Backup Navigational kit (Previously: GB the most beautiful country in the world)

[Lyle Brotherton]

Enjoyed a magnificent trip to Devon and it has reminded me (as if I needed to be!) just what a stunningly varied and beautiful country we live in to explore.

Following Adi’s suggestion, we spent much time on Exmoor, where it is easy to soon get away from other people; a truly magical place.

Navigating was easy with my GPSMAP 62s which has preloaded Garmin Discoverer 1:50 000. This digital mapping contains full 1:50 000 Ordnance Survey Landranger map coverage for the whole of Great Britain and more. Road data and POI (Points of Interest – such as hotels, hospitals, campsites, even cafes!) so to get to your start you could use the turn-by-turn road directions (I prefer the TomTom 930t).

As always, we also carried backup batteries, an eTrex H which we used to create a waypoint of our start point, and a printed map and compass. We employed the old Pathfinder practice of separating kit into stand-alones: Judy carried the eTrex, map & compass whilst I the GPSMAP62s and spare batteries plus another compass (and as always, my emergency kit) using the 4 of Diamonds (P348 UNM).

Every morning we planned our route, determined from the weather, using some 1:50 000 maps John Jenner had given to me. Thereafter we relied exclusively on our satnavs for the entire two weeks.

For the coastal paths, I downloaded and installed aerial photography for the dune areas, which I know from working with the Commandos, can be very challenging to navigate in.

Some really interesting points occurred to me regarding coastal navigation, and I intend to write an article dedicated to this type of navigation.

[Callum]

 All I remembered from the 16 AA Bde were there howitzers , we used to call them Miss Packs (Mission self-sufficiency Packs). Have posted about this in http://micronavigation.com/forum/index.php?topic=277.0

[Hugh Westacott]

Lyle

I'm genuinely puzzled by the amount of navigation equipment (by my count it was two satnavs, three compasses and a paper map plus a personal locator beacon) you took in order to explore Exmoor in summer. I realize. of course, that you would need it when involved in SAR activities, but when you are on holiday?

I last walked on Exmoor in pre navsat days and relied on the Ordnance Survey 1:63660 Tourist Map  and, occasionally, on my compass and never had any problems route-finding even when the clag came down. Experienced hillwalkers should have no problems, other than injury, even if they get lost. It's almost impossible to be more than four miles from a road, many of which criss-cross the moor on both east-west and north-sout axes with the numerous coombes (valleys) either flowing to the north or, on the other side of the watershed, to the south. And it's so easy to get off the high ground quickly should the need arise. I've checked the 2012 call-outs of the Exmoor Mountain Rescue Team but not one of them appeared to  involve a hillwalker; they were mostly elderly people suffering from poor health or dementia who went missing in non-moorland areas.

It may well be that you had reasons, such as testing equipment, but, if not, it sounds a bit over the top to me. I'm raising the point because the cost of that equipment for the average hillwalker would be considerable.

What do other members of the forum think?

Hugh

[Pete McK]

I bet they were easy to carry in that kitchen sink you took along

[Lyle Brotherton]

Luckily Pete, it was not one of those Belfast sinks

An interesting question Hugh, and one I will answer in two parts, firstly a quick answer for folk who want to know what I recommend, then a more detailed answer about my reasoning.

Quick Answer
25% of mountain accidents start with a navigational error, often being the first link in a chain of events that can lead to catastrophe. (Scottish Mountaineering Incidents, 1996–2005, Research Digest, No. 102). From speaking to the Lowland Search & Rescue teams I instruct, I know the incident is significant, but don’t have their combined reported stats.

I navigate for a living, and I am a competent navigator, yet I never venture anywhere off the beaten track (especially Exmoor) without a backup navigational pack.

My backup navigational kit cost around £35 (an eTrex H, my old scouting compass and some home printed maps from Anquet) and I recommend that everyone should carry similar backup items whenever in the great outdoors.

Longer Answer
In the Autumn of 2000, we had a big day planned one weekend, driving up early morning to walk from Moulin, just outside Pitlochry, up Ben Vrackie, across the Cairngorm plateau to Ben Vuinch, over to Creag an t-Sithein and down to Straloch, where we were planned to hitch back to the Moulin Hotel.

Ben Vrackie is probably one of the most popular Munros in Scotland, and we simply checked glanced at our map, then followed the small road from Moulin, joining the path Balnakeilly Forest, up to the summit of Ben Vrackie (841m) with stunning 360 panoramic views. To move over to Ben Vuinch required more detailed nav, and I got out my compass. It took me a while to realise the needle had become inverted (instead of pointing north it pointed south) and we contemplated simply using the white end of the compass needle instead of the red, but I remember the lessons from my old tough task master Barry Thompson, ‘If its US ditch it!” We did not have a back up compass and aborted the trip and walked the 4km back to the car park. One of those disappointing days out, but we made up for it at the Moulin Hotel enjoying great beer and food!

Back in 2000 I did not use satnav, and up until then my service issue Type 4/54 compass had never let me down. So for my next trip I dug out my old Scouting compass and packed it at the bottom of my rucksack where it remains today. Lessons Learned!

You could buy a second-hand, better compass, and checking eBay I have found a Type 4/54 on eBay for £10 delivered (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SILVA-BRITISH-ARMY-MOD-TYPE-4-54-MARCHING-EXPEDITION-COMPASS-Grade-B-/370629873439?pt=UK_SportingGoods_HikingEquipment_RL&hash=item564b430f1f)

I also print out backup maps of the area I will be in from Anquet; this could as easily be done from many of the now free mapping sites using OS maps.

The advent, or should I say revelation in this instance to me, of the power of satnav following my experience on Jungfrau in the Bernese Alps (P226 UNM) convinced me that to continue to deny the benefits of this technology (which I in reality I had done so until this day) was futile, and for around £40 anyone can access this multi-billion dollar navigational system free of charge, anywhere in the world.

* The expensive GPSMAP 62s is my primary navigational tool, but by no means essential. Most of the time I rarely take my compass or map out of my rucksack when     navigating, this tool does it all for me.
* The Suunto M3 Global is my mainstay compass and I still think the best available for the money.
* The Tom Tom 930t is a car satnav.

[Pete McK]

Sound advice Lyle and a relatively small investment for your personal safety.

I think that I already know the answer to this question, but for clarity, if your mainstay navigational device was an eTrex H combined with a printed map, which ours is, would you pack a spare compasses and another eTrex? By default we do this, as both Emma and me posses an eTrex H each.

Following an earlier posting of mine we are packing one of the spare mobiles we bought for pennies (literally).

[Lyle Brotherton]

In my opinion Pete this would be my 'bare minimum' choice:

Primary navigational tools
1. Map sheet
2. Compass

Backup navigational tools
1. Etrex, that includes useful waypoints and your start and in tricky areas is set to record your track.

Herein after, everything adds to your capability, ideally, add as backup a printed map and compass.

[Hugh Westacott]

Oh, Lyle; statistics, statistics and yet more statistics!

I don't doubt for a moment that 25 per cent of mountain accidents in Scotland start with a navigational error. But that is not the point. The issue is this: how many of these errors were caused by a malfunctioning or lost navigational tool? I suspect very, very few. I'm willing to bet that in nearly all these cases, the victims either had no navigational equipment with them or, if they did, they had little or no idea how to use them. The incidents that I read on the Grough news pages overwhelmingly support this view.

In the 65 years that I've been wandering alone in our British hills, I've lost one compass and had a map blow away in a strong wind. I've never had a compass malfunction. From the incident with the lost compass, l learned always to keep it attached to my clothing with a looped lanyard long enough to allow me to use it with my map without detaching it from my clothing. The map taken by the wind taught me to be more careful and always to use a map case. Now that I have mapping software I print a copy of my intended route which I keep in a plastic bag and use for route-finding. This is much more convenient to use than the folded map which I keep in my rucksack in case I have to alter my route. When walking alone in upland areas I now carry a hand-held satnav so, in effect I have two maps and two compasses (if I include the one on my Foretrex). Why do I, or anyone else who is a reasonably competent navigator, need additional backup?

£35.00 for a second-hand backup satnav may be neither here nor there for many members of this forum, but for a young person of limited means starting out and having to buy boots, waterproofs etc, it is a tidy sum which could be better spent elsewhere..

I've never had a navigation tool malfunction but I've had two boots that split open and another which lost its sole, and I've also lost a pair of overtrousers. According to the logic of the arguments that you advance for backing up navigation equipment, do you think that I should always carry a spare pair of boots and a second set of waterproofs?

I understand, of course, that as a navigation expert heavily involved in training SAR teams, you have, and expect, the highest standards of risk avoidance but I don't think that they necessarily apply to an averagely competent navigator such as myself and other members of this forum.

Phew! I've got that of my chest! I hope that we are still friends.

Hugh

[Skills4Survival]

Facts are our friend :-) I think it is more related to risk mitigation instead of risk avoidance. Avoiding the risk (so it can not become reality) would mean not going I would say (technicality maybe). Lyle's risk appetite seems low, hence the risk mitigation measures are high (in short). BTW, you can ask yourself to what extend your etrex H adds more value on top of a compass (as a backup tool). Depends a bit in the (pre) configuration of the etrex H?  It is the same as taking a generic survival kit (in which emergency navigation is part of), is seems overdone in many cases but one of the main reasons why disasters happen is denying it can or is happening, or did happen for that matter (Leach, Survival Psychology). E.g. would one consider a pair of additional shoelaces necessary to take? Or...survival blanket, whistle, matches, knife, etc? Part of this is personal preference I am sure but there is probability and impact you need to consider when losing any item and much of the judging on this...is a subjective one, although fact on accidents and disaster give useful input because it gives some factual/scientific foundation to the subjective judging of the probability and impact of losing items. When going out together, I would like to act as individuals when it comes to equipment and be self sustaining. For me, bare minimum:
1. map
2. compass (one on me and one connected to equipment)
nice to have: gps device

Minimum prep wise:  knowledge of the area represented by the maps I have with me, being able to roughly draw the land and its rivers / cities and being able to determine North without compass, nice to have would be world wide knowledge of the topography of main rivers, mountain ranges and other important geography features.

The more you know and the more skills you have..the less you (need to) take in my opinion.

[Lyle Brotherton]

Hugh of course, good friends debate which is how they learn and modify their opinions.
Ivo, great to see you back from your hols and yes, Durbuy, is the city you refer to
More tomorrow

[boogyman]

Being a newbie I was hesitating a bit to contribute to this debate -- but I understand that this is a forum where people can express themselves without getting "shot". So here goes...

When any individual "decides" what he/she will take as navigation kit on a hike, I believe that there are three main components that will contribute to his/her decision.

First component: having the correct information and considering that information in a rational way. This component contains nothing but rational stuff. A big part of the debate above, I believe, discusses this aspect. But to be honest, I think that this component does not even count for half of the decision...

Second component: as S4S pointed out: "risk appetite" as well as "risk mitigation" -- I subscribe to the idea that most people's navigation kit will be influenced, consciously or not, by their need to be reassured. And I believe that this component of the "decision mechanism" is part of one's character, and related to one's emotional behavior.

A third component in the decision mechanism, without any doubt in my mind, is how much you actually like the act of navigating and thus the navigation tools. So this component is at the far opposite side of facts and figures: it is merely your preference, your likings.

So far for my theory. If you might wonder, we usually get less didactical after a few of the (apparently) well-known belgian beers... 

And now for the personal side of boogyman: when I go walking in the hills, here's the minimum navigation kit that I take with me:
1- map and compass
  => for a one-day hike: if I have a map of the area I will use it, else I print one myself
  => when I go for several dayhikes in the same area: I always buy a map
2- GPS (in my case, a Garmin eTrex Legend HCx)
  => in 99% of the cases I have the topos of the area loaded on the GPS
  => I always carry one set of spare batteries
3- for my "backup GPS" I rely on my phone
  => it is a windows mobile phone (HTC)
  => with OziExplorerCE (v2.34a) installed on it
  => and here too, in 99% of the cases I have the topos of the area loaded for Ozi

Just a side-remark: I rarely go solo, and most of my hiking-friends also carry a GPS (but without the other kit), and that means yet another backup-GPS.

Best regards - Chris.

[Rescuerkw]

What an interesting discussion this is. I'm a bit old fashioned I guess and rely heavily on the good old map and compass still, but I also always have a restricted amount of back up stuff in my rucksack. Torches don't get mentioned as much as they should and whilst other stuff such as light light sticks are useful a good torch (LED Lenser for example) is still to me the most versatile thing. GPS? Always have it with me and I do use it to check my navigation, but I've yet to use it as my primary navigation tool (sorry Lyle). Oh, and I never go anywhere without a good first aid kit and interestingly have had to use it many times - usually on someone I've come across whilst out and about. But regarding what to carry - well some of it is pretty vital, map, compass, that kind of thing, but a lot is down to personal preference and what you believe you need. It's always fascinates (and sometimes amuses me) to see what other people carry. Having been fittted with an artificial knee a year ago (wore my own out with too much hill walking!) you will understand I'm sure that I am careful not to carry more than I need - and when I came to decide what I needed to throw out I was suprised at how much unecessary (comfort zone) stuff I was lugging around! No wonder the knee wore out! So when you start filling your rucksack to the brim with every conceivable gismo - beware lest it happens to you! 

[Lyle Brotherton]

My late father saw active service in WWII, smoked from the age of 15 years, drank more than his weekly allocated units of alcohol, never wore a car safety belt and had a diet so high in saturated fats if it had been a film it would have had an X rating, yet he soldiered on until into his 80’s and I am very pleased that he did.

Yet just because he survived these high risks, does not mitigate against precaution based upon sound evidence. This evidence, based upon good empirical science and statistical analysis, is the only sensible premise upon which we should act, not individual anecdotes or the exceptions to the norm.

Just because something has not happened to an individual, does not alter the risk of it occurring. Prevention should based upon sound evidence and this evidence derived from good science and statistical analysis.

As a consequence, I don’t smoke, always wear a car safety belt and watch my diet. Yet at the same time I choose to go into conflict areas, and occasionally drink more than my weekly units of alcohol, in the full knowledge that I am putting myself at risk. As a professional navigator and search & rescue responder my responsibility is to inform others how to mitigate risk and prevent accidents in the great outdoors, it is then their choice as to whether they follow my advice or not.

Both my professional advice and practice is to carry a map & compass, plus a backup map & compass as a minimum. Ideally, a satnav as a backup, set to record your track in difficult conditions.
 

[Skills4Survival]

My late father saw active service in WWII, smoked from the age of 15 years, drank more than his weekly allocated units of alcohol, never wore a car safety belt and had a diet so high in saturated fats if it had been a film it would have had an X rating, yet he soldiered on until into his 80’s and I am very pleased that he did.

Yet just because he survived these high risks, does not mitigate against precaution based upon sound evidence. This evidence, based upon good empirical science and statistical analysis, is the only sensible premise upon which we should act, not individual anecdotes or the exceptions to the norm.

Just because something has not happened to an individual, does not alter the risk of it occurring. Prevention should based upon sound evidence and this evidence derived from good science and statistical analysis.

Fully agree, this is supported by best practises in generic risk management standards.

As a consequence, I don’t smoke, always wear a car safety belt and watch my diet. Yet at the same time I choose to go into conflict areas, and occasionally drink more than my weekly units of alcohol, in the full knowledge that I am putting myself at risk. As a professional navigator and search & rescue responder my responsibility is to inform others how to mitigate risk and prevent accidents in the great outdoors, it is then their choice as to whether they follow my advice or not.

Both my professional advice and practice is to carry a map & compass, plus a backup map & compass as a minimum. Ideally, a satnav as a backup, set to record your track in difficult conditions.

I believe the last addition...is an important one. Just focus on probabilty and impact, these two you should analyze to have a underpinned risk analysis. Professional judgement is also an agreed approach to come to this underpinning (and we get free advice here :-). I did this quite some years during met IT Auditing jobs. Weather is is navigating, IT or something else..the principle is the same.

Also, it is not a "fit for all" solution. I will carry map and compass, plus additional compass plus a mindmap of the area. If I do not have this in my mind, I would take something else, depending on the impact. If I do not know the area and is poses significant risks...additional map (as an example)

You can choose to follow advice of professionals..or not...if you do not have you should have a full rationale why you do not...if you do not have that...it is a risk in itself :-)  possible being a future newspaper article in the wrong section.

[Callum]

Can I suggest a Topic heading dedicated to this, First-Aid and Communications?