Learning to Use a Compass

 Thursday was a very busy day.  After the Scales and Tails presentation for the summer reading program, we ran a few errands, took the ten year old to archery practice for the state shoot, and then he and I went to a class the Forest Service was holding at the library, called Navigating the Wilderness.

We learned a ton about how to properly use a compass.  Turns out that there is a LOT more to it than I ever dreamed.  We learned how to navigate by bearings, how to triangulate your location if you're lost, how to accurately report where you see smoke (suspecting a possible forest fire), and so on.

After they taught us how to use them, we did a treasure hunt, where we had to use the bearings on a compass to find each new clue.

I didn't get a picture of the clues, but if you look by his feet here, you'll see a little green card.  We were supposed to be as close to centered over the top of them as possible to find the next location.  We took turns using the compass and directing one another to the right spot, and we were the first team to finish.  He also won the prize for the best navigator because he picked it up so well and paid close attention.  They gave him a baseball (signed by Smoky Bear - ahem) and several other things - pencils, handkerchief, bookmarks, etc).

 The sky was pretty amazing when we finally came out of the class.

All in all, it was a busy but very rewarding day.