Getting lost and unlost

When I was a kid, I learned how to use a compass and did some orienteering on a school trip. However, that was a long time ago and I can’t say that I retained much of what I learned. These days, I usually head to the woods without benefit of a compass – not really a “best practice” — so I thought it was time to relearn some navigation skills.

I signed up for a Navigation course given by the Alpine Club of Canada (Ottawa section). We started with two evening sessions learning about maps, compasses and how to use them together. The following Saturday, we headed to the far end of Gatineau Park where we proceed to get lost.

From our starting point at the trailhead, we headed straight into the bush, ignoring the trail completely. Our intrepid leader, Darryl, started us out on a specific heading, with the goal of heading for a particular body of water. As we bushwhacked our way through the woods, we encountered a variety of obstacles, included boulders, trees, hills and ponds. Although we couldn’t walk a straight line, our compass kept us on the right track.

After an hour or so, Darryl shifted our heading by 10 or 15 degrees — to take us off track. Then, after about 20 minutes on the new heading, we were tasked with finding our original destination by returning to the original heading. We crossed several trails, which helped position our location on the map, but we were unable to locate the pond in the end. Having said that, we were able to get ourselves “unlost” by tracing a faint path back to one of the main trails.

The reward for our hard work — bushwhacking for several hours in the heat, covered head to toe in hats, long sleeves and pants — was lunch on the escarpment overlooking the valley. The beautiful view, accompanied by a nice breeze, made it all worthwhile.

The return to the cars was quicker than expected, considering how long the first “half” of our journey took. Overall, it was a great day, despite the heat and bugs, and I learned a few things about navigating in the woods. I hope that I won’t have to test my newly acquired skills, but next time I head to the woods, I will be taking my compass.