that are used to identify copyright infringement. There is no road, pond, or farmhouse there at all. It is simply used to identify intellectual property theft. Do not select a random farmhouse, creek, stream, or road to meet your team at. Only use known places that exist that you have confirmed. Never pick a stream or river as a rally point. You can easily lose your team, and both of you will be convinced you are sitting at the same stream, creek, or river marked on the map. When, in fact, one of you is rallied on a piece of micro terrain not marked on the map, and the other is in the correct location, or vice versa. Likely, you are only a few hundred meters from each other.
Myth Number 7, You are the only one in the woods… The woodline is “full” of animals and people. Birds can give away your position, insects stop making noise, and deer run from you only to circle back eventually, probing your position. Wild dogs live in the woods, and you will encounter diseased feral cats full of mites, ticks, and fleas. “Florida man” released a dozen different animals into the environment that can kill you, or will try to. Feral pigs will attack and eat you. They are NOT afraid of you, despite your experience during hunting season(Including deer or elk). Moose are extremely dangerous if they have calves, and they are almost always found near fresh water. They are very territorial. In South Africa, during the civil war, dangerous game maimed and killed several highly decorated veteran Paratroopers during movements to contact(RIP Airborne). Wild horses are also not a joke; My Wyoming/Montana guys know the score… Bears, typically the Grizzly, have been known to stalk humans for days, watch camps, and will attack you from your blind spot. Wolves have been reintroduced into various parts of the west. Poachers are a constant problem during periods of civil unrest and normal activity. A buffalo, or stray cow of certain breeds, are extremely dangerous animals. In western states, you are almost always on a game trail. So is everyone else.
There are reports of packs of wild dogs, released during periods of economic collapse, roaming wild. Coyotes, typically not associated with stalking humans, or any live prey outside their weight class, are reported to be stalking humans and their pets lately. Frankly, the only thing in the woods not trying to eat you is the elusive, and very stealthy, mountain lion AKA Cougar. But there are reports of Cougars with cubs who will act very threatening. Good luck fighting a 120lb mountain lion hand to hand… I should mention falling trees as well. I have been walking in the woods and had very large trees land nearby, branches are broken free when you move through other trees, and deadfall is just waiting for that “perfect push”. Be careful. Maybe where a “bump” helmet? In my part of the woods, the squirrels drop acorns and sticks, harassing and barking at you. They are quite accurate. Wear your eye pro.
Legend Number 7, Be on guard at all times ready to flip that rifle safety… Be prepared to defend yourself from the occasional falling tree, wild packs of dogs, stressed animals, mothers, and other potential hazards. Such as alligators or these 25″ Ball Pythons(Thanks Florida Man). Don’t end up like those poor South African Paratroopers. They were armed with a fully automatic FALs and still fell victim to wild animal attacks. You may also encounter a homeless mental patient, or gang of them, in the woodline. Some types of Anarcho-Communist drug addicts tend to favor living near railroads and radio towers. Radio towers typically have access to “wall warts”, or power plugs to charge their phones. Drug addicts will camp in the woods for years at a time. They are surprisingly successfull. Especially in areas around small towns, or townships in the rust belt that have been turned into verifiable multicultural and diverse “Truck stops”. Be wary near bridges and water tunnels. Meth head prostitutes and “escaped” mental patients are everywhere, not just California. Major cities have circles of drug addicts living in the wood line around the perimeter, they are too weak and pathetic to survive in the city. The wood line is a very, very dangerous place… You can even walk off a cliff at any time, or fall into a washout zone onto sharp rocks. Check your contour lines on your map. This will give you warning.

Watch out for Venomous Snakes, Scorpions, Spider Nests, Bees, Fire Ants, and Cactus. Be careful climbing, digging, and walking.

Be Wary of Forest Fires and Prairie Fires…

I am sure I missed one or two lessons. Drop a well written comment and I will add it to this article. I am primarily interested in the West, Canada, West of the Appalachians, Florida, or Louisiana.

Thanks for reading. Get out of the house, go for a hike with a pack, and get some fresh air. Hiking strengthens your bones, and hard to workout tissues in your calves, ankles, and toes.

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About the Author: Johnny Paratrooper

Born and Raised in Baltimore City, Maryland. History Degree. 8 Years Airborne Infantry and Scouts Platoon. Iraq Veteran. 4-5 Years as a doorman, bar back, and bouncer in Baltimore. Worked in Construction, Heavy Equipment Demolition, Corporate Security, Sales, Forest Service contractor, and the Hospitality Industry. Raised Catholic. Hobbies are race cars and sport bikes. Side projects are HAM radio credentials and long range shooting. MY EMAIL IS [email protected]. Founder of Green Dragon Academy https://www.patreon.com/GreenDragonAcademy

48 Comments

  1. StormN February 10, 2021 at 09:34

    Thanks very much. I will be reading this more than once. Bookmarked it.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 10, 2021 at 11:29

      Thank you. Don’t be afraid in the woodline, but remember to protect yourself and watch out. Fatigue also contributes to poor decisions that are even more exhaustive.

    • Matt February 10, 2021 at 12:34

      StormN:
      “I will be reading this more than once. Bookmarked it.”
      Bookmarking is not optimum, the takedown of the forum should prove that. Either save it as a PDF to the hard drive or print it out and put it in a binder if it’s important to you.
      Matt

      • StormN February 11, 2021 at 11:24

        Done!

  2. Rooster February 10, 2021 at 11:43

    Great piece JP…..one the best I have read on moving around including the ever elusive crack whore spotting…..stay alert. I especially liked the ambidextrous pitch as most folks are one handed in most everything. Learn a new skill…..switch hands for a few daily tasks.
    R

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 10, 2021 at 11:47

      Thanks Rooster. The woods are full of people. You would be surprised. Especially when you approach metropolitan areas. Once I pulled over to check a map in a rural area by a gas station, and there was a verifiable village living under a bridge in Virginia.
      If you are hiking around the woods with a pistol on your hip or a rifle in your hand, you’ll end up switching sides given enough time.

  3. Anonymous February 10, 2021 at 12:17

    5

  4. Mike February 10, 2021 at 15:22

    4.5

  5. Mike February 10, 2021 at 15:25

    Great article JP! Makes me want to get back out into the woods more.
    I always get asked why I insist on carrying a rifle when I’m hiking, people always underestimate the dangers of being in the woods.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 10, 2021 at 16:33

      Thanks Brother.
      Every ten minutes you walk into the woods, is ten minutes added to your rescue + normal response/reaction time…
      Walk 10 hours into the woods? You gotta walk 10 hours back…

  6. George True February 10, 2021 at 18:36

    Excellent article! I never had any issue with my compass not being accurate. But then I always used a top of the line Silva (model 15TD) or Suunto with declination offsetting and interchangeable map scales. But I would usually also carry a back-up compass when out on a multi-day trek in real wilderness.
    You are right about things being out of date. I can remember purchasing 7.5 minute series USGS topo maps that were thirty years out of date, and yet they were the most recent ones that were available. Also, many maps have a very small disclaimer about the features and details not having ever been field checked. What that means in plain language is the map was made from a high altitude photograph taken from an aircraft, and ten or twenty or even thirty years later the USGS had still not gotten around to having an actual person go there for an on-site verification that the features on the map are actually correct.
    Thirty or forty years ago, the sport of orienteering seemed to be getting more popular in the US. Now it seems to have all but died out. That is a shame, because it is an excellent way to get really good at map and compass skills and navigating cross-country quickly with a high degree of accuracy. It is also how I learned to navigate well at night and in inclement and foggy weather. Young people today seem to have about zero interest in such things.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 10, 2021 at 20:50

      Thanks brother.
      I used to be pretty good at finding my marks in the woods.
      The military compasses get beat up. Maybe that’s the problem. I should look into these nice compasses. Have you ever compared two compasses to each other? Setting the two compasses on a square straight edge made of wood, one then the other, and reading the azimuths will tell you the difference. I know all mine are off a hair. I just walk toward the “other” tree. Or step off in a slightly diagonal path after every reading for a 100 yards or so.

      • George True February 11, 2021 at 11:07

        Johnny: I never tried putting two compasses side by side and comparing them. What I did do was take a bearing on an object in the distance (ie – tree or telephone pole), then take the other compass and do likewise, and see if the bearings were identical or not. This only works with sighting compasses. You could not get an accurate enough bearing for comparison purposes using a simple handheld with no mirror. Your way makes more sense. You could use it with any kind of compass, and it would be a lot quicker and easier.
        After my comment yesterday, I got to thinking, and looked on the internet, and discovered that in fact there are still orienteering clubs all over the country. There is now also something known as rogaining, which is long-distance orienteering events lasting up to 24 hours. If one has a club nearby, I feel orienteering is a great way to get youngsters interested and excited about getting good with map and compass.

      • StormN February 11, 2021 at 11:48

        ‘I just walk toward the “other” tree.’ This reminds me of a compass utube video I watched on Corporal’s Corner within the last month or so. He does a nice job of introducing compassing at a practical level for ‘Complete Idiots’ like myself.
        On page 65-66 (land navigation) of Chris Larsen’s old book ‘Light Infantry Tactics’ he explains how he ‘navigated’ his night patrol right into the mined Korean DMZ. He was awarded the permanent position of point man for that accomplishment.

  7. E M Johnson February 10, 2021 at 19:19

    thanks for the post, land nav is not in this retired squids skill set. this post added to “the list”

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 10, 2021 at 20:43

      Yeah man. Don’t be afraid, get some books on the subject. It’s super easy. You can “practice” using just a map. Walk through the problem in your head, taking notes. The Army books on the subject are great. All kinds of different tricks.

  8. John February 11, 2021 at 00:04

    Free download of land navigation course pdf:
    https://www.nwcg.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pms475.pdf

  9. Paulo February 11, 2021 at 00:20

    Scuba Diving Compasses do well too and pretty rugged.
    Used a few times in very murky almost no visabilty water.
    https://www.proscubadiver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Compass%20Navigation.JPG
    Great suggestions JP, thank you.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 11, 2021 at 08:07

      Great comment. I never considered a diver’s compass. I hope they are bright yellow

      • Paulo February 11, 2021 at 13:18

        JP, I am sure they are coming out with some awesome ones with all
        kinds of luminous features.
        Considering scubadiving gear, I think that most scubadiving gear is loaded
        with great gear that can be used on land, from diving knives to flashlights etc.
        Thank you again.

        • SemperFi, 0321 February 11, 2021 at 19:30

          P,
          Need new email, your old one is DOA.

          • Paulo February 11, 2021 at 21:14

            Been a while since I sent you the new one SF0321.
            Will do it again.

    • StormN February 11, 2021 at 11:55

      What!? Wait. How deep down will an appropriate compass work?

      • Paulo February 11, 2021 at 13:09

        Just threw my comment in because the scubadiving compasses
        are rugged and can take a lot of pressure, not to mention, by getting
        the wristband they are practical, although are definitely not those good
        ones for land and star navigation taught recently here with all those features
        and tips which are very informative.
        That jpg image I posted, imagine it being complete darkness underwater.
        Well, that is how one does it using the wristband compass. If currents are
        happening, at least it will take one close enough to destination, depending on
        the distance.

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 11, 2021 at 15:20

          A wristband compass? That’s something I would be interested in…

          • SemperFi, 0321 February 11, 2021 at 19:37

            I was a ScubaPro dealer for several yrs, we had large and small wrist mounted and also big ones for mounting on a plastic compass board.
            I think Suunto makes a wristwatch size one. I use their smallest one on my nylon watch band, not really graduated for fine compass work but it will get you oriented in the woods just fine.
            https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Suunto+compass+watch+band&atb=v253-1&iax=images&ia=images

      • StormN February 11, 2021 at 15:55

        Well, that just shows how little I know. I figured all that (deep) water with all those minerals mixed in would make compass navigation not possible. I guess we’re getting out of topic.

        • NC Scout February 11, 2021 at 16:00

          Oh no, scuba compasses are great and something I won’t dive without.

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 11, 2021 at 16:51

          After doing some research. Scuba compasses are built to handle the pressure. They are rock solid. And fairly affordable. They even make compasses that are “All Hemisphere” usable. Which is pretty cool. They work the same as a regular compass with some design tweaks for underwater use.

  10. C. A. Pacitor February 11, 2021 at 01:58

    Outstanding. Thank you very much for writing this. I’ll add a couple. I do frequent hiking and backpacking trips in the deserts, mountains, and canyons all over the West, at all altitudes.
    Your comments on microterrain are 100% spot on. Learned that the hard way last summer. I got lost good and proper this last summer in the Sierras for an entire afternoon due to microterrain not matching or showing on the USGS topo map. The map had the trail going a certain way. I was truckin along following the map when All the sudden I come up on a stream crossing not on the map. Map said stream was supposed to be 300 meters west, not here, and you can’t see 300 meters due to the tall timber and rugged terrain. So I cross the stream through a dense wall of willows to find… a maze of trails going in every imaginable direction. I had suddenly found myself in the middle of an alpine cattle pasture. Cow trails and cow pies in every which direction, no cattle though, and all looked beat down and exactly same width as the main USFS trail. This is at 6500′ elevation. Steep mountains everywhere and tall timber. So I bushwhacked on a bearing that I thought would intersect the trail 1000m north, again according to the map. Nope, no trail, just more cow trails. So backtrack to starting point. Pick a new bearing… same thing. I did that like 5 times, wandering in this area for three hours, lost as sh*t. And half of that BTW was in deep sand because this area was part of some ancient floodplain. So now it’s getting late, 4 pm, I’m hot and tired and pissed, and I’m off my time schedule to arrive at the night’s destination which is another 5+ miles down the trail. At the far north end of the pasture I finally hear rushing water (Kern River) and that is what saved my ass. I still had to backtrack and bushwhack a couple miles by shooting bearings and handrailing toward the river where I finally found the main trail. Whew. I was prepared to camp anywhere, worst case I could have just turned around and hiked the 6 miles back to the car, but that is a 100% good example of microterrain not being on the map and causing you a grip of trouble.
    There is very much a mental side to this. Getting lost taught me that getting pissed about your situation is pointless and only aggravates things. When you’re up to your ass in alligators it takes some mental fortitude to stop and assess the situation instead of getting torqued off and just shooting bearings and then hauling ass in that direction. Learned that lesson too. So getting lost on this trip was actually very profitable.
    Another example of microterrain is the trail direction per the compass does not follow the map direction. Example, map says trial goes NW, but you are watching compass as you are moving and compass says you are heading due west. This goes on for 500m or so. And you can’t see the trail ahead due to vegetation and steep terrain, and you can’t shoot a bushwhack azimuth to short-circuit this crap because there are giant rocks in the way. Very unnerving.
    Another thing is horses and horse packers/horse trains. If you hike in the mountains where horse packers go, the horses beat the sh*t out of the trails and what’s worse they take it upon themselves to make their own trails if the terrain is sorta clear and sorta level. It is VERY VERY easy to confuse the main USFS trail with some horse trail side spur that *looks* like it matches the USGS/USFS map (because they look exactly alike) but in reality is a couple hundred meters off the correct route, and now you are following some half-ass spur going to who knows where. And in rugged mountains you can’t just SOCKNAV your way to intersect the trail or calculate a back-azimuth because your back azimuth may have you going 2000′ straight up or hike right over a cliff. (That BTW is the downside of SOCKNAV.)
    Oh yeah, drunk cowboys. On one trip I had 5 or 6 drunk mounted cowboys come through my camp one night about 2 am. Absolutely drunk off their asses. This is at 10,500′ elevation, 10 miles from trailhead, 25 degrees outside. They had gotten plastered and decided to ride up that trail, at night, on a narrow rocky trail with some pretty good exposure in places. Good thing they had smart horses. Came right through my site and damn near rode right through my tent.
    Sorry this got so long and thanks again!

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 11, 2021 at 07:56

      That’s awesome. Thanks for that story. I always enjoy a good story in the outdoors.
      I got lost in West Virginia on some micro terrain for a whole day. The map said mountain, stream, mountain. But the fact was it was more like mountain, stream, mountain, creek, mountain, mountain, mountain, creek, stream mountain.
      I was SO lost. I knew what had happened, but that didn’t change the fact I couldn’t correctly identify my location. I just trusted my compass and keep walking. I found my point, a little pond/lake, eventually. There were a bunch of fisherman at this “Lake” in the middle of nowhere. Your cowboy story is a great finisher. Lost in the middle of nowhere and you found some cowboys at 10,500 ft. That’s right on the edge of the dead zone. Where there isn’t supposed to be much of anything.

    • wwes February 11, 2021 at 08:51

      Following those horse trails can be a bad idea even when you’re riding a horse yourself. I used to ride in the Uwharrie Mountains quite a bit, and those horse trails will get you lost in a hurry if you aren’t careful. Usually I preferred to avoid the other riders, there would be some crazy, and downright dumb, people riding in the woods.

  11. Anonymous February 11, 2021 at 09:32

    4.5

  12. theodore showacre February 11, 2021 at 09:46

    I’m from Louisiana and am very familiar with it’s varied terrain, but only know the basics of my old Lensatic and found your article well written and informative,,,you should be a teacher JP, Also I’m in a wheel chair and urban terrain is about all I can use to practice/prepare, so I’d really like any advice from you sir,
    Laissez les bon temps rouler and I thank you for all your service
    Theodore (Ted) Showacre

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 11, 2021 at 13:43

      Work on building a team and your psychical conditioning.
      I would test your compass’s magnetic offset due to interference from the ferrous metals.
      Consider a lightweight wheelchair, perhaps with all terrain tires.
      You might, assuming you are financially stable, consider one of those motorized AT wheelchairs.
      Modern batteries can provide some fairly significant ranges.
      Hope this helps. I am sure there are dozens of resources on the subject.

  13. BRUTHA JOHN February 11, 2021 at 19:08

    https://www.projectremote.com/remote-statistics/ In this country we are not that far from a paved road. This is not the country to be the enemy in. Roads on top of roads. In Ohio about 1.6 miles from a road in any direction. The right Ear Pro and a dog trained not to bark at every damn thing goes along way. So does having a centerfire rifle with a nice scope on it. Having verified people that you know inside your county elections office can save a lot of field operations in the future. Have the same in your local law enforcement If you have a military base in your state let the local base commanders know how you feel about our sons and daughters in uniform are treated. How you treat them………..

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 11, 2021 at 19:22

      There are parts of this country that can be quite remote. But yes, you are correct. Which is why I included a lesson on finding random people in the “Middle of Nowhere”. Because most places aren’t in the middle of nowhere. Some of them can be quite sketchy.

  14. John Collins February 11, 2021 at 22:04

    I love maps and I love the woods. As a forester, I’ve spent my working career using Silva and Suunto compasses and USGS 7.5 minute
    quad sheet maps to take me where I wanted to go. If your AO has any kind of terrain features and not pancake flat, topographic lines on a map are your best friend. It’s a huge advantage, whether tactical or a weekend outing with kids, to have a strong ability to analyze
    a topo map. As someone mentioned earlier, map features can and will change, topography never changes.
    The easiest place to get lost in my world is a South Alabama river swamp, perfectly flat and the vegetation never changes on a cloudy day or night, you better have a compass.
    Following a compass and pacing are skills which require some repetition to get comfortable with but it will come. There’s no substitute though for using that topo map to find potential choke points and any ingress and egress possibilities in your AO.
    Teach young people about enjoying the woods without fear of danger. The worst danger is yourself. Bugs and such are only an aggravation and can be dealt with. There are too many good things to miss if you allow a little discomfort to control you.
    Good piece JP and thanks.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 11, 2021 at 22:10

      Thanks brother. Thanks for the input on some of the swamps down south. Endless reels of vegetation that all looks the same and no shortage of bugs. That sounds fun.

  15. FDC February 11, 2021 at 23:20

    https://caltopo.com/ is what I use for my single page (8.5×11) 1:50k UTM grid maps. It will take you 5 minutes to figure out how to mess with it, but the printed result gives a footer with all pertinent grid/declination info. Here’s an example that hopefully stays online for a bit. https://caltopo.com/p/5Q77

    • NC Scout February 11, 2021 at 23:25

      This is excellent.

  16. StormN February 13, 2021 at 12:41

    I’m interested in finding out more about pace cords vs. ranger beads. An internet search does not identify a distinction. I think a picture (or link to) would be very helpful.

    • NC Scout February 13, 2021 at 13:00

      They’re the same thing.

      • StormN February 13, 2021 at 13:25

        My ‘ranger’ beads aren’t 18″ long and don’t have multiple knots, as Johnny P. explains in Legend #2. I do take Johnny’s use of the terms ‘Myth’ and ‘Legend’ rather loosely. I’m embarrassed to think I’ve made an obvious mistake!

        • NC Scout February 13, 2021 at 13:27

          Make another one.

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 13, 2021 at 13:39

          There are commercial ranger beads that use the “Pony” bead as a marker. They are junk because they can shift during a movement through the woodline.
          A real “Ranger Cord” is just a piece of 550 cord you tie a knot into every time you pass your 100 meter marker. So you can count your knots. You make two of them so you don’t have to stop every kilometer and untie your knots. Or, you can back track, or keep track of a horizontal, diagonal, or lateral movement for your records. You should be able to keep track of 2.5-3 clicks worth of travel, if you are conservative with your marker knots. Don’t bunch up the knots like a giant booger knot. You stagger them like the rungs on a ladder.

        • StormN February 13, 2021 at 14:15

          Oh, so no beads. Resulting in permanent record or throw-away type of counting device? Seems a PITA to tie a knot every 100 meters but likely just the whiny bitch in me.

          • Johnny Paratrooper February 13, 2021 at 14:25

            No you untie the knots when you reach your marker. Then check your map, shoot another azimuth, plot your route, and/or break for water. It’s just a simple lightweight and fool-proof way of remembering your distance traveled when counting your pace in your head.
            Literally everyone in the military who does land navigation uses this method. I haven’t seen any other way to do it. Nor could I think of another way to do it.

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