Thread: Map and Compass Night Navigation

Originally Posted by Magnetite

Is night time navigation with a map and compass possible in NZ bush? Can it be done safely and successfully?

A few scenarios:
On a poorly maintained track.
Completely off track.
In a known area vs unknown.

For those who have tried it, how did it go?

Some good examples in this post.

To do 'safely' and effectively with balanced risk requires considerable layers of experience. If you wish to build this capacity (without being a liability), become well skilled on map to ground, plotting grid bearings, converting them to mag, walking on them to easily identifiable features, whilst developing your experience in pace counting. To become effective with regards to pace counting, start with no load easy terrain, then load, then harder terrain etc etc. When you start practicing at night, do so in a similar fashion. When your doing this, learn how to make up nav data sheets, this will aid you through the learning process and decision making on the ground.
I've only just touched the surface on this.
There's considerable dangers which you can not always mitigate, for example water ways that may show up on the map, may only be 1m wide with vegetation hiding its presence (as you approach), they can be a 5/10m deep trench with the sound of rushing water absent in summer or low rain fall, add to the fact you could be tired under load etc etc.