Hi
I assess Duke of Edinburgh Award Expeditions and conduct training (great fun working with kids).
I’m trying to come up with an easy, memorable method for micro navigating at Gold level (approx 18 years old) in wild country.
The ‘syllabus’ for the one day Gold DOE advanced navigation session (used by one authority) is –
Orientating the map to features and the compass.
Identifying and recognising features and terrain on the ground to the map and vice versa.
Taking Grid and Ground feature bearings.
Distance and time measurements including pacing and Naismith.
Aiming off and following hand rails.
Leapfrogging and following bearings.
A basic lost procedure. Basic emergency procedures.
I am trying a simple pneumonic for each mini leg. DD TT
Direction (compass bearing), Distance (of mini leg), Terrain (what to expect on route, catching features, and what's at the end of the leg) and Time for leg ( time per 100 m plus 1 min per 10m contour climbed).
The idea is to split each leg into mini legs in bad weather/difficult conditions or terrain, and do a DDTT for each mini leg. (The hardest part seems to be getting them not to switch off and forget time. )
I think this is about the right level, much more detail may not be easy to absorb. These kids have a lot on with A levels and million other extra curricula activities.
Any suggestions, comments, improvements most welcome. Views?