Off Trail/Route finding skills - how to learn/where to start?

[wolfman200]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to HAZ, and looking for advice from some more experienced hikers. Since about September I've been hiking weekly and loving it - the Superstitions are my favorite(Hackberry Springs is at the top of the list!), but I'd love to branch out to some less maintained paths and also start exploring the Goldfield Mountains (I've just gotten the Ted Tenney Goldfield Mounain Hikes Guide).

The question is - how do you define "route-finding skills"? I've been reluctant to check out hikes where users say "route finding skills are a must" - how does one acquire route-finding skills? Where did you start? I went to a basic beginning class for map and compass navigation through the Greater Phoenix Orienteering Club, but I get the impression that "route-finding" means more than just navigating with a map. I've been considering signing up for an all day class offered by Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association, but it's $100 and I haven't decided yet whether to go for it. Has anyone here taken this course? Any and all info about learning how to stay safe on these kinds of hikes in much appreciated!

[markthurman53]

I don't believe there is a class that teaches route finding skills and if there is it is probably not as good as just boots on the ground experience. Map reading is a good start but usually only on the greater scale of things. My suggestion is just get out and do it but start small and work up as your confidence builds. Take an experienced person with you but have them let you make the decisions. With a little experience it is actually easier than you think (I've been lost on a freeway more times than in the wilderness). Just Remember what Daniel Boone supposedly said when someone ask him if he has ever been lost. "No but I have been a might bit confused for a few days". Have fun

[RedRoxx44]

Learn to read the landscape. Hiking in a canyon out and back is pretty good to start, you can't really get lost, but you get the feel for a no trail experience. Then open desert with a few landmarks that is easy to orient. Check your backtrail often and pick a good landmark near your vehicle to remember. A map and compass is good but if you are not good at map reading then you can get a bit confused as to contour lines etc. Yes, and go with a person who is familiar with the area, and is used to off trail can be a good reassurance. DO NOT SOLELY DEPEND ON A GPS. I cannot stress that enough.

[markthurman53]

@RedRoxx44
Yes definitely do not rely on electronic devices as your safety net.

[big_load]

Learn to read the landscape.

This is the main thing. I think it's especially important to understand your travel relative to very large-scale features, as in "I'm going to spend the next 2 1/2 hours going around the right side of that mountain", or "I'm going to contour to the third major drainage and switchback down from there". Learning to distinguish a major drainage from something too small to show up on the map is a corollary skill. You start thinking about how large in absolute terms a wiggle on the map would be.

[BobP]

The shortest route isnt always the best route. If scrambling make sure you can downclimb anything you've climbed up. Some people pile rocks to help them find their way back. Off trail is fun and will take you places a lot of people dont go. It also can be dangerous. Be safe and always let someone know where you are and about when you are expected back.

[Nobody01]

Good advice in this thread. Not really on topic but worth mentioning... I like to carry a SPOT to let people know where I am. There are a few options out there (Garmin in-reach, SPOT, ResQlink, etc) and it's something I always carry with me when I am exploring more remote and less traveled areas. Perhaps something to consider when you start off with more primitive exploring. Good luck and be safe!

[ SPOT 2 ]
[ Emergency Transmitters / Locators - 2015 ]

[outdoor_lover]

A Topo Map is your best friend. You need to learn how to really read a topo map and with that and your Compass, you don't ever have to rely on a GPS. I didn't even have a GPS until January 2018 when I finally got a smart phone. The GPO puts on a good class, that's a start. No matter what Hike I'm doing, I always take a Topo Map of the area with me, and a Compass. I don't usually "orienteer" my way around, but I've been reading topo maps for years and occasionally I use the Compass to check my directions. The Supes throw me off at times as to where "North" actually is. While I've gotten lazy and rely on the GPS Routes more, there are times when a Route is not available and I have to "plan" what I think my Route should be. Mapdex and Route Editor are some pretty awesome tools for that. My New Year's Day Hike was a perfect example of planning a route ahead of time, based only on a Topo Map and me drawing a line.

With that said, my suggestion would be to take a topo map and your compass and go do a Hike you've already done. Pull your Map and Compass out at the Car and see where you're going to be going and start orienting yourself starting from the car. Look at the Terrain as you go and compare that to your map, so you can get a feel for what's prominent to your eyes and what's prominent on the map. Find yourself on your Hike by looking at the map. You can't get lost, since you're on familiar ground, but now you can start to see things from a topo map perspective. I would do several Hikes that way, it's great practice. I would hit some of GPO's Events too, it's also great practice. Then I would do what others suggest and start going with someone else who has some experience and learn more from them.

[Tough_Boots]

You have to get lost at least a half dozen times, make some really bad mistakes, and put yourself into really uncomfortable situations with possible dire consequences usually involving cliffs or obstacles you can't climb back out of. That's the class.

[wolfman200]

@outdoor_lover
Thanks, that's advice I can get started on right away!

[The_Dude]

@Tough_Boots
Don't forget overestimating your own abilities. Few things teach like taking your pride down a notch or two.

[wolfman200]

@RedRoxx44
Are there any canyon hikes you recommend? A few weeks ago I was aiming to try some off trail hiking in Lower Barks Canyon, which I thought would be on the safer side to try because it leaves from Bluff Springs, near the always crowded Peralta trailhead. Unfortunately the vegetation was dense and the water level was somewhat high and I decided pretty quickly to turn around. Off trail canyon/creek hiking is definitely the type of thing I want to get into - more enticing to me generally than peaks.

[wildwesthikes]

Are there any canyon hikes you recommend?

Some of my favorite canyon hikes have been out of the book "Non-Technical Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau" by Mike Kelsey. Most of them are off-trail or on social trails, except the national parks. Note that they are heavily focused on northern AZ and southern Utah; though I think he did cover West Clear Creek in that one. Most of them are going to require some drive time if you spend most of your time in the Supers. I rarely do off-trail hikes in the Superstitions because of the catclaw and manzanita. But occasionally I find myself walking in drainages for the fun of it. Plus I hate sewing my shirts!

I basically agree with what everyone has already said. There is a sort of "controlled" way of being lost. I have most recently experienced this when I hiked The Gulch near Escalante UT - that route (in that book above) involved finding an unmarked exit route out of a deep canyon, then walking overland next to the canyon for a few miles and then dropping back in at just the right spot -- all to avoid a technical slot section. It's one of the few times I have pulled out a physical compass in recent years and I forgot how much fun it can be to just walk around open desert, making your way by dead reckoning. There was never any risk of being actually lost, because I was next to this big canyon the whole time. The trick was to not overshoot the re-entry point; keeping an eye on your distance, with whatever means you have to track it, is an important skill. If you hike enough you can gauge approximate mph without having to look at a GPS. I'd try for something like that - where the relative risk of being lost for an experienced trail hiker is low.

[Nighthiker]

Obtain a copy of the USGS 7.5 topographical map, Goldfield and practice navigating with map only and map and compass around Garden Valley in the Superstition Wilderness Area.

[rcorfman]

Personally, I rarely ever take a map or compass and rely on my handheld GPSr. If it breaks, I may continue on. I wouldn't be too concerned as I know how to get back where I came from. Navigating out here really isn't too bad as there tends to be lots of landmarks with open views to track one's location.

[RedRoxx44]

Off trail you'll learn to wear clothing you don't mind repairing or eventually throwing away. I don't do anything in the Supes so can't advise you there. Drive around on a dirt road, park and pick out a canyon and go up it. Good to have a map with you so you can learn to read it, at least locate your vehicle and match the landmarks to the contour lines. To me bushwacking goes with off trail most of the time, and tolerating thorny vegetation is just de rigueur for the desert. As does boulder hopping, scrambling. You will likely not have much strolling as you can have on a trail. Unless you find a very good animal or cattle trail. Those things are great in a very bushy situation but not always available. Plus animals are too short.

[CannondaleKid]

Off trail you'll learn to wear clothing you don't mind repairing or eventually throwing away.

Agreed, appropriate clothing and footwear will do much to make the experience more enjoyable. In words from the corporate world, "Dress for success!"
That said, ever since I ditched the thin shirts/pants for thicker with a true 'rip-stop' that's pretty much no longer an issue... they shrink or simple wear out rather than 'tear out'.

To me bushwacking goes with off trail most of the time, and tolerating thorny vegetation is just de rigueur for the desert. As does boulder hopping, scrambling. You will likely not have much strolling as you can have on a trail. Unless you find a very good animal or cattle trail. Those things are great in a very bushy situation but not always available. Plus animals are too short.

Agreed again... I use animal trails as much as possible. When I can't bend as low or don't want to crawl, time to scan the terrain for other options.
(Or in drastic cases, use a small trimmer to get out of the maze... going with the flow may be easy, going against the flow can be pretty rough)

[gmaclachlan]

NEVER go out without letting someone know where you are going and when you will be back. Do not deviate too far from the planned route/ area. Watch the heat around here, it can get to you pretty quickly if you aren't acclimatized to it. Most of these members (not including me) can really take the heat and following their tracks when it warms up can be devastating. Have more water than you need.

[outdoor_lover]

Part of Route Finding is also about finding the safest, easiest and most effective way to get to your destination. When you know you're going to be bushwacking, you try to find routes that aren't as thick. Some of the Route Finding happens as you go, when you see the Terrain in front of you. When you are doing a Peak, a drainage on a map may be a great way to ascend, but many times those drainages are choked with vegetation, so you may have to plan for that and find a Route adjacent or around that. It's a skill that tends to get better just by doing it.

[CannondaleKid]

It's a skill that tends to get better just by doing it.

For sure... and the more you do the quicker you learn.