Taking a bearing
Every direction can be expressed as an angle with respect to north. In
the military and the boy scouts, this is called an "azimuth",
and bearings are expressed as a number of degrees. Orienteers take the
easy way out, just setting the angle on their compass and keeping the
needle aligned, which in turn keeps them going in the right direction.
A simple set of step-by-step instructions for setting a bearing on a baseplate
compass are:
- Place the compass on the map so that the direction of travel arrow
is lined up with the way you want to go
- Turn the compass housing so that the arrows engraved in its plastic
base are parallel to the north arrows drawn on the map (make sure the
arrowhead points north and not south)
- take the compass off the map and hold it in front of you so that the
direction of travel arrow points directly ahead of you
- rotate your body until the compass needle is aligned with the arrow
on the base of the compass housing
- pick out a prominent object ahead of you along the direction of travel,
go to it, and repeat the process (this way you can detour around obstructions
but still stay on your bearing)
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