Last Saturday 8 of us headed up to Callander to take part in a combined theory and practical class to learn (or brush up on) some very useful navigation skills.
Map Reading Novices
If you’re heading out into the hills it goes without saying that you should take a map an compass – but do you know how to use them to navigate your way around? It might be something you have a vague idea about, maybe you got training a while back and have never used it as you’re just following someone else. Are the skills a bit rusty or non-existant? If so, this course is for you!
It’s all part of being a better mountain biker/hill walker/outdoors enthusiast. The course started indoors with us learning the basics of the map & compass, grid references and how to take bearings and account for magnetic variation. It reviewed some of the common geographic features found on a map and was kept lively with plenty of practical tasks and illustrations.
After a few hours in the classroom it was time to hit the snowy hills of Callander and put the training to the test.
Training In Progress
Despite a foggy day down in Callander we headed up behind the town and were happy to see blue sky and white hills stretching away before us. Everyone got a turn to lead the group over the snowy trails into the hills behind Callander. A couple of exercises on map reading and compass work out in the real world really helped to cement the new skills.
Navigating Back To The Pub!
I’d recommend this class to all club members. It’ll help you plan routes and understand how to read maps and navigate about the hills more confidently. There was plenty of positive feedback on the day so I think we’ll look to run another session in Spring 2012. Watch this space!
Yip, thoroughly recommend the rewarding course and it’s a fun day out too.