“Map-and-compass classes put safety first - AZCentral.com” plus 1 more |
| Map-and-compass classes put safety first - AZCentral.com Posted: 11 Oct 2010 04:14 PM PDT by Ron Dungan - Oct. 11, 2010 04:07 PM Staying found is a lost art. Anyone who has spent time in the backcountry more than likely has at least one story of a wrong turn, a lost trail, a wayward hiking partner. Improving your map-and-compass skills is a good way to reduce such misadventures and keep track of where you are, said Chris Anderson of Arizona Climbing and Adventure School in Carefree. "When we talk about map and compass, we're talking about staying found," Anderson said. Backcountry travel is not easy. Signs may be miles apart. They break or become illegible. Hikers must be able to find their way by reading saddles and peaks, drainages and streams, which can be tricky to spot on maps if you don't pay attention and practice. "The compass gives you a way to verify all the decisions you've been making," Anderson said. Some hikers have forsaken map-and-compass skills for Global Positioning Systems, Anderson said. But GPS devices are not perfect - they can break or suffer blocked signals, or the batteries can die. "What the GPS did is it gave people a false sense of security," Anderson said. He's not against using them - "it's good way to doublecheck yourself," he said - but it's a good idea to have a backup plan, and a lot of hikers don't. "(GPS) was the big trend, and it still is a little bit," Anderson said, adding that more people are taking maps along with their GPS and learning the limitations of the device. For those who use a map and no GPS, Anderson recommends giving the device a chance: "When it does work, it's pretty amazing," he said. Learning to use a map and compass is not a flashy skill. It takes time. You can read about it in a book, but taking a class will help bring the techniques into focus and give you hands-on experience. You'll learn how to read the map legend, distinguish drainages from ridges, pick out saddles and peaks. You will learn to plot a bearing and triangulate your position. You'll learn that magnetic north is not the same as true north, a difference known as declination, and how to compensate for this. One way to improve your skills is to examine your map even when you know where you are, Anderson said. That way you can see how the hills, valleys and formations around you translate into lines on a map. At this time of year, map-and-compass courses are held at Papago Park in Phoenix, where there are enough hills, drainages, bushes and trees to keep things interesting. Classes are held in cooler places, such as Prescott, during the summer. The first hour or so is spent under a ramada. Students start off learning how to interpret the map lines and symbols. Next, they learn how to adjust and read the compass, and, finally, how to use the two tools together. After that, class members work as a team to plot a course to some distant marker in the park. This is pretty easy when you're sitting in the ramada, but when you actually have to follow your course and there are dozens of ocotillo bushes or other obstacles between you and your marker, things get interesting. Walking down even a small slope can mean the marker is hidden from view, and you need to account for every step you take to find it. Even with your newfound navigational skills, it's a good idea to tell someone where you're going, even if you intend to be out only for a short while. If the worst happens and you need help, a search-and-rescue team can't find you if it doesn't know where you are. Anderson has taught survival courses. They're fun, he said, but one of the first things he tells his students is this: "You don't have to learn how to make a bow and arrow and shoot a deer. You just need to learn to tell people where you're going." Reach the reporter at 602-444-4847 or ron.dungan@arizonarepublic.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| New iPhone app provides free guide to St. Paul restaurants, events - msnbc.com Posted: 11 Oct 2010 09:43 PM PDT By (Copyright 2010 by KARE 11. All Rights Reserved.) ST. PAUL, Minn. -- With more than 40 million "smart phones" in the U.S. alone -- with that number expected to quadruple over the next few years -- it's no surprise that there's an app for just about everything under the sun. Now, there's a new app designed especially for the city of St. Paul, catering to residents and visitors. St Paul Spot is a free, interactive real-time guide to local restaurants, activities, arts, shopping and daily events. Like the iPhone, the logic of the application is both intuitive and simple. Open the events calendar, and scroll a list of the days events. Want to see what is happening tomorrow? The scroll arrow takes you there. The same simplicity applies to restaurants, with the options of finding them with GPS integration that tracks your location, or alphabetically scrolling through them. Need to know how to get there? Click on the address link for maps that will offer you the option to integrate with your GPS for directions. Want to call for reservations? Click on the phone number to call. Want to see the website of the venue or restaurant? Click on the website tab and the site quickly opens within the application's window. Want to share the information? Send via e-mail or share on Facebook. Because everything is available within the application, finding information is quick and seamless. The new app also works on Apple's iPad and iPod Touch devices. A version of the app for the Android platform is in beta testing right now and will be available soon. The web site, http://stpaulspot.com features the same information and can be accessed from any smart phone. On the web site, in a simple process that takes about a minute, users can enter event information into an interactive calendar for free. Developed by Town Wiz, in the Florida panhandle, the application is quickly gaining other U.S. partners, so the same guide format can be used while traveling. Fortune magazine recently published research clearly showing that mobile devices will soon become the most dominant computing platform on the planet, far exceeding desktop PC usage. We're very excited to be part of the mobile revolution here in St. Paul. The St Paul Spot app is now available for free download at www.stpaulspot.com, as well as worldwide through Apple's App Store, which can be accessed on iTunes or on any iPhone. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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