Tune Up Your Magnetic Compass For Navigation Safety

Staying found can keep you from getting lost and in trouble!

There is no substitute for a good compass, and the ability to use it. Since getting lost is generally the causal factor in most wilderness emergencies, it just makes sense to stay found to stay out of trouble!
In this article, navigation expert Blake Miller tells you how to check out and make sure your magnetic compass is safe and ready to go. For more info, click here.

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Survival Myth Busted! Finding Directions By the Moss on Trees

Moss grew on the west side of this stump.

One  of the pervasive folk legends about finding directions  in the  wilderness or woods, is that moss grows on a certain side of a tree or  rock.
Just find your way by observing where the moss is,  according to  this theory, and you won’t get lost. According to this traditional old “wisdom,” the moss is thickest on the  north side of a tree in the northern hemisphere. In the southern  hemisphere, the moss is thickest on the south side. Or so the story goes. I took my compass, and went to several different ecosystems; desert, rain forests, conifer forests and deciduous forests in the southeast to test this theory.
Here is what I found.

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Map Compass and GPS: Simple Survival Tips For Using a Map and Compass

It isn't hard to get lost.

The point was to get out in the woods and relax, and who can unwind when you have to fool around with land navigation tasks? Besides, you’re well prepared, with survival knife, a survival kit, tarp  and…all that stuff.
But then it starts to get dark, or the weather changes, and you don’t remember which of the forks in the trail you took. At this point, many people will start to panic, and when that happens, you can’t reason.
But in this situation, remembering some common sense land navigation memory aides and acronyms will help calm you down. Once you can correctly orient the map, you can figure out where you are and where to go. To read the complete story, click here.

Map Compass and GPS: Navigating a Topographical Map

Do topographical maps seem confusing? Do you view most maps as a mass of squiggles, color splotches and undecipherable gibberish, with terms like: datum, UTM,  WGS84 and NAD27?
In this article, land navigation expert Blake Miller explains how to make sense of your topo map!

Navigating a Topo Map

Do topographical maps seem confusing? Do you view most maps as a mass of squiggles, color splotches and undecipherable gibberish, with terms like: datum, UTM,  WGS84 and NAD27? In this article, land navigation expert Blake Miller explains how to make sense of your topo map!

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Search and Rescue Vet on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio

Todd Teicheira, a veteran search and rescue volunteer will be the guest on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio on Jan. 21, 2010. Todd will be discussing some of the common problems and situations that get people into trouble in the Oregon backcountry

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Make Your GPS More Efficient: Clean up the Clutter

Having too many waypoints stored on your GPS is like piling all your office files into a heap and expecting to find something when you need it. In the wilderness, you don't want to be sorting through Waypoints to decide where to go!
GPS expert Blake Miller gives some tips on the efficient way to use and store your Waypoints.

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Three Maps You Should Have in Your Bug Out Bag

If you just stuck a state highway map in your bug out bag and let it go at that, you could be in trouble later on. Here's three maps you should have along to make sure you don't get lost and that you stay found.

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