Orienteering Is More About Survival Than Sport

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ByGarrett

Today marks World Orienteering Day. Orienteering used to mean navigating with a map and compass. What we used to call Orienteering is now called land navigation, and “Orienteering” refers to a land navigation sport. Orienteering has become a survival sport. Really though, Orienteering is more about survival than sport for those who are concerned about preparedness for potential disasters.

Orienteering is more about survival than sport and a map and compass are essential to finding your way.

Most of us use GPS to get where we’re going if we don’t know the way. GPS is a wonderful thing. The technological advances we have made over the last couple centuries would be unimaginable to the people that lived at the time of the American Revolution, or even the American Civil War. So many of us are dependent on our technology though, and that leaves us vulnerable.

Risks to Our Technology

All it would take for us to lose our technological conveniences would be an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) generated by a rival nation or a terrorist group. Worse still, a similar effect can come from our own sun. The Sun can give off solar flares and cause solar or geomagnetic storms. These events, regardless of the cause, can cause electronics to stop working. They can also cause damage in other ways. The Carrington Event, in 1859, was so strong and devastating it caused telegraph lines to give off sparks, shock people, and in some cases catch fire! Technology has moved well ahead of telegraphs, but there are still power lines and phone lines that could be similarly affected. An EMP or geomagnetic storm event would be very dangerous!

In addition to the immediate dangers to health and safety, an EMP or geomagnetic storm could cause failures in all sorts of systems, from GPS to the cars we drive to the computers that control the water and sewer systems. An event like this could be catastrophic!

Finding Your Way With Map and Compass

How do you get somewhere you need to go if you haven’t been there before? Most of us use GPS. What if street lights, cars, and GPS all fail? The best way is with a map and compass.

Orienteering is more about survival than sport and knowing the basic parts of a compass is vital.
Basic Parts of a Compass

There are videos on YouTube and instructions on other websites that can be beneficial, but for someone who doesn’t know how to use a map and compass to navigate, the following are the basic steps:

  • Determine your location using landmarks near you and off in the distance
  • Lay the compass on the map so the arrow is aligned North-South
  • Make sure the compass bezel is at 0 degrees (North) to start
  • Turn yourself and the map together until the arrow and the compass needle both point north
  • Find your destination on the map and imagine a line from where you are to your destination. If it helps, you can draw a faint line from where you are to where you want to end up
  • Orient the compass so the direction of travel arrow is parallel to the line you imagined or drew. Make sure to keep the compass and map on the same orientation!
  • As you move, adjust your bearing so the magnetic needle and orienteering arrow point in the same direction.
  • Make sure to check your bearings regularly to ensure you’re on course!

If you are traveling a long distance or have areas or objects such as mountains or lakes you are navigating around, it will be helpful to pick way-points along the way and navigate from way-point to way-point as you travel to your chosen destination.

Do You Play the Survival Sport?

Orienteering used to be something most people knew how to do. Over time, it became something known mostly to Boy Scouts, Survivalists, and the Military. Fewer and fewer people have orienteering skills. Orienteering is considered a sport. However, it is one sport that can help you survive when the crap hits the fan. Orienteering is more about survival than sport.

Can you navigate from one place to another using a map and compass?


Have you every participated in an orienteering game or competition?


What other skills that are becoming less known do you think it is important to learn?

Garrett Leeds is the founder of the Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Project

If you would like to support the Life, Liberty, And Pursuit Of Happiness Project, please consider contributing to LLPHP via GoFundMe

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