Leon Pantenburg at Smith Rock State Park

A woman sprained her ankle at dusk, in the middle of a forested urban park on a routine evening winter run and almost froze to death. A car got stuck in the snow on a rural road only a few miles from a major highway and the driver died of hypothermia and dehydration.  A man took a day-hike on a well known trail, got lost and was never seen again.  These avoidable tragedies happen all the time.

Most people never think about the need to survive anything. But you, the average person, could easily be one slip, journey, natural disaster or crash away from real trouble.

This website, written by Leon Pantenburg, is about proven and tested common sense survival techniques that anyone should learn whether living in a major metropolitan region or recreating in the wilderness.

• Using your common sense to survive any unexpected calamity can turn a dangerous situation into a mere inconvenience.
•  Pack and easily carry the right tools with the confidence to know how to use them and you and your family will survive any emergency.
• Check out the categories on the left hand side of this page to learn how to be completely prepared for anything that life throws at you.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

In an instant, the backpacking trip in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains turned from an idyllic family outing to every parent’s nightmare. One moment, my son Daniel, 16 months old at the time, was playing around the campsite. In the next, despite the close supervision of four adults, he had vanished.

Though warmly dressed, this youngster would be hard to find if she got lost in the winter woods. Her clothing blends in with the surroundings and there is no whistle attached to her coat.

The adults immediately split up to search for Dan. I sprinted back down to the lake, while my wife, Debbie, ran the other way, up the hill. Out of the corner of her eye, Debbie caught a flash of Dan’s bright red jacket as he disappeared over the rise. She collared the would-be wanderer, who thought the chase was part of a game.

We took my oldest son, Dan, on his first backpacking trip when he was five months old. Debbie carried him and all the paraphernalia associated with an infant, and I carried all the camping gear.  When my brother, Mike, went backpacking with us, he and I would split the weight up. We didn’t go far, but we still managed to get back into the mountains, away from most of the crowds.

Infants are easy to take along, as long as you have properly prepared their gear. They can’t wander off, and a tarp in the sunlight, along with some favorite toys, quickly turns them into happy campers. And talk about fantastic  memories!

The difficulty starts when kids reach the toddler stage and before they’re old enough to go to kindergarten. Kids in this age group have boundless energy and curiosity, no concept of danger, and a near suicidal lack of  common sense. By the time children reach kindergarten age, they are generally considered old enough to be taught. But if you’re taking a little kid into the backcountry, plan on spending all your time on full alert.

There are some steps to make your child as safe as possible, and outing preparation should start long before you arrive at the trailhead. These tips have worked well with all three of my children:

* Always dress kids in bright clothing. Soft, muted earth tones or black or white jackets are like camouflage, and the youngsters should be highly visible at all times. You may want to take along some fluorescent duct tape and/or flagging and attach it to the youngsters so they will be even more visible. ALL FLORESCENT FLAGGING TAPE

* Permanently attach a whistle on their coats or somewhere it won’t be lost. Explain that the whistle is always to be carried with them and only used if they get separated. Fox 40 Pearl Safety – Pink

* Teach them (and practice) the drumming game: Teach the child that if separated from the group, find a tree and a stick and start hitting it to make noise. Blow the whistle as part of the game.

* The usual rules about not talking to strangers are suspended if the child gets lost in the wilderness. Explain that there will be many nice people trying to help find him or her, and these searchers will know the child’s name. You don’t want the child hiding from rescuers. Re-enforce this idea as you hike, so they don’t forget.

* Keep them hydrated and fed, even if separated from you: Dehydration in the wilderness is a danger to anyone. For youngsters, especially, it can be deadly. My kids each had a bladder-style hydration system, as which work well. CamelBak Skeeter Kid’s Hydration Pack The novelty of  being able to drink out of a drinking tube, and the fact that the system was carried like a backpack, means the child probably won’t lose their water.  If the child is lost, it may take several hours to find them, and they will need to drink. It’s also a good idea to put snacks in the backpack part of the bladder backpack, so the child learns to look there for food. Clif Kid Zbar Variety Pack – 8 Chocolate Chip, 8 Chocolate Brownie and 8 Honey Graham per Box

Here are some child safety recommendations from Deschutes County (Oregon) Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue:

* Everybody stays together.

* Teach the children that if they get lost or separated, to sit down, stay put, drink water and eat their snacks.

* Look bigger for searchers: Your waiting space, if possible, should be near an open space. Blow your whistle if you hear or see anybody!

* Don’t lie down on bare ground.

* Stay away from large rivers and lakes.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

A 68-year-old man died in a sleeping bag in his truck after he got stuck in the snow while camping in February and kept a log of nearly 70 days spent apparently stranded in east Linn County’s high country, authorities said today. To read the complete story, click here.

Let’s hope we can all learn from tragedies.

In this case, apparently nobody knew the victim was missing. Here’s a video about leaving a note before you go anywhere to make sure something like this doesn’t happen to you!

For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
• Take your Ten Essentials on every outing.
• Dress with the right fabrics.
• Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
• Carry lightweight, compact firestarter.
• Find the most effective fire ignition system.
• How to make charcloth, a material that can catch a spark from any source.
• Use charcloth as an effective method of catching a spark to make a fire.
• It can kill you: Hypothermia
• Hardtack: A great emergency food
• About Leon Pantenburg

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

It was one of those famous “three little word” hunts – “I am just” going to leave camp for a short hunt. You know – grab the rifle, license and tags, ammo, GPS and head out for a short hunt. The hunter’s pack stayed behind.

Because he was just going down that game trail a bit the hunter didn’t need all his survival gear…

by Blake Miller

The story ending is predictable: the hunter lost track of time and distance as he followed the fresh mule deer tracks, and, besides he had his GPS. At twilight he recognized it was time to go back, and the GPS showed him the way…until the batteries died. Fresh batteries were in his pack back at camp.

Always take extra batteries, and a map and compass for your GPS.

In 13 years of teaching GPS classes I have had very, very few reports of a GPS breaking or failing electronically but I do hear about battery power draining at the worst time.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Batteries will generally last for a reported 20 hours of continuous use; more on that shortly. If you just turn it on, mark a waypoint and turn the receiver off the batteries will last you most of the hunting season. I like the Duracell and COSTCO alkaline batteries.
• If your GPS can use Lithium batteries that is great. They are more expensive but they last longer and work better in cold temperatures; check your owner’s manual.
• I keep my GPS powered up all day when in the backcountry. I like to download my track and waypoint data at the end of a hunt to my Terrain Navigator software. (This gives me the best historical record of my outing.) I dump the batteries back at camp each evening. Usually my batteries become drained after a full day and it just simpler to change them out as I get my gear ready for the next day’s hunt. I don’t want to worry about dead batteries during the next day’s hunt.
• Keep a spare set of AA batteries in your pack. I recommend storing the batteries in the paper box that the Duracell’s come in or in the plastic wrapper that the COSTCO batteries come in.
• I keep fresh batteries in my GPS all the time. I am reading more frequently that this is no longer needed. That said, because of my SAR responsibilities and the frequency of my trips, fresh batteries are always loaded. It’s my personal preference that “works for me.”
• If you have an older Garmin such as the Garmin 12, keep batteries in it always. The four AA batteries keep the internal lithium battery charged. The internal lithium provides power to retain you saved waypoints and tracks.
• I don’t have a baseline for rechargeable batteries. My suggestion would be to keep extra’s on hand and really “wring them out” over a full day to see how well they work. Do this before your trip afield. Remember, it has to work for you.
• Features such as the backlight, audible tones and electronic compasses drain a set of batteries. On many models the electronic compass can be turned off by pressing and holding down the page button. Manage your power needs.

A fully charged GPS is a wonderful tool that complements your backcountry experience. Remember, even though you have the latest and best receiver, you always take that map and compass on every trip.

Blake Miller has made a career out of staying found and knowing where he is at all times. His formal navigation training began when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1973. He served as an officer aboard several Navy ships over his

Blake Miller

twenty-year career; many of those tours included the duty of Navigator. Blake began working with satellite navigation systems at sea in 1976, culminating with the then-new satellite positioning systems aboard the Battleship WISCONSIN in early 1990.

In 1998 Blake started Outdoor Quest, a business dedicated to backcountry navigation and wilderness survival. Blake has taught classes to wild land firefighters, state agency staffs, Search and Rescue team members, hunters, hikers, skiers, fishermen and equestrians. He regularly teaches classes through the Community Education programs at Central Oregon (Bend) and Chemeketa (Salem, OR) Community Colleges.

As a volunteer, Blake teaches navigation and survival classes to students in the local school districts, and conservation groups. He is a member of a Search and Rescue team.

If you have any questions about land navigation or wilderness survival, you can contact Blake through SurvivalCommonSense.com@gmail.com, or you can go to his website.

Contact Information:

Website: www.outdoorquest.biz

Blog: outdoorquest.blogspot.com

Phone: 541-280-0573

Email: outdrquest@aol.com

To hear the Jan 7, 2010 Blake Miller interview about choosing a magnetic compass and GPS on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio, click here.

Recommended Reading:

Surviving a Wilderness Emergency
Build the Perfect Survival Kit
GPS Made Easy (GPS Made Easy: Using Global Positioning Systems in the Outdoors)
Staying Found: The Complete Map and Compass Handbook

For more navigation- related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• How to choose a magnetic compass.
• How to buy that first GPS.
• Help the searchers find you in the wilderness.
• Is the Bushnell Backtrack the right choice for you?
• Improve your GPS skills now.
• Find your directions by the moss on trees?
• Simple survival tips for using a map and compass.
• Three maps you should carry in the wilderness.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

I heard this story from a member of the Deschutes County Search and Rescue team: The lost hiker kept moving throughout the night, even though he was off the trail, and bushwhacking through heavy brush. When he finally emerged on a road the next morning, he was exhausted, scratched from the bushes he’d pushed through and bruised from falling down. He was lucky not to be injured worse!

When asked why he didn’t just stay put, build a campfire and wait for daylight he replied: “I heard animals all around me!”

A map, compass and GPS are valuable land navigation tools, but only if you first know how to use them!

If you think you’re lost the best advice is to stop, stay put and  wait until the sun comes up. But what if it is dangerous to stay? Suppose there is a forest fire and you have to keep ahead of it? Or what if rising water is creating a dangerous situation and there is no choice but to move or be trapped?

Again, if you’re lost, the best advice is to stay put! But if you absolutely must move, land navigation expert Blake Miller explains the skills to practice before attempting to navigate wilderness areas in the dark.

By Blake Miller

The day started clear and bright as the hikers left the trailhead near Newport, Oregon.  The temperatures were to be moderate most of the day with slight cooling in the evening.  They pressed on, determined to reach the nearby mountain summit before twilight.

After reaching the summit at dusk, the group started to make their way back to the trailhead as fog began to roll in.  Within an hour the darkness was becoming a problem and the safety of continued travel became questionable.

So what are some basic considerations for night time travel and navigation in the backcountry?

First, let us consider that we are not in a “lost hiker” scenario.  If  lost, the best thing to do is to just stay where you are. This makes the searchers’ job much easier.

Further, recommendations are based on the concerns and issues of hiking when it is really dark, not during the period of a full moon with some ambient light.

One of the key factors in this situation is to have an understanding of the physiology of the eye. Our eyes are designed to provide optimal performance during periods of light.  The components of the eye (the retina, rods and cones) are arranged specific to their function.  The cones are the discriminators of fine detail and color.  Cones are the most effective in light, and are located near the center of the eye interior.

In complete darkness, a cone’s effectiveness is significantly reduced.  Rods are located on the periphery of our interior eye, are not fine detail discriminators and have a higher sensitivity to low light levels.  Rods are important to our night time vision.

In periods of extreme darkness your ability to see with clarity straight ahead is significantly diminished.  Rods play importantly in your night vision, allowing you to observe objects but with reduced detail.  According an article by the American Optometric Association (see end of this article for more information):

To best detect small targets with the rods…the individual must look approximately 15-20 degrees to one side, above, or below…”

That impact is significant when you understand that to maximize your night vision you should turn your head from side to side consistently instead of keeping your focus straight ahead.

At night, the term used to describe our ability to see is “night vision.”  Bright lighting is to be completely avoided.   Flashes of bright white light will ruin night vision.  Recovery takes about 30-45 minutes.  Low level white light and low intensity red light is better.

Care should be taken with the use of a GPS.  The normal white backlight function of the GPS receiver will damage night vision.  More frequent use of a compass while running a line of bearing with a low intensity red light flashlight may be prudent.

Here are a few recommendations:

Guard your eyes as you move through brushy ground. If you don’t have a GPS and are navigating with just a map and compass it is very important that you start from a known position.  Navigating without getting position fixes from a GPS or by visual sighting is called dead reckoning.  Such navigation requires you to plot your compass heading and distance traveled.  Distance is accounted by pacing (counting your steps) as you move.  (A good source of reference is www.landnavigation.org.)

Night time navigation is not something to be taken lightly. From reviewing my books, US Army field manuals and conversations with experienced backcountry travelers, it should be carefully considered and practiced before an actual outing.

You need to have confidence in your equipment (map, compass and GPS) and trust the information provided to you.  Such confidence is built up months and weeks in advance of your trip.  Practice your navigation at a local park with map and compass.  For practice, GPS users should consider geocaching.

If you find yourself in a night time situation where you have any doubt, stop and prepare to spend the night right where you are.

For further reading about the physiology of the eye, click here to read the night vision report  from the American Optometric Association.

Blake Miller has made a career out of staying found and knowing where he is at all times. His formal navigation training began when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1973. He served as an officer aboard several Navy ships over his

Blake Miller

twenty-year career; many of those tours included the duty of Navigator. Blake began working with satellite navigation systems at sea in 1976, culminating with the then-new satellite positioning systems aboard the Battleship WISCONSIN in early 1990.

In 1998 Blake started Outdoor Quest, a business dedicated to backcountry navigation and wilderness survival. Blake has taught classes to wild land firefighters, state agency staffs, Search and Rescue team members, hunters, hikers, skiers, fishermen and equestrians. He regularly teaches classes through the Community Education programs at Central Oregon (Bend) and Chemeketa (Salem, OR) Community Colleges.

As a volunteer, Blake teaches navigation and survival classes to students in the local school districts, and conservation groups. He is a member of a Search and Rescue team.

If you have any questions about land navigation or wilderness survival, you can contact Blake through SurvivalCommonSense.com@gmail.com, or you can go to his website.

Contact Information:

Website: www.outdoorquest.biz

Blog: outdoorquest.blogspot.com

Phone: 541-280-0573

Email: outdrquest@aol.com

To hear the Jan 7, 2010 Blake Miller interview about choosing a magnetic compass and GPS on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio, click here.

For more navigation- related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• How to choose a magnetic compass.
• How to buy that first GPS.
• Help the searchers find you in the wilderness.
• Is the Bushnell Backtrack the right choice for you?
• Improve your GPS skills now.
• Find your directions by the moss on trees?
• Simple survival tips for using a map and compass.
• Three maps you should carry in the wilderness.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

The retired couple was just going out on a drive to try out a new camera, then got stuck on an isolated road in the snow. Nobody knew they had gone anywhere. When they were discovered missing, nobody had any idea where they might be.

Winter weather presents challenges to drivers. Make sure you have a winter survival kit in your car!

Navigation expert Blake Miller posted this AP wire story Sunday about a couple from Washington state that were rescued after being lost for four days.

“This could have had a much sadder ending, Blake commented. “As you read the article, think about what they did to help themselves once stranded.   Staying with there vehicle was definitely the right thing to do?”

A trip plan would have been great to have left behind with a family member too.  Trip plan.

Read Blake’s post here.

For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
• Write a note to let people know where you went, before you left.
• Take your Ten Essentials on every outing.
• Dress with the right fabrics.
• Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
• Carry lightweight, compact firestarter.
• Find the most effective fire ignition system.
• How to make charcloth, a material that can catch a spark from any source.
• Use charcloth as an effective method of catching a spark to make a fire.
• It can kill you: Hypothermia
• Hardtack: A great emergency food
• About Leon Pantenburg

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

What better family activity is there than getting everybody together, loading up the daypacks and heading out on some outdoor adventure?

Veteran search and rescue volunteer and land navigation expert Blake Miller has some suggestions on precautions to make  before you head out to the trailhead. After all, everyone must come back safely!

To read the story on Blake’s blog, click here

Blake Miller has made a career out of staying found and knowing where he is at all times. His formal navigation training began when he joined the U.S.

Blake Miller

Navy in 1973. He served as an officer aboard several Navy ships over his twenty-year career; many of those tours included the duty of Navigator. Blake began working with satellite navigation systems at sea in 1976, culminating with the then-new satellite positioning systems aboard the Battleship WISCONSIN in early 1990.

In 1998 Blake started Outdoor Quest, a business dedicated to backcountry navigation and wilderness survival. Blake has taught classes to wild land firefighters, state agency staffs, Search and Rescue team members, hunters, hikers, skiers, fishermen and equestrians. He regularly teaches classes through the Community Education programs at Central Oregon (Bend) and Chemeketa (Salem, OR) Community Colleges.

As a volunteer, Blake teaches navigation and survival classes to students in the local school districts, and conservation groups. He is a member of a Search and Rescue team.

Contact Information:

Website: www.outdoorquest.biz or

Outdoor Quest blog: http://outdoorquest.blogspot.com/

Phone: 541 280 0573

Email: outdrquest@aol.com or outdoorquest@gmail.com

For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
• Write a note to let people know where you went, before you left.
• Take your Ten Essentials on every outing.
• Dress with the right fabrics.
• Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
• Carry lightweight, compact firestarter.
• Find the most effective fire ignition system.
• How to make charcloth, a material that can catch a spark from any source.
• Use charcloth as an effective method of catching a spark to make a fire.
• It can kill you: Hypothermia
• Hardtack: A great emergency food
• About Leon Pantenburg

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Do topographical maps seem confusing? Do you view most maps as a mass of squiggles, color splotches and undecipherable gibberish, with terms like: datum, UTM,  WGS84

A map and compass are vital land navigation tools, but you must first know how to read the map!

and NAD27? In this article, land navigation expert Blake Miller explains how to make sense of your topo map!

by Blake Miller

Reviewing a topographic map is usually the starting point for the planning of any back country trip.  A topographic map is your road map to the outdoors.  It provides you detailed information at a scale that is meaningful and detailed.  For years, the US Geologic Survey (USGS) has been the principal publisher of accurate maps.  Within the last decade we have seen many innovations in mapping products that include new mapping companies and publishers, software, maps for the GPS, and “Apps” for the iPhone.

Still, the USGS map remains the standard for back country navigation (visit the USGS’s site at www.topomaps.usgs.gov.)   I’d also recommend looking at June Fleming’s Staying Found: The Complete Map and Compass Handbook
or Bjorn Kjellstrom’s Be Expert with Map and Compass

Once you develop a map foundation you will easily shift to many of the other products on the market today.

Many publications, videos, and web sites will give you a complete rundown on the features, symbols and components to a map.  This article will discuss a few of the key features that you should be aware of on a 7.5 minute map.

• Scale Consider scale as your view of the map; it is like your “overhead zoom” setting.  To cut to the chase, a 7.5 minute map or quadrangle has a scale that is referred to as 1:24,000; where one inch is equal to 2000 feet.  It is your best source of information of the back country.  At this scale, the map has much more validity and provides more usable information for backcountry planning.  You can view important landmarks, streams and geographic features.  To complete the navigation picture I always refer a second map, such as a map of the national forest (e.g., the Deschutes National Forest.)  Commonly, such a map will be “zoomed” way out and have a scale of 1:100,000 or 1:250,000.  Imagine that such a map would be made up of many 7.5 minute quadrangles.

• Contour Lines: These are the thin brown lines that snake across the map.  Contour lines connect equal points of elevation such that every point on a specific line will be at that elevation above sea level.  Visually, the contour lines give you a mental three dimensional view of the terrain.  These lines provide shape and a sense of texture.  Contour lines provide a view of slope and pitch, depressions, ridge lines and level ground; the highs and lows of the earth’s surface.  There are two primary types of lines, index and intermediate lines.  Index lines stand out as they are a touch wider, a darker shade of brown and indicate the elevation with numbers such as 4500; the elevation is in feet.  Between the index lines are the thin intermediate line that are spaced uniformly and further define the elevation, slope and contour.  The distance intervals between the intermediate lines are specified at the bottom of the map adjacent to the scale data.
• North Features on a map such as trails, roads, mountain peaks and streams are all laid out in relation to true North; the North Pole.  The north-south borders of the map and the small declination diagram are your best references for true North.  Other grid lines (such as the red Township, Section and Range lines) may not be aligned to true north at all.  Be careful of these lines should you need to triangulate your position on a map.

• Declination This is the angular difference between true North and Magnetic North.  The red needle on your magnetic compass points to Magnetic North.  The accuracy of the information found in the Declination Diagram is dependent on the age of the map.  To get the latest declination for any area visit www.magnetic-declination.com.

This compass is adjusted for declination

Personally, I use a magnetic compass that can be adjusted for declination; it just makes navigation easier.  When adjusted, my compass provides bearing information in degrees true north as does my map and my adjusted GPS.

Coordinates Latitude and Longitude (Lat/Long) are the familiar coordinate system to most people.  Coordinate data is found at the top and bottom corners of each map.  Lat/Long coordinate increments are also found every 2’ (minutes) and 30” (seconds) on the sides of the Map.  A scaling device is necessary to pull complete coordinates off a map: (This is a pain!)

In the 1940s a coordinate system know as Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) was developed.  To keep a very long story short, your 7.5 minute map has a new grid laid over it, and the grid dimensions are 1000 meters by 1000 meters.  For more complete information on UTM grid visit the USGS’s web site UTM or Lathem’s GPS Made Easy (GPS Made Easy: Using Global Positioning Systems in the Outdoors).

Simplicity is the essence of UTM.  Scouts, hunters and hikers have joined Search and Rescue (SAR) teams around the country in using this system.

Your GPS receiver can easily be switched to UTM from the set-up menu.

• Bar ScalesNotice the bar scales at the bottom of the 7.5 minute map.  The scales provide measuring data in
  

  True north points to the top of the map; magnetic north is pointed to by the red magnetic needle.

  miles, feet and meters.   On the far left side of the meter scale, the scale is broken down into units of 100 meters, this applies directly to UTM.

Notice on the scale bar (feet) that 1 inch equals 2000 feet. This topographic map scale of 1:24,000 is your best source of information of the back country.  At this scale, the map has much more validity and provides more usable information for you backcountry planning.

• Map Datum Information about map datum is found in the lower left corner of a 7.5 minute map.  The simplest definition of datum from Garmin GPS:

“A math model which depicts a part of the surface of the earth. Latitude and longitude lines on a paper map are referenced to a specific map datum. The map datum selected on a GPS receiver needs to match the datum listed on the corresponding paper map in order for position readings to match.”

The bottom line: Most 7.5 minute maps are made to the North American datum of 1927 (NAD27 or NAD27 CONUS on your GPS).  New GPS receivers are set to datum WGS84.  The difference between the datum could be over 100 meters/yards.  The solution: When pulling points off a map shift your GPS’s datum to match the map.

If precision is not an issue for your outing don’t worry about datum.

As you begin your trip planning don’t forget the magnetic compass, the important partner to any topographic map.  See Selecting a Magnetic Compass for more information about buying a good compass.

Blake Miller

Blake Miller has made a career out of staying found and knowing where he is at all times. His formal navigation training began when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1973.  He served as an officer aboard several Navy ships over his  twenty-year career; many of those tours included the duty of Navigator.

Blake began working with satellite navigation systems at sea in 1976, culminating with the then-new Global Positioning Systems aboard the Battleship WISCONSIN in early 1990.

In 1998 Blake started Outdoor Quest, a business dedicated to backcountry navigation and wilderness survival.  Blake has taught classes to wild land firefighters, state agency staffs, Search and Rescue team members, hunters, hikers, skiers, fishermen and equestrians.   He regularly teaches classes through the Community Education programs at Central Oregon (Bend) and Chemeketa (Salem, OR) Community Colleges.

As a volunteer, Blake teaches navigation and survival classes through the Becoming an Outdoor Woman (B0W) program, to students in the local school district, and conservation groups.  He is a member of a Search and Rescue team, and a regular contributor to SurvivalCommonSense.com.

Contact Information:

Phone: 541 280 0573

Email: outdrquest@aol.com or mapcompassandgps@gmail.com

Web: www.outdoorquest.biz

For more of Blake Miller’s navigation-related tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• How to choose a magnetic compass.
• How to buy that first GPS.
• Help the searchers find you in the wilderness.
• Is the Bushnell Backtrack the right choice for you?
• Improve your GPS skills now.
• Simple survival tips for using a map and compass.
• Stay Safe Using your SPOT locator.
• Improve your GPS skills now.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Too many waypoints on your GPS is like heaping your office files in a pile – it will be hard to find something when you need it! In the office, that can be annoying. In the wilderness that can be deadly! In this story GPS expert Blake Miller shows you how to make the best use of your waypoints.

Remove extra Waypoints to make your GPS work more efficently.

By Blake Miller

Robin is one happy GPS user.  He has owned his Garmin GPS 60 for two years.  The Waypoint file is full of entries.  He had recorded hunting trips, camping expeditions with the kids, a few geocaches, and of course, the favorite fishing spot.  His GPS receiver will hold 500 Waypoints, and he has over 350 saved.  What a collection of data!

But is Robin really managing his Waypoints effectively?

Nope.

Lots of things can happen to a Waypoint or data file.  You can put data in. You can take data out.  You can lose it (maybe the GPS breaks or the wrong button entry is selected.)  But be careful. Far worse is having too much data that can make navigation difficult.

In my land navigation classes, I stress keeping your navigation simple.  Frequent and simple Waypoint management is essential to GPS use.  When it’s time to return to the truck, it should be obvious what Waypoint to select.

Dump the junk before the start of a trip. As you leave the trail head your GPS should have only necessary data saved on your GPS.  That Waypoint for the fishing hole is important, but needs to be saved elsewhere.

Start by deleting Waypoints that really are not needed.  Free those bites to the atmosphere!

• To save your “Got to have, must save Waypoints:,” Use Garmin’s “Trip and Waypoint Manager.”  It probably came with your GPS.  It can also be purchased from Garmin for about $30.00; www.garmin.com. Down load those Waypoints to your PC.
• If you don’t have the Garmin program, consider “Easy GPS.”  It is free and available at www.easygps.com.
• Log the important data in a notebook.

Electronic storage allows you to save Waypoints and track data (such as that bread crumb trail on your map screen.)  Further, you can upload old Waypoints another day for a trip to that special fishing spot.  This data can also be down loaded into your friends’ GPS too.  It can also be uploaded to your new GPS in the future.

Remember though; when you receive or transfer Waypoint data, always verify that you have the compatible map datum and coordinate system set on your receiver!

Finally, give important Waypoints a name.  It’s easier to remember a Waypoint named “CAMP” instead of 21 (Or was it 25?)

Now, when Robin is ready to return to the trail head he’ll see 30 are saved instead of 350.  His navigation is a bit simpler and should he have to navigate under stress due to weather or injury it will make more sense and eliminate mistakes.

To hear the Jan 7, 2010 Blake Miller interview about choosing a magnetic compass and GPS on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio, click here.

Blake Miller has made a career out of staying found and knowing where he is at all times. His formal navigation training began when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1973.  He served as an officer aboard several Navy ships over his

Blake Miller

twenty-year career; many of those tours included the duty of Navigator.  Blake began working with satellite navigation systems at sea in 1976, culminating with the then-new satellite positioning systems aboard the Battleship WISCONSIN in early 1990.

In 1998 Blake started Outdoor Quest, a business dedicated to backcountry navigation and wilderness survival.  Blake has taught classes to wild land firefighters, state agency staffs, Search and Rescue team members, hunters, hikers, skiers, fishermen and equestrians.   He regularly teaches classes through the Community Education programs at Central Oregon (Bend) and Chemeketa (Salem, OR) Community Colleges.

As a volunteer, Blake teaches navigation and survival classes to students in the local school districts, and conservation groups.  He is a member of a Search and Rescue team.

If you have any questions about land navigation or wilderness survival, you can contact Blake through SurvivalCommonSense.com@gmail.com, or you can go to his website:

Contact Information:

Website: www.outdoorquest.biz

Phone: 541-280-0573

Email: outdrquest@aol.com

Recommended Reading:
Surviving a Wilderness Emergency
Build the Perfect Survival Kit
GPS Made Easy (GPS Made Easy: Using Global Positioning Systems in the Outdoors)
Staying Found: The Complete Map and Compass Handbook

For more navigation- related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• How to choose a magnetic compass.
• How to buy that first GPS.
• Help the searchers find you in the wilderness.
• Is the Bushnell Backtrack the right choice for you?
• Improve your GPS skills now.
• Find your directions by the moss on trees?
• Simple survival tips for using a map and compass.
• Three maps you should carry in the wilderness.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

by Leon Pantenburg

In July, I was interviewed for an hour on the James T. Stevens “Doctor Prepper Talk Show,” on BlogTalk Radio. People in the prepper and survivalist circles will recognize Stevens as the author of “Making the Best of Basics,”

These basic survival items can be carried in your pocket, purse or belt.

the all-time bestselling manual of  emergency preparedness.

I recently completed a chapter for the good doctor’s latest emergency preparedness project. In it, I discussed  survival gear to carry on your person, and that was the topic we talked about on the show.

You can listen to my interview with Doctor Prepper
on Blog Talk Radio by clicking on the highlighted words.

To check out Steven’s book, click here.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com