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Staying found

The best navigation advice is simple: never get lost! Sounds a bit stupid, but it’s true. Navigation is incredibly hard when you have to figure out where you are every hour. Better to know where you are at all times by regularly checking the map with the surroundings.


Bushwalkers that regularly follow the map are more likely to pick up things that don’t seem right. They’re keeping an eye out for where they are in relation to landforms, the direction they are traveling in, and how it changes. They’re also watching the changing distance between their current location and where they want to be.


Keeping a keen eye on the map is the best way to know where you are at all times. Here are a couple of ways to do that:
- Orientating the map in the direction of travel
- ‘Thumbing’ the map
- Map memory and key features
- Using navigation tools such as a GPS or smartphone

Orientating the map
How to orientate the map in the direction of travel
Thumbing the map
How to thumb the map to keep track of where you are
Map memory and key waypoints
How to use a map memory and key waypoints to stay found
GPS/smartphone devices
Using gps and smartphone devices as navigational tools