Navigation teaching/learning

[TeeDee]

Its a multidimensional question - so thread hijackers feel free to board and plunder as necessary.

I think most of us have all been taught Land Nav / Map work in differing ways by different teachers/instructors or maybe self taught.

What have been the best ways or methods for you to learn what can be equally a top down thought exercise as well as an on the ground in the grass / night physical exercise.

What and how key elements did you find useful ( maybe something internally clicked / lightbulb moment ) or maybe someone showed you in a certain way that gave you a cleared better understanding.

 

[Chris]

Its a multidimensional question - so thread hijackers feel free to board and plunder as necessary.

I think most of us have all been taught Land Nav / Map work in differing ways by different teachers/instructors or maybe self taught.

What have been the best ways or methods for you to learn what can be equally a top down thought exercise as well as an on the ground in the grass / night physical exercise.

What and how key elements did you find useful ( maybe something internally clicked / lightbulb moment ) or maybe someone showed you in a certain way that gave you a cleared better understanding.

Honestly? Playing Operation Flashpoint in my teenage years. Learning how to translate a map landscape into what you can see in front of you in a game rather than whilst tired and distracted by all the other outdoor gubbins made it really safe and stress free. Using that to then describe to other people where baddies are, or where to drop a bomb and the relative location I am in, really gave the focus of practically understanding terrain.

Of course it was then useful when I joined the Armed Forces proper, although unfortunately they actually make you carry everything on your legs in real life, rather than just pressing ‘W’ on a keyboard.

Military teaching of map reading is really helpful to be honest, as more emphasis is put on use of ground rather than just following footpaths. It also gives you that overall incentive to know where you are in relation to other things (friends, enemies, rendezvous points, roads, general awareness of what may be going on around you).

 

[TeeDee]

Honestly? Playing Operation Flashpoint in my teenage years. Learning how to translate a map landscape into what you can see in front of you in a game rather than whilst tired and distracted by all the other outdoor gubbins made it really safe and stress free. Using that to then describe to other people where baddies are, or where to drop a bomb and the relative location I am in, really gave the focus of practically understanding terrain.

Of course it was then useful when I joined the Armed Forces proper, although unfortunately they actually make you carry everything on your legs in real life, rather than just pressing ‘W’ on a keyboard.

Military teaching of map reading is really helpful to be honest, as more emphasis is put on use of ground rather than just following footpaths. It also gives you that overall incentive to know where you are in relation to other things (friends, enemies, rendezvous points, roads, general awareness of what may be going on around you).

I can seen how thats beneficial - doesn't matter if its going to a very elevated position and picking out key ident points in the landscape with a map and binos or using a game/simulation that provides a solid grounding of the fundamentals.- all good stuff.

#edit -There is a game tiled 'DAYZ' ( derived from Arma - which I think maybe of the same genre ) that has alot or in game map/compass and natural world ( moving sun , star constellations by night ) navex indicators.

 

[nigelp]

Its a multidimensional question - so thread hijackers feel free to board and plunder as necessary.

I think most of us have all been taught Land Nav / Map work in differing ways by different teachers/instructors or maybe self taught.

What have been the best ways or methods for you to learn what can be equally a top down thought exercise as well as an on the ground in the grass / night physical exercise.

What and how key elements did you find useful ( maybe something internally clicked / lightbulb moment ) or maybe someone showed you in a certain way that gave you a cleared better understanding.

Work through the National Navigation Award Scheme. https://www.nnas.org.uk/

You’ll get great tuition and consistency between providers. I’m obviously the best provider on the south of England

I had to learn to navigate for mountain leaders. Going out solo in all weather conditions and across a range of mountains and hill locations gives you skills and confidence to navigate. I walked and cyclced all over the country and learnt through trail and error. I wish I could have done the NNAS courses because it would have saved me a lot of time! Muddling through is good and maybe fun but eventually it’s tedious and time wasting.

The syllabus for each level of the NNAS been designed to provide the foundation to the next level - people don’t want to start at bronze level thinking it’s for beginners (which it can be) or they know all that stuff, but I’ve had many whom then do so and find they learn techniques that they didn’t use or use things they don’t need.
I’ve taught 100’s of people (that’s not an exaggeration) to use and map and compass and many of them have been self taught, taught by a mate who was in the ‘paras!, partners or a friend in a walking club etc. They invariably end up either learning unnecessary techniques, don’t understand the underlying principles of what they are learning, fail to read the landscape or cannot stitch it all together to make sound navigational strategies.

It’s immediately apparent when people turn up to an intermediate course those that have learnt the essentials and those that haven’t.

People also get comfortable using a few techniques only - because you know what you know. They close themselves off from other techniques because they are either not aware of them, or exposed to them.

I liken it to having a tool box with only 3 tools in it so you end up using a hammer and screwdriver to make a dovetail jointed box. It’s not pretty and doesn’t work!

 

[TeeDee]

Work through the National Navigation Award Scheme. https://www.nnas.org.uk/

You’ll get great tuition and consistency between providers. I’m obviously the best provider on the south of England

I had to learn to navigate for mountain leaders. Going out solo in all weather conditions and across a range of mountains and hill locations gives you skills and confidence to navigate. I walked and cyclced all over the country and learnt through trail and error. I wish I could have done the NNAS courses because it would have saved me a lot of time! Muddling through is good and maybe fun but eventually it’s tedious and time wasting.

The syllabus for each level of the NNAS been designed to provide the foundation to the next level - people don’t want to start at bronze level thinking it’s for beginners (which it can be) or they know all that stuff, but I’ve had many whom then do so and find they learn techniques that they didn’t use or use things they don’t need.
I’ve taught 100’s of people (that’s not an exaggeration) to use and map and compass and many of them have been self taught, taught by a mate who was in the ‘paras!, partners or a friend in a walking club etc. They invariably end up either learning unnecessary techniques, don’t understand the underlying principles of what they are learning, fail to read the landscape or cannot stitch it all together to make sound navigational strategies.

It’s immediately apparent when people turn up to an intermediate course those that have learnt the essentials and those that haven’t.

People also get comfortable using a few techniques only - because you know what you know. They close themselves off from other techniques because they are either not aware of them, or exposed to them.

I liken it to having a tool box with only 3 tools in it so you end up using a hammer and screwdriver to make a dovetail jointed box. It’s not pretty and doesn’t work!

Yes I can see why you're suggesting that.

I guess I'm more asking more for the little things or little methods people found useful ,that clicked internally or provided some enlightenment as a training aid or teaching process/exercise - as opposed to a structured ratified teaching prog.

 

[Ozmundo]

I really enjoyed the Navigation element of the Mountain Leader course (at Plas-Y-Brenin). Practical on the ground day and night exercises in micro navigation. Pretty much everything in the course came down to navigation in the end.

Also the students were all ATI’s so there was a degree leg pulling. “We’ve decided you should race this other team to the objective”,
“Are the other team all Gurkhas?”,
“Yes”,
“……..”

On that course I did pick up making small localised map cards. I think we had to make pace cards with different terrain/gradients on it too.

My take aways were: Keep it very, very simple; trust the instruments; but do maintain awareness of your surroundings.

 

[Chris]

I can seen how thats beneficial - doesn't matter if its going to a very elevated position and picking out key ident points in the landscape with a map and binos or using a game/simulation that provides a solid grounding of the fundamentals.- all good stuff.

#edit -There is a game tiled 'DAYZ' ( derived from Arma - which I think maybe of the same genre ) that has alot or in game map/compass and natural world ( moving sun , star constellations by night ) navex indicators.

Arma is the direct descendant of Operation Flashpoint, from the same game studio. DayZ is particularly difficult because sometimes you either have a map OR a compass, or sometimes neither, and you have to learn to navigate based entirely on what you can see. Though the sun position and even the constellations are accurate, so that can help.

I think for me the key was relating navigation to achieving something I enjoyed and which had practical benefits. Just going from A to B has a practical benefit of sorts, but understanding how to use the ground, situational awareness and making risk assessments based on different terrain was quite engaging. Making a game out of learning is often a winner.

 

[Sooty22]

I was at some point a qualified pilot, taught to fly from A to B via waypoints with map, compass, watch, eyeball Mk1 and a set of chinagraphs. I could do mid-route corrections for ground speed, correct for wind drift, set up diversions on the way etc.
My navigation was by all account excellent and I flew from Scotland to the Alps between France and Switzerland (and back) in a very slow biplane before widely available 'smart' GPS was a 'thing'.
Never had issues, as long as I could see features around me.
I've also done a bit of coastal sailing navigation with friends, same basic concepts, also found it pretty easy to navigate, correct for currents etc.
First few times I tried navigating in forest country or at night even in the open... f-me sideways, got hopelessly lost within minutes. HOPELESSLY L O S T. I could not even find my way back to where I started.
Although relying on the same basic concepts of heading and distance/time, land nav and what I was used to rely on entirely different concepts for knowing where you are for corrections en route.
So, my top tip is find someone who knows what you want to learn, and learn from them by following them on an outing or two, no matter how experienced you think you are on something similar, or whether you think you can pick it up from books or youtube. You'll also lose bad habits that can be developed along the way if you are trying it on your own, and they'll also probably keep you out of sticky situations on your first few outings.
Also, put the GPS away. By all means, carry one and know how to use it. But first learn to 'read' a map, visualise the features, plot a suitable route that's easy to follow without a compass (which you should of course always have and know how to use), walk the same route at day and night and try to 'feel' the differences between what you rely the most on during the day and the night, and understand it can turn to 'night' any time with things like thick fog; always be prepared to navigate in 'night' mode.

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

I missed this thread in August.

For me it is 2 things. Firstly, respecting the map and knowing the amount of detail present on 25K, 40K, 50K land maps (and 250K Air Nav maps I also became familiar with). I also have my RYA Coastal skipper and use charts regularly. Between them all knowing the various keys intimately and being able to pick out the maps data is paramount The flow direction of a tiny stream, the angle of slope on a hill, the height of a lighthouse have all been moments I been able to say, "I'm here'.

Secondly, was the foundation move when starting to navigate. Orient yourself, the compass and the map all to the North. Look far, middle and near and then begin.

You tend to take a map out when uncertainty is kicking in so sticking to the above process is my touchstone and has retrieved many situations for me.

 

[Greg]

I guess for me it was learning to orienteer with just the map and pacing before learning how to use a compass properly.

DDCRAPS is a great training aid.