Orienteering
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Orienteering is navigation across terrain using a map and, when needed, a compass. Orienteering skills are useful to outdoor enthusiasts. In deserts and mountains, these skills can and often do save lives, as well as making outdoor adventures less stressful and more enjoyable.
UnderstandThe orienteering skills needed while hiking differ substantially from those needed in usual orienteering competitions.
Try itOrienteering is a fun activity for travellers. Avid orienteers have been known to plan all their vacations (and work related travel too) around opportunities to go orienteering.
GPSWhile satellite navigators have become affordable and easy to carry and use, the necessity of traditional orienteering skills have in no way disappeared.
CompassMost manufacturers balance their compass needles for one of five zones (ranging from Zone 1, covering most of the Northern Hemisphere, to Zone 5, covering Australia and the southern oceans).
MapsWhen abroad, you will probably use maps that differ significantly from those at home; orienteering maps for competitions may be standardised, but other ones may not be.
Sun and starsIn lack of a compass, the sun, moon or stars can be used to find cardinal directions.
Stay safeSafety in the natural environment is an important goal of orienteering training.
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Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Orienteering" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Ardf map.png, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons