Mazamas — For the Love of Mountains
Activity Notes
MT. TABOR NAVIGATION COURSE
Do you want to practice your map and compass skills close to home, alone or with a few friends? The Mazamas now have a permanent navigation practice course right here in Portland. This course will introduce you to the core skills of map interpretation and compass use, taking you on a walking tour of Portland’s scenic Mt. Tabor Park. Along the way you’ll learn a bit of local history, botany, geology, and of course, have a chance to practice navigation skills. The skills you’ll learn in this field exercise include:
Maps – Contours, Scale, Declination and UTM grid
Maps – Sense of direction and Orienting your map
Maps – reading UTM grid coordinates
Compass – Direction and bearings
Compass – Shooting and following a bearing
Compass – Following a bearing in low visibility or past an obstruction by leapfrogging
Map and Compass – Measuring a bearing between points on the map
To do the course, you’ll need to have a basic understanding of topographic maps (scale, contour lines, UTM coordinates) as well as compass declination. If you feel you need to brush up in these areas, please review the navigation portion of Freedom of the Hills or other suitable book before doing this exercise. (If you’re not sure if you need a review, read through the course notes to get a sense of how hard/easy it is for you.)
It should take between two and four hours to complete the course, depending on your prior navigation experience and the size of your group. An answer key is on the last page, so you can check your work as you go. Instructions are in the text for some of the compass work. You’ll need to print out two .pdf files from the links below:
1) a map of Mt. Tabor, and 2) the course notes. This color map prints on a single sheet of 8.5 by 11 inch paper. Please note that this is not a standard 1:24,000 scale USGS map. It has a custom scale, contour interval and UTM grid suitable for this smaller area. If it’s a soggy day, put the map in a ziplock baggie for weather protection. To read these files, you'll need Acrobat reader from Adobe on your computer, a free download. You’ll need to bring the following to Mt Tabor:
*Printout of the map (Will be sent to you)
*Printout of the 9 page course notes (Will be sent to you)
*Compass (ideally one with a baseplate and adjustable declination set to 17 degrees east)
*Pencil / pen
