GPS Electronic Compass

What interferes with your GPS receivers compass?

Even an experienced hiker will forget about gear that is carried in the field that potentially impacts a digital electronic compass.  While teaching a community college class on land navigation a student asked me what affects a GPS receiver’s electronic compass? This was a great question and offers an opportunity to assess equipment.

In my map and compass (magnetic) navigation class I make a point of discussing the care that should be taken while handling a compass.  A rifle barrel, flash light, radio and other metal and electronic bodies will impact the compass’ magnetic needle.  To see this first hand, move a flashlight next to a compass and the needle will move noticeably.

It never occurred to me that my digital compass would behave similarly.

In November while elk hunting and camping east of Oregon’s Cascades mountain range, I decided to check this out.

To read the rest of the post go here. 

Night Travel

What should you consider if you must travel at night in the wilderness?

The day started clear and bright as the hikers left the trail head near Newport, Oregon. The temperatures were to be moderate most of the day with slight cooling in the evening. They pressed on determined to reach the summit before twilight. After reaching the summit at dusk, the group started to make their way back to the trail head as fog began to roll in. Within an hour the darkness was becoming a problem and the safety of continued travel became questionable.

So what are some basic considerations for night time travel and navigation in the backcountry?

First, let us consider that we are not in a “lost hiker” scenario. If lost, the best thing to do is to just stay where you are. This makes the job much easier for the searchers.

Further, recommendations are based on the concerns and issues of hiking when it is really dark, not during the period of a full moon with some ambient light.

One of the key factors in this situation is to have an understanding of the physiology of the eye. Our eyes are designed to provide optimal performance during periods of light. The components of the eye (the retina, rods and cones) are arranged specific to their function. The cones are the discriminators of fine detail and color. Cones are the most effective in light, and are located near the center of the eye interior. In complete darkness, a cones’ effectiveness is significantly reduced. Rods are located on the periphery of our interior eye, are not fine detail discriminators and have a higher sensitivity to low light levels. Rods are important to our night time vision.

To read the complete post go here.

Technology Preparedness

Are you and your electronics ready for a natural disaster??

Here is an article from last summer that was featured in the Chicago Sun Times.

The article is a bit "chatty" at first so jump to the middle to get to the heart of the matter.

by Andy Ihnatko

If I complain about how Hurricane Irene has left me without power or Internet access for the past three days, please do be assured that I’m keeping it all in perspective. Brattleboro, Vermont -- which has been one of my favorite road trip destinations for years, and the place I will most definitely recommend if you’re visiting this part of the country and want to feel as though you’ve really seen New England -- got absolutely clobbered.

Many residents lost their homes; some lost their lives.

In the face of that . . . yeah, losing a week of productivity and a fridge full of food is just an inconvenience.

Thanks to Irene, I’ve had three consecutive nights of monastic contemplation, free from the distractions of sinful extravagances like television, Internet, interior lighting, and food or drink that’s noticeably hotter or colder than room temperature. During that time, I’ve been thinking about the various preparations I made when the storm alerts started popping up last week. Common household storm advice can be found pretty much anywhere, and it’s all good stuff. But there’s a modern layer of preparation that incorporates the digital dimension of your life. If you need to evacuate, then really all you care about is getting yourself and your loved ones to safety. Second on the list are those preparations for being stuck in the house for days, or without access to the grid.

To read the rest of the article go here.

Understanding The Scale Of A Map

Maps come in various scales, sizes and variety.  This post makes sense of map scale and what that means to the hiker.

Dictionary.com defines map scale as:

“A ratio which compares a measurement on a map to the actual distance between locations identified on the map.”

A topographic (topo) map’s scale information is located at the bottom center of the map.  Other maps will generally have scale information in the large map key that outlines many of the features and data printed on the map.

The map scale for a United States Geologic Survey (USGS) 7.5 topo minute map is highlighted below.

A closer look of the scale information:

The area circled in red is the ratio discussed by dictionary.com.  Note that the ratio has no units of measurement assigned (e.g., feet, meters, acres.)

To read the rest of the post go here.

Refresh Your GPS Skills

 The hunting season is almost a wrap!  Let's take the time to take another look at your GPS skills.

Now is the perfect time to practice and improve your GPS skills  to get “dialed-in” with your receiver.

GPS will get you back to the truck or help you return to your favorite spot.   Confident use of the receiver comes with practice and frequent use.

Here are some simple recommendations to try in the field.

• Dump those old AA batteries, put in new ones, and replace them again in 4 months.  If you leave your GPS on all day in the field expect to change the batteries nightly.  Consider using lithium AA’s, they last longer and work better in cold temperatures.

• Verify that you are receiving enough satellite signals.  Check this on the satellite status screen.  Four satellites are the minimum. 

To read the rest of the post go here.

Thank You!

I really appreciate the recognition that my post "Navigating a Topographical Map" received on the Survival Mom's website.  A big thank you to Leon for posting the article on http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/!

There are dozens of survival blogs, websites, and forums out there, and it's impossible to stay on top of them all. I did a little research and here are the #1 articles from the summer season from some of my favorite survival and preparedness blogs, as well as the Top 5 from The Survival Mom. I also have a coupon code from a new advertiser, Pantry Paratus ("prepared pantry"), just for my newsletter readers! Get $25 off any purchase of $75 or more* with this code: MOMOCT. This offer expires November 12. Happy reading! * * * * * * Food Storage and Survival: "Make your own survival bars" and "101 uses for empty food storage cans" Canadian Doomer: "How the very poor live" Survival Common Sense: "Navigating a Topographical Map" New Life on a Homestead: "Natural Treatment for Poison Ivy Rash" SHTFplan: "Congressman Warns: Those who can, should move their families out of the city" and "Economic martial law will be declared" Ready Nutrition: "The 4 most likely ways you can die if the SHTF" And the Top 5 stories from the summer season at The Survival Mom blog:

Water Purification

Kummerfeldt's review of water purification.

There are still far too many people using iodine tablets to disinfect their water when there is a much better product on the market - chlorine dioxide. There are also too many people drinking water that has not been disinfected simply because they don't like the taste of iodine not knowing that there is a new product on the market that doesn't leave an after taste.

Chlorine dioxide tablets made available by the Katadyn Company and also by Potable Aqua have been around for several years now but have not been embraced enthusiastically by those who recreate or work in the outdoors. Old habits die hard I guess. Or perhaps it's just ignorance! Either way you are putting your health at risk by drinking water that has not been disinfected.

If for no other reason you should consider using tablets that release chlorine dioxide because of its effectiveness in killing cryptosporidium, an organism commonly found in water - something that iodine was never able to do effectively.

Regardless of the manufacturer the tablets are individually packaged in sheets of ten tablets per sheet and are sold in containers of twenty or thirty tablets for $10 - $13.

Disinfecting your water is easy. Simply drop a tablet into a quart or liter of water and the chemical will destroy viruses, bacteria, Giardia and Cryptosporidium leaving no chlorine after taste.

For more information on Micropur tablets go to Katadyn.