Navigation!

Navigation is one of the most critical skills in Adventure Racing, yet is often the most overlooked or least practiced. Wilderness navigation and map reading are like any skill, they can be learned, but to become competent, you must PRACTICE!

Books/Reading
The following is a list of valuable resources and references for Navigation.

The Essential Wilderness Navigator: How to Find Your Way in the Great Outdoors, Second Edition
by David Seidman, Paul Cleveland, Christine Erikson (Illustrator)
Be Expert with Map and Compass by Bjön Kjellström
Compass & Map Navigator: The Complete Guide to Staying Found by Michael Hodgson
The Ultimate Guide to Wilderness Navigation by Scottie Barnes, Cliff Jacobson, James Churchill
Orienteering by Steve Boga

This is just a partial list of recommended reading. Browse a bookstore and see what appeals to you, just make sure it covers the basics of maps, compass use, and UTM coordinates.

You can also download a copy of a navigation primer written specifically for Adventure Racers.
AR_Nav_Primer_v1.1pdf

Orienteering
The map and compass sport of Orienteering is a great way to practice basic navigation skills. It can help you reinforce critical skills such as map reading, how to follow a bearing, and reading terrain. Do remember that O-meets use special maps that are very non-typical for adventure racing, so use them to augment skills, not as your only practice! Try to become proficient at the Orange level as a minimum for quality exposure to cross-country navigation.

To find out more about Orienteering, find a club near you, and see a schedule of meets around Georgia, visit:
http://www.us.orienteering.org/.
Your local Orienteering club might maintain permanent courses where you can practice any time you wish. The courses are located at Sweetwater State park and Red Top Mountain State park (see the GAOC website for more details).

Wilderness (Adventure Racing) Navigation
In order to become truly proficient in Navigation for Adventure Racing, you need to practice using a variety of maps and terrain. Most races in North America will use a 1:24,000 scale map, and will require you to plot UTM coordinates to find your checkpoints.

The club will put together some practice maps and areas that you can download and use for land navigation practice. Please note that there are no real checkpoints out there. We recommend you might consider using a GPS to “verify” you’re in the correct place. Make sure the GPS you are using is set up for NAD27, and will display your position using the UTM system.

Practice Courses
Keep this area bookmarked, as we hope to be adding more practice courses in the future! For each, there will be a set of instructions and a topo map of the area, both in PDF format. Please remember when printing, it is likely that the map will no longer adhere to the printed scale. The clues on the instructions should help you pinpoint your exact location. You can always purchase maps from REI or your local USDA office.

Sweetwater State Park instructions | map

Tearbritches Loop in the Cohutta instructions | map

Still More Practice??
If you regularly train in an area, get a 1:24,000 scale map, and spend time trying to make sure you know where you are on the map at all times.

More fun? Get a topo map, pick a trailhead, and mark several big features off the trail (spurs, hilltops, saddles, re-entrants, etc.). See if you can find them. Take a GPS to "verify" you are in the right place (no cheating). Better yet, get a friend to send you the UTM's using the same map.

You can also order a study at home map course that will give you direct practice in plotting UTM’s, making route choices, and personalized feedback on your work. E-mail info@worldar.com for more info.