How do you route find off trail?

[JtheChemE]

Haven't read the whole topic, but sun, stars and obvious terrain features are definitely useful (when available) in addition to the choices in the survey.

Knowing the area/topography, is always a priority, so that you can use that knowledge to interpret observations / make decisions / question decisions.

"Am I going up? Should I be going up? Hey, I remember that cliff band on the topo, I run parallel to it until I hit a drainage! Why am I in a couloir instead of on a ridge?" etc, etc.

[Jay521]

As one of the few on this site that doesn't own a GPS, I guess I can take some validation from this article...
http://www.outsideonline.com/2135771/yo ... your-brain

But then, as my brain is likely smaller than most on this site, perhaps not using a GPS helps me get back to the norm?

[derekesq]

Thanks for the link/article Jay, that was interesting. I definitely agree and even though I have both a car and trail GPS I research and old school map my driving routes ahead of time. This past summer I flew into Albuquerque and drove to Lake City, GPS agreed with my old school directions until near 149, for some reason the GPS wanted to take me around to Ouray and then presumably make a giant loop. Unlike the guy in Iceland I knew better and arrived with the GPS still saying there was hours to go.

[rpdawes]

While hiking 14ers, I always stay on a well-established trail and use a GPS app on my smartphone to tell me how close I am to a summit and also to a trailhead. You know that most, if not all, 14ers have their own trails running from a trailhead to a place close to a summit. So anybody can get there without a compass or a GPS device.

Hiking some 13ers is a different story so you must use a compass and a GPS device while hiking in a total darkness with no trail established. For instance, a week ago I hiked up to Mt. Parnassus in broad daylight. There is a trail starting at Herman Gulch trailhead and I went on trail from there to a position on Watrous Gulch trail about 2 miles away. There I had to get off the trail to reach Mt. Parnassus in a straight line. That way I had to go through the dense woods to reach a treeline. There was a plenty of thickets. So I had to find any opening between trees to get through. My compass helped me stay on my course and my GPS device told me how close I was to the target. Also I kept Mt. Parnassus in my sight while walking uphill on a pretty steep slope. I had no problem getting there. While doing downhill, there is a much different story. After the sunset, I was in a total darkness while navigating the dense woods. You know that all familiar landmarks disappear after the sunset, but the thickets were still there. So my compass helped me follow a direction back to Watrous Gulch trail and my GPS told me in what location I was as I had to scramble through the woods with no trail. Of course I had a printed topo map, but I did not use it at all. I had extra batteries for my headlight. Even though my smartphone was out of power after I reached the main trail, I managed to arrive at TH safely past midnight.

After all, hiking through a thicket with no trail in a total darkness is no easy task! Having a compass and a GPS device will get you through safely.

[Eli Boardman]

I use a GPS to calculate distances (generally to offer encouragement such as "only another 2 miles"). I use 7.5 minute topos as insurance in Wyoming, but I have not yet been anywhere in Colorado where I could possibly get disoriented. The main function of a GPS these days for me is to determine average speed and cumulative elevation gain so that I know how I am doing in terms of time.

I love the mountains, and I tend to become quite familiar with the areas I am going in Google Earth before I head out. I could probably get to any named peak in the Wind Rivers without a map, compass, or GPS. Why? Because I essentially memorized the lay of the land before last summer's trip. That trip was about 200 miles, half of it was off trail in some of the most rugged wilderness in the lower 48, and we never got lost or even temporarily disoriented. So I guess you could say that I primarily use memory/sight to navigate.

[boudreaux]

Dead Reckoning, especially if I'm in a forest! You pick out an object in the distance and walk to it and repeat the process until you get out of the forest/treeline. I use it above treeline to help me focus on something as I climb up the slope, achieve a goal, breakdown the climb into goals, etc!

[Kiefer]

Like a lot of us, I primarily use maps. I'll look & study Topo's before I set out and if it's an area I'm not familiar with, I'll print one out to take with me.
So, 40% of the time, I take a topo. 60% of the time I'll simply match up geographical features from memory.

Always, always, always pay attention to the terrain. It'll give you clues as to your position.
I almost never take GPS with me anymore and I've used a Spot once.
Though, the Spot was pretty cool.

[JeffR]

Like Kiefer, I've found that really studying a topo of the area ahead of time helps me to navigate a bit easier once I get there. That way, I know the general lay of the land for the route, if nothing else. Granted, this won't work in an area with a very convoluted terrain or lots of small features that don't show on a topo. But I'd like to think that prior study helps your brain subconsciously make connections when the route is not consciously obvous.

[rpdawes]

Dead Reckoning, especially if I'm in a forest! You pick out an object in the distance and walk to it and repeat the process until you get out of the forest/treeline. I use it above treeline to help me focus on something as I climb up the slope, achieve a goal, breakdown the climb into goals, etc!

Do you think that Dead Reckoning would be useful for a hike in a total darkness especially while walking through many thickets? We cannot see any objects in a far distance even with a headlight.

[DaveLanders]

Dead Reckoning, especially if I'm in a forest! You pick out an object in the distance and walk to it and repeat the process until you get out of the forest/treeline. I use it above treeline to help me focus on something as I climb up the slope, achieve a goal, breakdown the climb into goals, etc!

Do you think that Dead Reckoning would be useful for a hike in a total darkness especially while walking through many thickets? We cannot see any objects in a far distance even with a headlight.

Yes, you can do this. It's easier if you have 2 or more people. You send one person ahead, and the 2nd person sights on his/her headlamp with a compass, directs the 1st person to move left or right as necessary to keep the bearing, and proceed. Is this ideal? No, but it can be done. This is similar to the technique you might use in a whiteout above treeline.

[rpdawes]

I meant to say that how can it be done while hiking solo.

[TallGrass]

^ +1. You can also line up other, nearer objects in range of your headlamp. If you go through tall willows you'll have to realign on the other side, or take another bearing if need be. Try some Orienteering. You'll find mountains are easy compared to some other terrains.