Staying on track

If you are intending on walking a specific bearing, you should first check your compass to find out the specific direction. Once this is found, look for a landmark in this direction to head towards, otherwise, you will have to be looking at your compass all the time and go off course. It also allows you to walk around obstacles and still stay on track.

The following animation shows the process you need to take to follow a specific bearing:

Difficult Conditions

If it is dark or foggy, you often cannot use this method. However, there is a way around this problem. A method commonly known as ‘leapfrogging’ is used. The navigator will line up there compass and ask a member of their group to stand in front of them in the distance as far as they can go before losing sight of them. That member will act as a landmark. The navigator will shout “left a bit” or “right a bit” to line them up with the compass.

Once they have walked up to the landmark member, this will then be repeated over again. To double-check if they are correct, anyone of them can take the opposite bearing back down the line.