Is night time navigation with a map and compass possible in NZ bush? Can it be done safely and successfully?
A few scenarios:
On a poorly maintained track.
Completely off track.
In a known area vs unknown.
For those who have tried it, how did it go?
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Is night time navigation with a map and compass possible in NZ bush? Can it be done safely and successfully?
A few scenarios:
On a poorly maintained track.
Completely off track.
In a known area vs unknown.
For those who have tried it, how did it go?
Military exercise, unknown area, off-track, by starlight, bush and open areas. Nearly went over a drop off cliff but got to the pickup point just in time and avoided a very long walk back from who knows where.
Been there this year and its bloody difficult in unknown terrain, but best thing to do is stop have a drink maybe a bite to eat and try to work out where you went wrong.
Much easier if there are two if you, one walks the compass bearing guided by the 2nd as far as possible, the 2nd catches up and the exercise repeats
Hmmmm yes sorry about that,didn't think for one minute you were intending to do track in dark. Huge advantage of dawn hunting is lots of time to come out in daylight. Night navigation every bit as easy as daylight,with two people leap frogging it's arguably more accurate.Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy Jack
As long as you know ruffly on the map where you are then not a problem especially with the headlamps we use now days if you're in very steep bluff county turn your headlamps up to fill power it like walking in the daylight anyway & also it's a lot easier to be heading to a big target like a river or a track than to a tent in the middle off a tussock basin if you trying to use land marks to find where you are on the map then that could be a problem lol
I hope at the time you ask this you weren't sitting in the middle off the back county wondering whether to carry on or not ��Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnetite
Paces and bearings. As long as you practice regularly it becomes second nature. Lots on here who did military time well before the advent of chemical glow sticks, led headlights, gps etc etc will have managed on nothing more than the tritium glow from their prismatic compass and possibly a clicker counter.
These are all great ideas to practice in case your gps battery conks out on you, but with modern, inexpensive gps units night navigation is easy and quick with much less faff.
Out of interest, with gps so available now, I womnder if the number of nights spent under trees or huddled up somewhere has diminished?
Nothing worse than the old days when you hit "Your" stream, and its flowing the wrong way.
If you’re in an unknown area ( lost ) at night and can’t see any landmarks you’re a bit fucked for bearings to establish location. If you know roughly where you are l, which any sensible person is monitoring while it’s light, not so bad. Did a fair bit of night navigating in younger days pre-gps, soon figure out what works for you. Around new moon period like now it can be an arsehole in the bush. Doesn’t pay to rely on gps, batteries can go flat or throw a hissy fit anytime.
Ha ha ha ha. You young fellahs might possibly have had the luxury of a clicker counter. I used ten small pebbles switched from one pocket to another every hundred paces and as you say, no light whatsoever. Easier in open country than bush because of the level of darkness and natural bias but still very doable. That said, headlamps have made doing anything at nighttime so much easier.Quote:
Originally Posted by XR500
Hahaha, my mate and his uncle did this off the end of clements rd, they got into a large bend in the creek and it was flowing the wrong way, they walked the other way and found the creek also going the wrong way.Quote:
Originally Posted by whanahuia
After shivering through the night they woke up and found their tent about 60m away.
The more torch the better.
Eye potection is desirable so bummer if you only brought sunglasses. A cap shade gives some protection.
My left eyeball once night-walked into a low, broken pine tree twig. Explosion of light. Lucky I only have some astigmatism in that eye, suspect a connection.
Not your fault @Micky Duck I didn't decide until I was there.
I tried, by necessity, to night navigate off trail in Pureora in ‘82. I’ll admit that apprehension but not panic was setting in, so rushed to transfer bearing from map to compass. Problem was, the needle was fluorescent at ‘wrong’ end, so I took off in opposite direction. Soon realised the mistake and corrected it. Felt a damned fool.
That is back in the time of having an old school sheep clicker to know where you were for immediate support. Old school, to most, too hard to explain. Have you tried to do a resection with a modern device and seen the price of a prismatic compass. Not necessary today. I'm happy with the new technology, so much easier with a battery that is not flat.Quote:
Originally Posted by XR500
Bloody hell, I find it hard enough to walk through the bush up here in daylight, I try very hard not to do it in the dark! Navigation is not the issue, it's the supple jack etc.
Park up for the night, you've got survival gear right. Wait for dawn and work it out.
Same, the number of holes and tomos I've fallen into in the daytime hidden by swathes of kiekie! I wouldn't be keen to try at night.Quote:
Originally Posted by MB
As many have said knowing your paces to 100m and following a bearing will get you there.
Just be aware of where your natural bias leads you weither it be left or right, just choose the other side of trees to your bias to help negate your drift.
Also keep your compass away from your rifle and bino harness if it has magnetic close!
If I havan't got my dog to take me back I set my compass before I leave the truck and just reverse it to head back , has worked so far but probably
not the right way to do it .
If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupidQuote:
Originally Posted by HILLBILLYHUNTERS
Have done a few over the years... the most epic was heading up the pike to lake wilmot, I wanted to get across the upperpike and out to big bay before a forcast deluge... pitch black, lots of mud , a few stumbles and had lost the route. Worked out well and got to the lake as sun was coming up.
A key factor in the decision to do it was knowing it was flat country no bluffs or sinkholes to fall victom to. Had I been in trecherous bluffy slippery country where straying from the path could be perilous then I would avoid it... Suggest you also avoid country where Tanawha are know to stalk the foolhardy who venture out at night... all alone, in the scary dark bush.
Did not make it to Big bay, spent three sodden wet nights camped by the "Dry Awarua River" which wasnt!
Many many many years ago a family friend took me for a hunt in kaimais. It got dark and going ok but I having shit of time in the supplejack,then found a large hole in front of me so called out for help.Phil came back to get me and strangely enough he was in bottom of hole...for some time I had been clambering through vines like demented Tarzan and was now 20 feet off the ground.Quote:
Originally Posted by MB
Reminds me of taking some guys for a hunt on my farm at Whangamomona. We got caught by dark and had no torch. There was a 700 meter bush ridge we had to navigate and half way along it was a razor back only a meter or two wide and straight down 40 meters.
I felt confident in my memory despite not being able to see my hand in front of my face and was leading the way from tree trunk too tree trunk, step by step, keeping to the highest piece of ridge and remembering the dips and turns in my head.
I got to a certain part and thought I must be close too that bluff. looked at my feet and thought, I cant remember a pool of water? But there was this pool of water reflecting the stars. Looked up and no stars to see. Looked down again and realised it was the bluff edge and was looking at glow worms. Another step and I would have been gone.
That is scary shyte!. Wake up call basically.
In that last half hour of twilight youve got to hoof it to get back onto a big track or your camp.
Or....make call it's not going to happen n use the last light to get your shit sorted to spend night out.gather big pile of ferns to sleep in and get fire going etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagheera
Some good examples in this post.Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnetite
To do 'safely' and effectively with balanced risk requires considerable layers of experience. If you wish to build this capacity (without being a liability), become well skilled on map to ground, plotting grid bearings, converting them to mag, walking on them to easily identifiable features, whilst developing your experience in pace counting. To become effective with regards to pace counting, start with no load easy terrain, then load, then harder terrain etc etc. When you start practicing at night, do so in a similar fashion. When your doing this, learn how to make up nav data sheets, this will aid you through the learning process and decision making on the ground.
I've only just touched the surface on this.
There's considerable dangers which you can not always mitigate, for example water ways that may show up on the map, may only be 1m wide with vegetation hiding its presence (as you approach), they can be a 5/10m deep trench with the sound of rushing water absent in summer or low rain fall, add to the fact you could be tired under load etc etc.
Plotting bearing and converting them adds another potential fuck up to mix that's not needed. Learn to orientate the map to begin with. Bloody sight easier to work with. Then simply line side of compass along line you wish to travel,put the "red in the shed" on the map.eg set the dial. Then again check map was orientated properly.check your bearing again ,put map away and head off. I posted some photos from manual about a year ago that spells it out simply.