zippetydude wrote: They always mention that you need to know how to use a map and compass...um, this may sound dumb, but as long as you know the top of the map points north, the needle on the compass points north, and the contour lines on a topo indicate elevation change, isn't this a self-taught sort of skill? The first time I ever went backpacking my dad and I used both for navigating, neither of us ever having taken a class or been instructed in it.
Actually, a compass doesn't point north; it points at magnetic north. It points, in Southern California, about 12 degrees of arc east of north. Now, 12 degrees may not sound like a huge amount, but consider the following example: A day hiker typically walks about 3 mph on good trail in relatively moderate terrain (i.e. not the Marion Mountain Trail).


Neither does a map point to north. Due to the nature of Mercator Projection, which takes a spherical globe and breaks it up into rectangular flat maps, north is always a bit distorted. The impact is not as great as with compass error, but it is there. So, there's a bit more knowledge involved here.
In my experience as a map reading instructor in the Army, some people get it, and some people don't. There are some people for which this whole map thing makes no sense whatsoever, and they struggle though they are intelligent people in other respects.
Well, don't try that in Kansas -- or in the deep woods of Appalachia. You'd better have a bit more technical skill there, though, as you say, you can reason this stuff out, or at least some people can. This poor woman sounds like someone who just didn't have that ability.zippetydude wrote: We just looked at it, interpreted it, and made our way around with clarity and ease.
HJ