Priory Navigation With Map and Compass

Introduction
This week was a continuation of the concepts of last week's exercise; using alternative non-technological navigation methods. One can never know if or when technology will fail, so it is essential to have many navigation methods in your repertoire. In this exercise we used the maps that we created in the previous week to aid us in navigating to various points in The Priory wilderness area.

Another purpose of this activity was to evaluate the effectiveness of the maps that we created last week. It is difficult to discern the usefulness of a map until one is in the field because the usefulness of a map greatly depends on field conditions which may not be able to be predicted. During this activity we found what information was extraneous, essential, and missing.

Study Area
The exercise took place in the wooded area behind The Priory. The Priory is an extension of the UWEC campus located approximately 3 miles south of the main campus and consists of 112 acres of wood and shrub land with deep ravines running through some areas.(Figure 1.) The building is a multipurpose institution featuring dormitories, child care, and Children's Nature Center.(Figure 2.)

Figure 1. Aerial image of the Priory area. Image taken from Google Earth

Figure 2. The Priory. Photo obtained from Priory Facebook page.

Woodland features of the priory whose importance became apparent during the activity was the decidedly steep ravines that crossed our study area multiple times. Some of the ravines still contained flowing water and access to and from the bottom was particularly treacherous. Tree growth was mostly hardwoods and undergrowth consisted of a high density of the invasive Common Buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica and Prickly Ash shrubs Zanthoxylum americanum. As our course was by the highway and some remote residential parcels, we also discovered large amounts of felled barbed wire fencing that more than one caught our knees and pant legs.

The temperature during the activity was mild for a late October day and while overcast, stayed reasonably light until after 6:00pm when we caught ourselves still within the woods.

Methods
After assembling at The Priory parking lot, Professor Hupy gave us a brief demonstration on how to use the compass with the map. By lining up the compass with two points on map and aligning the north arrow with the arrow on the map, you can see the bearing for the direction you will have to travel. We discussed the term "red in the shed" meaning that if you can place the magnetic arrow within the red arrow outline etched on the bottom of the compass, you can find what direction you need to go.(Figure 3.) The USGS website has a more detailed description on the steps to take when using a map and compass for navigation. Because metal and magnetic forces can disrupt the accuracy of the compass it was stressed that the compass should not be used on or around metal.


Figure 3. Compass used in the navigation activity.

Each group was handed a colored printout of the chosen map using the UTM coordinates, the chosen map using lat/long coordinates, a compass, and a sheet of paper with five geographic points that we were to find in the activity. (Figure 4.)

Figure 4. Maps given to us and the sheet with the navigation points.

We plotted these points on the map and found that we all plotted them slightly differently. This was a good thing because we were able to compare and take an average to where the point was likely to be found. I discovered that because there were very specific locations, using a ruler to hold my place made my point placement much more accurate. (Figure 5.)

Figure 5. Marking navigation points on the map using coordinates.

We then drew lines between the points and calculated the distance between them and the amount of paces each of us would have to take in order to reach the point. (Figure 6.)

Figure 6. Distance calculations.

Because each of us took a different amount of paces to reach the same distance, we each calculated the number or paces to all of the points using each of our pace rates. For example, for every 100 meters I walk 65 paces. The distance between one point was 280 meters which means that I would have to walk 185 paces to reach the point. (Figure 7.)

Figure 7. Map used for navigation activity. We calculated that Casey needed to walk 187 paces to reach the first point.

We also established roles which we often switched. One person would determine the bearing and direct the pacer to a particular landmark. The remaining group member would 'leapfrog' to the next landmark to ensure that the pacer was remaining on track and also served to 'stamp down' some of the brush that might impede the pacer. (Figure 8.)

Figure 8. As Casey paced, I went ahead to stamp down obstacles and ensure the direction landmark.

Results
As often happens in life, this activity did not go perfectly according to plan. The first obstacle was that even with a somewhat standard pace and good faith in out initial direction, it was very difficult to accommodate steep elevation gradients into our pace count. Subsequently, we fell very short of the first marker and in estimating where the first navigation point actually was, we mistook another course point as our first point.(Figure 9.)


Figure 9. The first incorrect point. Casey is using GPS to determine that our actual navigation point is quite a ways north.

 This affected our search for the next point as we were not correctly set up to find the navigation point from a false point. Unfortunately, after we determined our mistake, it occurred a second time. (Figure 10.)

Figure 10. Casey at the second misidentified point.

We resorted to using our GPS to find the first navigation point. After that, we were fairly successful in finding the navigation points, excepting when the flag was missing or fallen. For this, we had to use the GPS to reset our direction.

A major challenge of this activity was the terrain. Our area consisted of decidedly downwards ravines that we had to slide down, sometimes literally, and subsequently ascend. Thorns and barbed wire added to the fun. This was made especially difficult as we often had to 'search' for the point with the GPS which resulted in some backtracking up and down gullies.(Figure 11.)

Figure 11. Casey running down one of the more shallow gullies we had to cross.

 Light also became a factor towards the end of the activity. Late fall sunset was occurring as we found the first point and the group decided that didn't find navigating these woods in the dark particularly appealing. (Video Figure 12.)

Figure 12. Survival log.

Discussion
Although the execution on the concept was a little shaky due to multiple factors, the concept was very helpful during navigation. We found the maps useful although we all decided that it would have been beneficial to have the guidelines darker as they became hard to discern as light began fading. It also would have been beneficial to increase the resolution of the topographic lines and coordinate point grid lines. What appeared to be a relatively small area on the map turned out to be fairly large in the field. This is why it is important to test our maps in field conditions for applicability. This activity also solidified some of our necessary teamwork skills.(Figure 13.)

Figure 13. Scott cross-referencing map information with GPS.

 When things went wrong we had to rely on each other to come up with alternative navigation methods including distance azimuth and simply 'fanning out' to find a point. This also resulted in 'in-field group discussion' as we planned our next method and best courses of action. (Figure 14.)

Figure 14. Lively group discussion as we determined the less treacherous path.

The track log of the path we took can be found on Scott Nesbit's blog. The GPS we were given was accidentally turned off so we relied on his personal device.

Conclusion
This activity was a great hands on activity that taught us not only the concepts, but in-field applicability which I also find immensely more helpful in my understanding of the concepts. Although our group faced some more physical challenges and missed out on the 'debriefing period,' I'm still glad that I got to apply the concepts in a way that will be more likely used in my future career as a biologist. It also taught us a good lesson on what is, and what isn't necessary on a map. This will improve our cartography skills and prevent our maps from becoming too cluttered with extraneous information.