I noticed you mentioned that " if my compass is reading right" well . . .

During a trip this year I was instructing a newbie how to take a bearing and use the compass and map. As I laid the map out on a flat rock and then placed the compass on it the needle swung opposite of were I felt north should be. Thinking that I was loosing my sense of direction I checked the position of the sun, and felt sure that my compass was wrong. As I stood there holding my compass in hand it read correctly again, then it hit me. As I again placed the compass on the map the needle swung south and I realized the rock was magnetized, lesson learned. I wonder how many people get "disoriented" by thinking their compass is never wrong, we could have easily relied on a false reading had it been an overcast day! Always give your senses "gut feelings" respect! They may be right. So far, "Lost" has been only temporary, for us and never a life or death experience, but rather a tense-time of exploring.

Posted by Ks Paddler on November 07, 2000 at 13:19