Old school map reading class

  • HTML tutorial

blackntan

Rank V
Launch Member

Pathfinder I

2,271
Uk. 53.4084 N 2 .9916W.
First Name
Black
Last Name
Tan
Member #

2385

Service Branch
Boys brigade
Yup every weekend from the age of 13 to 17.5 I would travel from the Wirral to do climbing, mountaineering. And our mountaineering club had a house close to tyn-y-coed

A few years later I was a member of the RAF Mountain Rescue team out of Anglesey
We stayed on the farm just past plas y brnyn In a cow shed , we dug tons of cow n sheep muck out couple of feet deep then washed the place out it became a climbers hut and is now a populat rent for the farmer that was back in the mid 70s with the school and BB HOW TIME FLYS :flushed:
Had the run of the joint services mountain trianing camp for years while my nephew was a rupert fozzy did you ever go there :wink:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Polaris Overland

Fozzy325

Rank V
Launch Member

Influencer II

2,808
Calgary, AB, Canada
Member #

15226

We stayed on the farm just past plas y brnyn In a cow shed , we dug tons of cow n sheep muck out couple of feet deep then washed the place out it became a climbers hut and is now a populat rent for the farmer that was back in the mid 70s with the school and BB HOW TIME FLYS :flushed:
Had the run of the joint services mountain trianing camp for years while my nephew was a rupert fozzy did you ever go there :wink:
I never stayed there, but i always wanted to.
 

Rollin Dirty Overland

Rank III
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

676
Mesa, AZ
First Name
Jim
Last Name
G
Member #

14740

Ham/GMRS Callsign
W7RDO
Cool that you bring this up. I work for a suburban municipality that has multiple "Green Spaces" basically small patches of woods tucked in between subdivisions. Recently, someone proposed a Disk Golf course at one of the locations. It got me thinking. An Orienteering course would be low-impact & educational. I miss that in my Boy Scout days some 30-40 years ago. Finding that note with the next bearing & distance was the predecessor to finding a geocache!
Funny you should mention disk golf and land nav in the same paragraph. I often use a disk golf course near my house to play around with map and compass from time to time. Night land nav has always been my personal favorite and that course is perfect.

Very good idea @Fozzy325 I've been kicking around the idea of preparing a land nav class for a few years, but could never really find the context or audience. I've been thinking about it a lot more since I joined OB.
 

Pilgrim

Rank III
Launch Member

Member I

509
Ottawa, Canada
Member #

9534

I learned to read topo maps back in my days as a Scout. Now I'm a Scouter and would like to bring in orienteering as a skill to develop in our troop. So thanks to the OP for bringing this up. My map stash is too big to carry, but it's almost all road maps. I was an avid long-distance motorcyclist 15 years ago, so I picked them up wherever I went and had the relevant map folded and placed in my tankbag window to navigate. I would often trace my route with my left index finger, while the right hand controlled the throttle, braking and steering. I did have a Garmin eTrex Legend which was great with its backlight to guide me at night, otherwise I needed to stop under hwy streetlights at interchanged to get my bearings as a solo travelling. Good times.
 

dkr83

Rank 0

Contributor I

60
Fort Wayne, IN
First Name
Daniel
Last Name
Rosselli
My only suggestion would be to add a solar component to the course so individuals without a map could orientate themselves based on the time of day and suns location.
 
  • Like
Reactions: danl

JimInBC

Rank V
Launch Member

Pathfinder I

1,798
Southern Vancouver Island
First Name
Jim
Last Name
Freer
Member #

10955

I learned to read topo maps back in my days as a Scout. Now I'm a Scouter and would like to bring in orienteering as a skill to develop in our troop. So thanks to the OP for bringing this up. My map stash is too big to carry, but it's almost all road maps. I was an avid long-distance motorcyclist 15 years ago, so I picked them up wherever I went and had the relevant map folded and placed in my tankbag window to navigate. I would often trace my route with my left index finger, while the right hand controlled the throttle, braking and steering. I did have a Garmin eTrex Legend which was great with its backlight to guide me at night, otherwise I needed to stop under hwy streetlights at interchanged to get my bearings as a solo travelling. Good times.
We have started basic compass skills with the cubs. Fortunately we meet at a camp and have topo maps of the area which gives a great place to teach the skills. This year I hope to get a course set up for them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Polaris Overland

danl

Rank III
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

676
San Diego, CA, USA
First Name
Dan
Last Name
Little
Member #

19761

Ham/GMRS Callsign
K2UDL
Good syllabus. Sounds like what we covered in the Army. I agree with the comment about adding solar navigation. Seems like you might have done the course by now. If so, how did it go?