Good Ol' Map and Compass, anyone still doing it?

[Nugget]

I'm interested in hearing of anyone still relying on map and compass to find there way around the bush?

I remember doing this through school as a young bloke and I'm thinking about giving another go... Actually this is inspired by OZDigger who relies very much on a map and internal instincts :lol:.

Anyway, I've just picked myself up a compass on eBay and will be getting a topographic map of an area of interest very soon.

 

[axeman]

One should not rely on gps's, always good to have paper maps and compass and know how too use them. I'm a bit rusty at the map reading, I'm another one who relies on natural instincts. I'm going to have to brush up on map reading a bit when I start traveling.
Mick

 

[Guest]

Maps are the way to go GPS are just to unreliable.
I also print out satellite photos and mark in way points at home of areas of interest.

 

[loamer]

Silva compass all the way!! Can't run out of batteries, nor prone to cloud cover. Great for shooting bearings to get a run of reefs or diggings. Just hang it around my neck and a quick glance is all it takes - no mucking around.

 

[Ben78]

I use topos but have no need for a compass. Id be interested in knowing what use a compass actually is anyway? (serious question...)

 

[loamer]

Navigation, bearings, force of habit, making maps, correcting maps, using old maps etc. Couple of places I would not walk into without one - Whipstick in Victoria, Victorian high country goldfields, high ground between Dunolly and Wanyarra, up around Porcupine Ridge in the areas south of Castlemaine etc. If people stick to roads and detect within site of vehicles, all well and good but even then there are a lot of tracks off tracks off tracks that are not marked. I tend to hunt new ground which requires going in on foot. Yes, I too can read 'map to ground' with a great degree of accuracy but these areas can be especially bad for fog, low cloud etc where natural features can be impossible to see.

What's the old Army saying "The easy path is usually mined" - put into a gold context, "The easy path has usually been detected within an inch of its life"

 

[Guest]

Ben' best to google navigating with a compass there's to many different uses without showing someone in person, I generally get a bearing from the car to a land mark them use the same bearing back out not many times I havnt been able to see the car once I get back out. Very easy to find a spot on a satelite map photo if you mark the map with a north and you can draw all over the paper for the day.

 

[Taipan]

I did a scuba course ages ago and one part was compass, you had to complete a circuit and return to the place you started.
I surprised myself later on a charter boat and was put with a younger girl while they did a course, was told do your own thing.
I did a big a rectangle about 500 kicks(1 leg) long and we meet the group about 10m off in average vis, I don't know who was more shocked me or the girl, I was sure we were lost!
Unfortunately I've forgotten half of it, so don't follow me in the bush!

 

[Bazz]

Hey

I tend to research electronically ie GPS, Google etc to find locations but once I get close to a prospective area I go back to paper. I have more confidence in a paper map to get the lay of the land.

However once I get home I'll retrace my activity on the computer Google etc.

Completely agree with the "Army" saying and the easy path..................

Cheers

 

[loamer]

I have posted this before - worth a read for any type of navigation.

http://www.ga.gov.au/image_cache/GA2582.pdf

 

[Ryan27]

Something to consider before purchasing maps !
You can get waterproof printable paper they average $22 for 25 sheets.
That is over 20+ maps for around $2 each.
I am old school , I like my paper maps however they are expensive and my favourite spots, those maps are well and truly worn.
I am now reverting to iPhone and ipad compatable apps. I will then print high definition waterproof maps prior to heading out bush.
For $2 I can't go wrong ! Unless I print the map upside down lol.

 

[loamer]

Ryan - excellent ideas. As for upside down maps, I kid you not, check some of the original goldfield maps then try and find North. The goldfield commissioners apparently did not give a toss and usually drew their maps looking at the horizontal as opposed to true and or magnetic north. Some however are exceptional maps for showing north.

then there is this:

 

[kelack]

great work yet again Loamer u are the man cheers

 

[loamer]

On the old maps (this example is 1860), sometimes this is all the map info you will get. Once oriented correctly it was shown that map was orientated to the south east. I love the official info 'last month' -cracker.

 

[Nugget]

It's good to hear people are still doing things the old school way . The plan is the learn the ins and outs of "the old school way" while learning the layout of the area via exploration. With detector in hand I hope this will increase my chances of finding decent gold through adventuring into the deep and unknown parts of the Nundle Forrest :lol:

 

[loamer]

I use the A5 graph books, or any graph paper, to plot and draw my maps. A5 fit nicely in pocket. I simply draw the maps as I go, using bearings, features etc. I have a legend that I use for all maps, Q = quartz, A = alluvial, I = ironstone, R = reef, G = gold etc etc. A GPS can be good when making these maps to get within a close set of map references but a compass is still good as it can be a quick orientation. I have a set of standard measurements for how many steps for distance with variables thrown in - up hill, down hill, flat, closed country etc. This is handy for measuring out widths, locations etc. I also take a small point and shoot digital camera to highlight things i see and note them on my hand drawn map - for example - photo 1, ironstone quartz low reef @ GR 12345678.

It is not as convoluted as it sounds, it is just that after all these years, I have found my old notes were incomplete or too generic. For example - 'run of gold, Nuggetty Gully'. Guess how many Nuggetty Gullies there are!!

Once these hand=drawn maps are made, I then scan them in, use the data on overlays and do sense checks against what geovic, memory maps, topos etc show which can be wrong, inaccurate etc. I have scratched my head at times about how inaccurate certain data sets can be.

So, in summary, we are still doing what the old timers did with the added bonus of GPS, digital cameras etc.

Also see: http://www.orienteering.asn.au/technical/mapping/drawingmaps/

 

[loamer]

Common map marking symbols for marking, reading, making maps.

http://www.orienteering.asn.au/gfolder/technical/mapping/OA Map symbols for Aust maps Jan 2004.pdf

 

[Nugget]

Thanks loamer, it's all very interesting

 

[Redfin]

My very first job out of school was with a geologist as a field assistant.
We assays numerous mines on Tasmania's west coast and conducted surveys in WA.
I still have the Engineers Compass and klinometer with which I used to map and plot adits, shafts and tailing piles [ some of which were 110's of yards long etc.
Sadly these skills have slowly left me over the years and i now rely on all things electronic.
I might did them out and have a play, but only as a back up.

The Engineers Compass and Klinometer.

 

[Ryan27]

We should try to learn the old school methods.
Who knows Putin might be blowing satellite's out of the sky soon.