Learning how to take a compass bearing requires a lot of practice, but it’s an important to master this skill if you want to travel safely in the wilderness. Watch this useful video from Sierra Designs to learn how to find and transfer compass bearings in the field and on the map.
This short video focuses on four necessary navigation skills:
- Finding a bearing in the field
- Transfering a bearing in the field
- Finding a bearing on map
- Transfering a bearing to a map
This is a must watch for every mountain enthusiast who spends time in the backcountry hiking, backpacking, skiing, or doing any other activity.
Are you ready to watch The Andrew Skurka Instructional Series – Map and Compass Part 2 | Find and Transfer Compass Bearings From the Field To The Map
These are valuable backcountry skills that require practice. Understanding compass bearings, navigation, and maps is essential to learn before you go on your next adventure.
If anyone knows navigation, it’s Andrew Skurka. He’s completed the Sea-to-Sea Route (7,775 miles, 11 months), the Great Western Loop (6,875 miles, 7 months) and finally the Alaska-Yukon Expedition (4,700 miles, 6 months by ski, foot, and packraft). Pretty impressive.
Watch Other Instructional Videos From Andrew Skurka
Official Description from YouTube:
Published on Aug 10, 2016
In our first video on map & compass, National Geographic “Adventurer of the Year” Andrew Skurka explained how to adjust for declination with a magnetic compass. Watch it now, https://youtu.be/NWaR_hWqm4E.
Once you know how to adjust for declination, you can orient a map (also explained in the first video), and find and transfer bearings in the field and on a map (the subject of this video). Learning map and compass is a critical for hikers, backpackers, hunters, and many others — with these and other navigation skills, it’s difficult to travel far or confidently from trailheads and well maintained trails.
Finding a bearing can also be called “taking” or “shooting” a bearing. Transferring a bearing is also known as “transposing” or “plotting” a bearing.
To learn how to find a transfer bearings in the field and on a map, it is best to learn four steps independently:
* Find a bearing in the field
* Transfer a bearing in the field
* Find a bearing on map
* Transfer a bearing to a map
But in practice, two of these steps are always combined. Specifically, you may find a bearing in the field from your current location to a magnificant peak, and then transfer that bearing to the map to learn the name of that peak. Or, you may find a bearing on a map from your current location (although it does not need to be) to a secluded lake, and then transfer that bearing in the field so that you can begin walking in its direction.
These two videos represent the extent of useful compass skills. Triangulation is another skill that you will hear about, but it’s primary purpose is to “find” yourself after you’ve become twisted around. It’s better to “stay found” by always comparing what you’re observing in the field with what you were expecting. If there are inconsistencies between your navigation data from your watch, altimeter, map, compass, and GPS, stop and figure it out.
