FINDING DIRECTIONS

Determining Directions with A Compass

Long, long ago, our forefathers sailed the seas and roamed throughout the land with only the sun and the stars to give
them direction. These heavy bodies, however, were not always visible. There were times when clouds hid them from
view. Thus on cloudy days and nights, our ancestors were deprived of their natural guides.

The invention of the compass has made things easier for travelers today. The compass is an instrument that gives the
directions. No matter what the time is or what the weather is, people can find the direction accurately with it. It is used
when following a trail map or making one and when laying out plots of land.

There are two kinds of compasses in common use. One is called the Needle Compass, and the other, the Dial Compass.
As its name suggests, the needle compass has a needle which always points to the magnetic North. The pathfinder
compass is a very good example of it. The dial compass has no needle but its zero or N marking, or an arrow, continually
points to the same direction. A Scout should be familiar with both kinds.

It is well to remember when using a compass that there is a slight difference between the true or geographic North and
the magnetic north indicated in the compass. This variation is caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis. This
movement creates a magnetic attraction centered in a magnetic north pole, which is about 1,400 miles (or about 2,253
kilometers) away from the real or geographic North Pole, in the northern most point of North America, called the
Boothia Peninsula. The compass is sensitive to magnetic attraction and its needle always points to the magnetic North,
which is not the true North at all.

For our guidance, the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey prepared a chart showing the variations or declinations of
the compass in the Philippines. Study this chart on the following page. Note the broken lines across the map. They are
marked 0°, 1°E, and 2°E, indicating by them the degree of difference between the magnetic North and the true North in
different parts of the Philippines. If your place is found along the 0° line, the magnetic North indicated in the compass
and the true North are the same. If it is along the 1°E or 2°E line, the true North is one or two degrees east of the
magnetic north pole, at 359° or 358° of the compass.
When you desire to get exact bearings, deduct all easterly declinations from 360° (North) to get the true North. In
Northern Mindanao where the declination is 2° East, for instance, the true North is 358° of the compass (360° - 2° =
358°). For westerly declinations, add the declination figure to 000° (or 360°). Thus, the true North in the southern part of
Formosa, which is on the 1° West line, is at 1° of the compass (000° + 001°).

You are already familiar with the eight principal points of the compass – North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South,
Southwest, West, and Northwest since you studied them in the primary grades. The compass gives these and other
points. It also gives direction in terms of degrees. In the compass dial there are 360 degrees just as there are 360
degrees in the circle of the earth's surface. Each degree, therefore, indicates an exact position of anything on earth.
Indicating direction by degrees is more accurate than doing so by points.

COMPASS VARIATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES

A direction expressed in terms of degrees is called a Magnetic Azimuth Direction. Learn to express direction in this
manner by getting the degree equivalents of the principal points, as North is 000° or 360°; East, 090°; etc. A chart
illustrating the eight principal points of the compass and their equivalents in degrees is found elsewhere in this section.
Degree bearings are always expressed in three figures to prevent mistakes: thus 045°, not 45°; or 007°, not 7°.

Because the compass is sensitive to magnetic attraction, do not use it when you are near railroad tracks or some other
steel structures as the needle will be attracted by the iron or steel and will not point to the magnetic North accurately.

Taking Degree Readings

You have already learned why positions or directions are often expressed in degrees. Because of; its importance, you
must learn how to take degree readings on at compass.

Let us suppose that you want to take magnetic azimuth 120. Set your compass properly so that the arrow or needle will
point exactly to magnetic North. Then find 120 degrees on the compass face. Sight along an imaginary line running
through the center of the compass and the 20 degree mark. Pick out a landmark such as a tree, a house, or a boulder.
That landmark will be in the direction of 120° from where you are.

In your travels, there are times when you cannot walk in a straight line. You have to turn or detour around trees, rivers
and other obstacles. If you are following a compass course, you are liable to get off your bearings. It will be necessary for
you to take a back degree reading on your starting point to check your course.

To do this, remember the magnetic azimuth direction you are following. If it is less than 180°, add 180° to it. If it is more,
subtract 180°.

Let us say that you are taking magnetic azimuth direction 120. Following the above rule, we add 120° to 180°. The back
reading is 300 degrees. Set your compass properly as you were advised in the beginning. Then sight back on your
starting point in the same manner as you sighted your first landmark. If your starting place is 300 degrees from where
you are, you are on the right course. If it is not, walk to the left or to the right until your starting point is exactly at 300
degrees.

Determining Directions without a Compass

Here's one skill that people learn easily and as easily forget until something happens to them and their very life depends
upon such skill: knowing how to find directions without using a compass. When you go on hiking or camping trips with
your Patrol or Troop, you will find that having this skill is most useful.

You can actually use the sun, the stars, a watch, and moss on trees to find out where east, west, north and south are. For
example, since you know already that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, when you face the rising sun and
extend your two arms to your sides, your right hand points to the south and your left hand to the north. The other
methods are described below.

Sun-Staff Method
Get a staff or a long pole. Post it in the ground directly under the sun in the morning.

Then draw a circle on the ground with the staff as central point and the length of the staff's shadow as its radius. Use a
string loosely tied around the staff with the other end tied to a small stick to draw the circle. Drive a stick where the tip
of the staff's shadow falls. As the sun climbs higher in the sky, the shadow of the staff grows shorter. In the afternoon,
the shadow will again grow longer. When the afternoon shadow again touches the circle. mark the touching point and
drive in another stick. Draw a line from this point to the point where you placed the sticks in the morning. The halfway
point between the two sticks is the true North of the staff. Draw a line on the ground or lay a pole from the bottom of
your staff to the halfway point and you will have your rough North-South direction.

Finding North by the North Star

From the earliest days, people observed that one star stayed in the same place, while the others moved in a circle across
the sky. Thus, people came to depend upon this star, called the North or Pole Star, to guide them in their travels. This
star shows the true North as it is almost over the northern axis of the earth. To locate the North Star, first find the Big
Dipper or Ursa Major which is formed by seven stars with four stars forming the bowl and the other three the handle.
Use the Pointers, the two stars of the bowl farthest from the “handle” to guide you to the North Star or Polaris which
lies on the imaginary straight line about five times the distance between the two pointer stars. North lies at the horizon
directly under the North Star or Pole Star.
To find the exact north-south direction, bring the North Star to the ground, with the use of two sighting sticks. Plant the
longer stick in the ground and with the shorter stick, sight across the top of the two sticks and the North Star, like aiming
a gun. When the tops of the two sticks and the North Star are in a direct line, push the short stick into the ground. Draw
a line on the ground or tie a string between the two sticks. The line will show the true North-South direction. Another
line drawn at right angles from this direction will, of course, point east and west.

In case the Big dipper is partly hidden by clouds, trees, or by 2 mountain, there are three pointers which will help you
find the North Star: (1) through the stars farthest apart in the head of the Dragon (Draco);

(2) from the double star in the middle the Big Dipper to the center star of Cassiopeia; and (3) through the pointer stars in
the Northern Cross (Part of Cygnus).

MAP READING

Using a Map
By now, you must know what a map is. Your geography book contains a number of them. Bigger ones are usually
displayed in school. You must have seen that the maps show the shape of a country or smaller parts of it, as seen from
above. Some maps show the mountains, rivers, roads, railroad tracks, lakes, hills and valleys. These are done by means
of symbols or conventional signs. Such maps are called topographic maps. To pass this requirement, you have to learn
and identify at least ten signs on a map.

Contour Lines
Topographic maps have contour lines. These are lines that show levels of the ground, either high or low. When the lines
are far apart it means that the ground is gently sloping or rolling. Where the lines come close to each other, it is high
ground or a hill. You will know the top of a hill by a dot and a number which is the height of the hill at its highest point.
Contour lines with decreasing numbers mean the ground is going down a slope
Color in a Map
Usually, a map is colored to represent various features of the area shown. To make them easy to read, maps are made in
standard colors. Those printed in black are those made by man such as roads, railroads, bridges, cities, boundaries and
zones.

Bodies of water are colored blue, while forests are green. Hills and valleys are shown by brown contour lines.

Orienting a Map
Orienting a map means that what is shown as North on the map must point toward or coincide with the actual North. To
do this, spread out the map on flat surface and place a compass on it. Turn the map until the needle lies in the same
direction as the arrow shown in the map. The top of the map is true North.

You can also orient a map by finding a road on which you are standing and then turning the map so that the road on it
runs in the same direction as the road on which you are.

Following a Map
If you were given a topographic map and asked to follow a road from a starting point X to Z as indicated, how do you go
about it?

The first thing you have to do is to study your map so that you can find your direction towards your objective Z. For part
of the way, you can travel by road or trail (line X-Y), but for the rest of the way you will follow your compass cross-
country (line Y-Z).

You walk along the road or trail from your starting point X to point Y. Then before starting as you have done before,
draw a pencil line from Y to Z. Place your compass on this line so that it will run through the center of the compass. The
North end of the compass needle should be at rest at the zero or N mark. From the line which you have drawn, you can
read the direction where you are supposed to go. This will be the compass degree reading and the direction you will
travel to reach point Z.

To know how far you have to travel, measure the distance from Y to Z with a ruler or a piece of paper on the edge of
which you will mark the distance between the two points. Check this distance with the map scale. In case the map scale
has been made without any regard for its exactness, copy the map scale along the edge of the paper and make use of
the paper as a measuring stick.
Example: The distance from Y to Z is 2 centimeters. The scale on the map is 1 kilometer to a half centimeter. Therefore,
the distance in kilometers from Y to Z is 4 kilometers.

Remember that there are 1,000 meters in a kilometer. By using the length of your average step, you can find the number
of steps to cover the distance from Y to Z.

A map is a simplified picture of a landscape as it would look from the air – something like an airplane view. But instead
of the masses of forests, roads, fields, rivers, houses, bridges, and so forth, these important features of the countryside
are shown by means of standard symbols. Some of the more important conventional signs are shown below. Try to learn
all of them.

Maps, like pictures, have a top and a bottom. Usually the top is North and the bottom is South. But more than this, there
can usually be found somewhere on the map an arrow pointing toward magnetic North.

Then you may find many thin lines across a map. They can appear to be very confusing at first, but really they are
important because they have stories to tell. They are called contour lines. Every point along one of these lines is the
same elevation. If you follow one of them on your map, you will come
across a number, such as, for example, 95. This means that everything along that line lies 95 meters above sea level. If
you could imagine the sea rising 95 meters, this line would be the new shore line.

The difference between the elevation of the land shown by each contour line and the next one to it is usually 10 or 20
meters. Sometimes the numbers are only in the hundreds. For example:100, 200, 300, etc.

The contours indicate the ups and downs of the country. Where they are far apart, the ground is gently sloping the place
may be suitable for a camp site. If they fall together, they indicate a cliff or a mountain wall. Where the lines come close
to each other, the hill is steep. The top of a hill is indicated with a dot and a number. The number is the height of the hill
at its highest point. Perhaps you may have read in items about the war something like this: “Hill 185 still holding out”; or
“Hill 220 fell today.” For quick identification the heights of such hills become their names.

Map Sketching

In making a map sketch of your Patrol campsite, remember that the main purpose of the sketch is to enable you to plan
your campsite so that it will be comfortable and safe. You do not need an elaborate map.

Your map sketch, however, should show the following: the general direction, the land slopes, the directions from which
the winds blow, and the places where wood and water can be obtained. A scale of about one inch to twenty feet will
enable you to show in your map sketch how far apart the tents are pitched, the distance of the latrine from the camp,
the distance from the spring and wood supply and the general size of the campsite.

MAP SKETCH SYMBO

In your map sketch you should also include natural features such as trees, fences, and streams which should be
indicated in conventional signs. Tents and camp furnishing may be drawn simply and labeled accordingly.

Sketching a Four-Kilometer Route

A map sketch of the guide route to your campsite does not have to be exact to guide anyone to your campsite.

The important things to include in the sketch are: (1) conspicuous landmarks, particularly wherever turns are to be
made, and (2) the types of roads that lead to the place, whether foot path, dirt road or highway. Be sure that these
landmarks are obvious and that anybody can find them.

It is also advisable to: (1) show North by an arrow (to show the general lay of the land) (2) indicate a well-known starting
point and (3) give approximate distances. Remember that you are being asked to make a rough sketch, not a detailed
map with specific compass directions and distances.
Make field notes as you hike to camp, noting down prominent land marks and estimated distances. These will serve as
your basis for the map sketch.

The important thing is you should be able to make this sketch quickly and accurately enough so that someone else can
go where you want him to go.