About the Book
In an era when people are hungry for spending time close to nature, exploring Australia’s vast national parks, being able to navigate and find your way is more important than ever.
Traditional map and compass navigation skills go hand-in-hand with our increased yearning for slower travel and a simpler life - one more connected to our precious earth.
How to Navigate (2nd edition), is a 103 page, straight-talking, modern approach to map and compass navigation. It is loaded with clear explanations, photographs, illustrations, how-to's and why’s, told from the perspective of a passionate bushwalker, with over 15 years experience in search and rescue.
While the use of digital maps and GPS devices may seem the easy option, they can’t always be relied upon and like the rest of our digital lives, can cause a disconnect from nature - the very thing we are seeking to embrace.
‘Traditional navigation teaches us to see and experience the world differently. It’s about becoming deeply aware and observant of the world around us,’ says author, Caro Ryan. ‘Rather than simply seeing hills, mountains and rivers; we see ways, routes, possibilities and flow.’
Dick Smith AC (Adventurer, entrepreneur, philanthropist) says, ‘I’ve spent my life and have been on many expeditions where I have had to rely on a map and compass. Caro’s book brings a fresh approach, breaking down old fashioned jargon and making learning how to navigate, easy.’
Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION: Why navigation skills are important, The rules for navigation, The 4 elements of navigation. MAPS: Maps to use for bush navigation, Where to get maps, Care for your maps, How to fold your map, A word about this book, Maps from different Australian states, Getting to know topographic maps, Map information and legends, Map scale, Map accuracy, What is a datum? What is a projection? Using grid lines on a topographic map, Where in the world? Contour lines, Features and landforms, Height, Knoll, Ridge, Saddle, Spur, Gully, Junction, Measuring distance. COMPASSES: What to look for when buying a compass, Care for your compass, Compass gotchas, Getting to know your compass, Red Ned in the shed, Different types of north, Magnetic declination, How to switch between magnetic north and grid north, How to use a compass, How to take a bearing from a map, How to take a bearing from the ground, Triangulation, Back bearings, How to walk on a bearing. ROUTE PLANNING: What is a route plan? How to choose the best route, The importance of local knowledge, Route-finding gotchas, How to estimate time. HOW TO NAVIGATE: Orienting a map, Finding your NavHead, Navigating with map only, Last Known Point, Thumbing the map, How to navigate and stay on your route, Aiming off, Handrails, Catching features, When to put on your NavHead? One step at a time, The difference between navigating and route finding, The gatchas of spurs, The gotchas of water features, How to navigate like a boss, How to practice and improve, Navigation courses. EXTRAS: GPS settings, How to read latitude and longitude on a topographic map. WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET LOST. Acknowledgements, Glossary, Tear out memory joggers.
About the Author :
A communications professional by trade, hiker by passion, Caro started LotsaFreshAir.com to encourage and equip people to connect with nature's wild places in meaningful ways. She has built an engaged online community, delivering key hiking how-to's and adventure travel inspiration in a supportive and friendly style through video, blog and social media. A regular columnist and feature writer for Great Walks Magazine, her freelance work has also appeared in Australian Traveller, Wild, Jetstar Inflight, Outdoor, Travel Play Live and NorthSouth (NZ). She can be heard across NSW as a regular guest on ABC Radio Weekends with Simon Marnie (talking all things hiking and bushwalking) and is a popular speaker at outdoor conferences and events. Inspired by her work as a Search Manager with the specialist SES Bush Search and Rescue unit (where she leads the Blue Mountains, NSW team), she is passionate about encouraging, inspiring and teaching people about bushwalking and hiking and spending time in the great outdoors, with a focus on sustainable practices, caring for the environment and ourselves. Her online community currently numbers over 60K keen hikers and outdoorsy-folk across all channels.
Review :
‘I’ve spent my life and have been on many expeditions where I have had to rely on a map and compass. Caro’s book brings a fresh approach, breaking down old fashioned jargon and making learning how to navigate, easy.’ DICK SMITH, AC.
