Not ready to dive into GPS navigation techniques? Here is a brief tutorial on traditional map and compass navigation. Even with a GPS receiver, you should always know how to use map and compass as a backup, so these techniques are also described in Outdoor Navigation with GPS.

Before you plan your first trip into the backcountry it's a good idea to not only know how to get where you want to go, but more importantly, how to find your way back. You can become skilled if you know how to do these simple things:

1. Determine from a map the direction you must walk to get from Point A (your current position) to Point B (your destination). This is known as reading a "bearing" (or "azimuth" if you are a perfectionist). Be able to walk the straight-line course from Point A to Point B that you found in step one. This is known as following a bearing.
2. Navigate a more complicated route from Point A to Point B when you can't follow a simple straight-line course.
3. Find your position on a map when you don't initially know exactly where you are. This is known as obtaining a "position fix."

Ninety-nine percent of wilderness navigation involves these basic skills. Ninety-nine percent of the people who get lost in the backcountry either didn't have these skills or didn't carry along the necessary equipment to practice them.

So what is the "necessary equipment?" If you visit your local outdoor specialty shop you're likely to find a bewildering array of tools claimed to be "essential" to wilderness travel. Most will do what they claim to do and many are undoubtedly convenient, but if you like to travel light, there are only two navigation essentials:

A good map
A good compass

The map is the more important of the two, for without it, the compass isn't of much use. Remember the Cardinal Rule of Navigation:

It doesn't help to know which direction is north if you don't know which direction is your destination.

In many cases you don't even need a compass, although you should always carry one. You can often navigate simply by keeping track of where you are on the map.

For the 21st Century navigator, a third tool, the GPS receiver, has been elevated to "essential" status. Though it can't totally replace the map and compass, what it can do is tell you exactly where you are and what course to follow to reach your destination. At walking speeds, though, the GPS receiver doesn't do a good job of telling you exactly what direction to walk to follow that course. So you still need a compass, and a few GPS receivers actually have a magnetic compass built in. Modern GPS receivers are reasonably inexpensive and lightweight and can be so useful in obtaining position fixes and bearings that it is well worth considering keeping one with you in the wilderness at all times. GPS navigation techniques are beyond the scope of this tutorial. To learn how to use a GPS receiver in the outdoors, pick up a copy of Outdoor Navigation with GPS. Click here to learn more.

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