ISBN: 0-89886-953-6. Softcover. 141 pages. Copyright 2004. Second Edition. Dimensions 5.25" x 8.25" x .50"

"Wilderness Navigation is an asset to any wilderness traveler.  Even if you've never uses a compass or a GPS receiver before, you'll have a good understanding of the process after reading this book."  - Will Gadd, champion ice climber and author of Ice and Mixed Climbing: Modern Technique

The Classic Handbook For Learning To Navigate in the Backcountry
- Essentials of map and compass use
- Easy, practical techniques for GPS usage
- Accurate use of clinometers and altimeters
- Extensive illustrated examples of orientation and navigation
- Appendix with thirty practice exercises
With Wilderness Navigation proceed with confidence when heading off-road or off-trail.  Whether you are climbing a glacier, day hiking, or roaming in the backcountry, Bob Burns and Mike Burns cover all the latest technology and time-tested methods to help you learn to navigate safely.

Bob Burns is a longtime member of The Mountaineers.  He has taught classes in the use of map and compass since the late 1970s.  Mike Burns is an avid climber and has instructed climbing and navigation courses and written articles for Climbing magazine.  Together, they wrote the navigation chapter of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 7th Edition. 

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
Map Basics
   USGS Topographic Maps
   How to Read Topographic Maps
   Limitations of Maps
   Customizing and Modifying Maps
   Where to Get Maps
   The Importance of the Map

Compass Basics
   Types of Base Plate and Compasses
   Bearings
   Bearings in the Field
   Magnetic Declination
   Back Bearings
   Bearings on the Map
   Practicing with the Compass
   Tips on Compass Use
   The Map and Compass: A Checklist
   And for the Last Time

Orientation With Map and Compass
   Point Position
   Line Position
   Area Position
   Orienting a Map
   Direction and Bearing the Slope
   A Reminder

Navigation
   Map and Compass
   Compass Alone
   Using Intermediate Objectives
   The Intentional Offset (Aiming Off)
   The Parallel Path
   Navigating around an Obstruction
   Always Know Where You are Headed, and Consider the Return Route
   A Reminder

Lost!
   How to Avoid Getting Lost
   What If You Do Get Lost?

More About Maps
   Distance Measurement on the Map
   Slope Measurement on the Map
   Range, Township, and Section

More About Compasses and Geomagnetism
   Where to Get Declination Information
   Changes in Declination
   Dip
   Using the Clinometer
   Other Types of Compasses

The Altimeter
   What the Altimeter Is and How It Works
   Types of Altimeter
   Effects of Weather on Altimeters
   Precision and Accuracy
   Effects of Temperature on Altimeters
   Cautions When Using the Altimeter in Wilderness Travel
   Orientation
   Navigation
   Decision Making
   Use of Bearing of the Slope with the Altimeter

The Global Positioning System
   Selecting a GPS Receiver
   Getting Started with GPS
   Using a GPS Receiver in Wilderness Navigation
   Orientation Using GPS and UTM Coordinates
   Navigation Using GPS and UTM Coordinates
   Datums, Zones, and Bands
   Limitations of GPS Receivers

Wilderness Routefinding
   On the Trail
   In the Forest
   In Alpine Areas
   On Snow
   Wands
   On Glaciers
   Moats and Bergschrunds
   The Bootprint
   The Art of Wilderness Routefinding

Bibliography
Appendix: Wilderness Navigation Practice Problems
Index