ALWAYS do these things:
1: Carry your map somewhere safe such as tucked into your jacket or it will get lost when you are going through somewhere nasty and you won't notice for an hour...
2: Trust your compass. A lot of people start to second guess their compass at night. "It really seeems like I am pulling left so I will offset a little bit" You aren't. At the same time, when the terrain is open enough don't just bury your head in your compass and walk...Pick a tree or something off in the distance that is on-azimuth and haul ass to that point. Doing this helps keep you nearly exactly on azimuth and saves a lot of time.
3: Keep a pace count backstopped by something to help you remember, such as ranger beads, pebbles in your pocket, etc. Every hundred meters slide the next bead over so when you inevitably forget your count you are not more than 100 meters off.
4: Trust your pace count in a general way...Don't double your distance or whatnot if you haven't seen your point. Do go a couple hundred meters past your pace if the distance/terrain are such that you could have screwed it up. Remember that your pace will get shorter at night (you break your stride instinctively so you don't bust your ass), in rough terrain, and through brush.
5: Use a protractor to get a precise azimuth/distance, make sure you convert it into a magnetic azimuth. Avoid trying to bull straight towards your point (more on that below).
6: NEVER navigate by dead-reckoning for more than 500 meters, preferably much less or not at all. You will screw it up.
Here is what I mean and it is absolutely crucial for doing effective, fast land-nav over long distances (6 plus kilometers): If you try to walk in a straight line for 5 kilometers with nothing but your compass to keep you on azimuth you are absolutely going to screw it up and completely miss your point. You will drift and your pace count will be off enough you won't know when to stop.
Instead, do Land nav like you would give directions to someone: Ok, from here head this way until you see the Super Walmart and then bang a left. Keep the stream on your right. My house will be on the next street..... If you cross the bridge you have gone too far.
Basically, instead of planning a straight on route, find a general route that you can follow quickly because the terrain naturally keeps you on-course. For instance, if you have a ridgeline running off to your side, you may want to simply get on the ridgeline and then haul ass down the ridge....You might not know exactly where you are distance wise, but you know the line you are taking without having to consult your compass. If the ridge ends in something obvious like a big open field, a stream, etc. then you now know exactly where you are again.
Those 'obvious' landmarks are attack points. Something you are not likely to miss which let you pinpoint your location again. They are things like road intersections, power lines, big fields, stream/trail intersections, etc.
Basically, if you look at the map and can say: My point is 3 km generally East of my location and it is 200 meters past the third road I am likely to cross and there is a stream/bridge along that road 250 meters from my point then life is easy: You haul ass generally East (offset just a hair so you know that your reference point will be on one side when you hit the road) keeping a fast pace count because some roads are not on maps and you need to be able to account for that...Don't stop until you hit your 'road.' Then bang a right and run to the bridge.
Now you know your exact location and are only 250 meters from the target. Since you drew this out on your map prior to leaving (using that protractor) you know the exact azimuth and distance you need to walk to hit your point. This way you are really only 'land naving' as most people think of it for the last 250 meters, and you were able to flat out run the rest.
This works best when there is a natural 'handrail' such as a road or stream you can follow to keep your lateral drift within a few dozen meters with solid backstops. Remember that you can simply terrain associate for this as well: "Since my point is on top of the largest ridgeline around I am going to run dead East until I get on top of that ridgeline (loosely verified by pace count). Then I am going to bang a right and run straight along that ridge until I find my point. If I hit a road I need to turn around and go back.
Note: Your attack point that pulls you into a precise, known location CAN be on the other side of the point from you. It is worth using if it is the closest reference point you will be able to find.
When you first start doing this try to plan several attack points along your route and go from known point to known point. It will take a bit longer but will keep you from getting lost and you will still be much quicker than the guys who bury their noses in their compasses.
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