Land Navigation Part 1

 

Field Activity 5 was an introduction to land navigation also known as orienteering.  During this lab we learned the tools needed to successfully be able to navigate between plotted points on a map.  In order to successfully navigate one must have to tools required to perform the actual navigation, such as a compass, and a map with a geographic coordinate system.

For our introduction to lab 5 we were tasked with measuring our pace count and creating a number of maps to be used in the field.  A pace count is required to be taken in order to associate how far you have traveled with the scale on a map.  To measure a pace count one simple has to measure 100 meters on the ground and count how many paces it takes to walk that distance.  For this project I recorded my pace count as 65, meaning I took 65 left foot steps to reach 100 meters.    The most accurate method is to use the same sort of terrain that you will be navigating in. For example if your land navigation course is densely wooded and steep, it is best to record your pace count in a similar topology.  Since we used a straight path that was not similar to where we would be navigating I decided to add 10 paces to my count.

The second portion of this week’s lab involved making the maps to be used in our land navigation exercise.  The primary requirement for these maps was the use of a UTM grid coordinate system.  A UTM grid was required in order to plot the points given to us in the field by our professor.  If a different coordinate system were used than what our points were in, we would be unable to plot them.  In the creation of our maps, we decided to use one containing 2 foot contour intervals to be able to associate our ground location accurately with our map location. Figure 1 shows a very detailed contour map that makes it easy to distinguish various land features.  This type of map will be helpful in determining our precise location while in the field by associating with the relief. Each grid line represents 50 square feet keeping the map cluster free when plotting the points.  A transparent aerial image was also used for this map in order to distinguish vegetation, giving additional evidence as to where we are located.



Figure 1: 2ft contour topographic map with transparent aerial image and 50 square meter grid designators.
 

 












Our second map being used for this activity (figure 2) contains 5 meter contours for relief association as well as a high resolution aerial image. This map will make it easy to point out changes in vegetation and associate ourselves accordingly. 50 foot grid designators were again used to aid the plotting process.  If we navigate to within 30 meters of our point locations we will more than likely see the marker contrasting against the snow.  When choosing a scale for the map, it was important to include a 100 meter break to use with our pace counts discussed above.

Figures 1 and 2 are the maps that we are to use during the navigation.  As you can see, figure 1 shows very accurately how the relief changes throughout our area of interest.  Figure 2 shows changes in vegetation as well as man-made features more accurately.



Figure 2: Aerial Image with 5 meter countour intervals and 50 square meter grid references. The contrasting colors provided by the aerial image will make it easy to distinguish vegetation features while in the field.