Follow the compass or follow the river?

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
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I know there are people who take a compass along with them as a matter of course.

Well, when you are lost in an uncharted territory (to you at least) and you just don't have a map with you, what good does a compass have?

Then, you come a across a river. Now which do you follow - the compass or the river?

I don't know about you, but I will take the river.
 
IMHO gear like a knife or a compass or anything else, has value only when coupled with knowledge. And if there is enough knowledge, you can get by without a LOT of the gear we usually deem necessary (think of the Bushmen who survive with so little in an amazingly hostile environment). If you haven't packed your brain with that requisite knowledge, then your back has to pay the price of your lack of learning by carrying more gear.

In your scenario, the knowledge needed to make the compass useful would be to have at least a rough understanding of where you are in relation to some goal. That goal could be a city, road, railroad track, your car, a forest ranger station, the mouth leading out of the valley you are now in, the location of water, the next Starbucks Coffee Shop (which are now EVERYWHERE in the world ;) ). Without such knowledge, the compass loses its primary functional value. In that case (as in most of the world) follow the river because civilization and its life-supporting resources are usually found along or very near rivers.

Otherwise, just miss a loan payment. The bank's lawyers will locate you IMMEDIATELY!! ;) :D
 
It is very easy to get turned around when walking in heavy ingrowth without large landmarks to put infront and behind you. In such situations having a compass allows you to travel in a constant direction. Of course being able to predict the most useful one which allows you to walk out in the shortest time would be nice as well. A river is not a guarantee that you will get out, it could start and end in the middle of nowhere. But as noted, they do tend to attrack people (and not people as well, be careful around large bodies of water for rather obvious reasons).

-Cliff
 
In a situation in which you have no idea as to your location or where abouts follow the river.
 
I was trained that a compass (macro), map (local), and terrain association (micro) were all part of a complete system. Don't always have or need them all, though, and only practice or your situation can tell you what to use where/when.

Def. agree that using woods skills, ie: following water, would get you better results and resources in an outdoor situation.
I tend to get lost more often in civilization, though, like trying to find East 32nd Street from 4th and Main, so checking my keyring compass for general directions is a big help.
 
Follow the river. Here in the north east, espeically in Maryland. Follow a river a bit, and you WILL come upon some form of civilization. May be a back country road or sewage treatment plant, but it'll get you back.


Joe
 
I was in this situation two days after the Sept. 11 attacks.

I wanted to go hiking to clear my head over what happened.
Anyway, I got lost after a few hours, and i couldn't make much sense out of the map and compass I had with me. So I decided to wait a little while and listen for the sound of rifle shots hoping I could ask a local hunter for help.

Nothing happened, not a sound. So i went down to the river and walked on the banks. Got back to my car in no time. I was wet and tired, but I got back safely.

I was never in much danger though, as i always take enough gear with me incase I have to spend the night outside.
Nowadays I'm much more careful to stick to the footpath.
 
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