Essential Wilderness Navigation: A Real-World Guide to Finding Your Way Safely in the Woods With or Without A Map, Compass or GPS

Well written and sequenced, the book is a logical, thorough nav manual. It is illustrated with great graphics and references. Highly recommend this for anyone who wants to expand their nav skills.

I had the opportunity back in the spring of this year to meet both of the authors of this book. I found their teaching methods to be very concise and easy to understand and I wondered if this would translate to their written materials. So, after several months, I decided to add this book to my collection of land navigation materials.First, to cover the book itself, it is very well printed with good quality paper that seems durable though I have had this book for less than a week so time will tell. The full-color photographs are a nice touch and necessary for adequately explaining some of their concepts. In the entire book, I found one small typo which is far better than the standard in these texts. Everything about the construction of the book seems a step above making this an attractive book if nothing else. It even has a full-sized fold-out map in the back which is a rare addition in modern printing.As for content, generally, Land Navigation books take either the bare bones route or go deep into the subject with information that most people will never even want to use. This book provides a good blend with the first third of the book devoted to the nuts and bolts of navigation and the remainder providing tips, tricks, and elaborations on the subject. This even includes some information specific to scouts, military, and first responders that is a first as far as I know.There are bare-bones books such as Wilderness Navigation by Bob Burns which are purely devoted to just the map and compass skills. On the converse side, there are books like Be Expert with Map and Compass (Kjellstrom) which devote serious sections of the book to information that is very specific to the sport of orienteering. This book is a blend between the two. It provides 90% of the practical information from both the aforementioned books and uses the additional space to give real-world skills, practices, and tips that are both interesting and handy.The only book more interesting in the land navigation world is likely Gooley’s Natural Navigator but that book should be a supplement to the skills taught in more traditional land navigation texts instead of supplanting them.I have dabbled in land navigation for over 20 years and taught it to some greater or lesser extent for about 10 years. I am no expert but I work professionally with maps on a daily basis. I have a collection of a dozen or more books on land navigation. That said, this is in my top three for a beginner or intermediate skill level. I think you need to get a breadth of reading materials to get a solid understanding and you could do a whole lot worse than starting with this text. There were even a couple of tricks that were new to me and I will be trying in the near future.

This book is awesome! I am not a reader because I tend to find it boring. This book did not bore me at all! It has plenty of images and different talking points(side bars) which are very essential to learning about navigation and the potential environment. The pages are durable and the book has colorful images. Each chapter contains problem questions, often referring to the enclosed map that comes with the book, making it effective for interactive learning. It provides so much wilderness knowledge for both beginner and intermediate navigators/hikers etc. And is easy to understand. Definitely look forward to more reading from these authors.

This book is a very good resource for learning navigation (not just in the wilderness). I really like the clear explanations, relevant examples, applicable stories, quiz questions, exercises and the included topo map. With some good advice, it is probably the best book available on the subject.However, it does have some problems. First, errors. On page 200, it reads, "the Pythagorean theorem ... states that the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides." This is incorrect. The hypotenuse is equal to the *square root* of the sum of the squares of the other two sides. In such a text, an error like this can be dangerous.Second, word choices are are sometimes odd. For example, why use "comfortableness" instead of just "comfort"? And "topography map", instead of the more common "topographical map"? Weird.And, third, I disagree with some of the advice: While the advice to sit and stay put as soon as you realize you are lost is excellent. I think they should be much more careful about when to attempt self-rescue, and how to do it. And, one piece of advice I really don't like: On page 259, the last of The Ten Commandments of Wilderness Navigation: "Anytime you have a "gut feeling" about your position, direction, or distance, use your knowledge and skill to confirm or negate it." While this is generally good advice, it comes across as "Don't trust your instincts." However, such feelings can often be more accurate or wise than the conventional wisdom. Certainly, trust your instruments and maps, but don't distrust your intuition. Pay attention to it, confirm it, but don't discard simply because it isn't tangible.Otherwise, this is a very good, useful book that is a fairly quick and easy read, and I recommend it.

I taught land navigation for years for our SWAT team and have bought and read a lot of books as part of expanding my knowledge. Let me just say by far and away hands down this is the very best land navigation book there is. I don’t care if your a beginner or an expert there is something you will learn from this book. Land navigation is a critical skill you need in the outdoors. Batteries die. This book and practice will have you exploring in areas you never thought you would. Every skill is broken down and the end of each chapter has things for you to review. I’ve been teaching land navigation for over 25 years and If I was still teaching this would be the book I would tell my staff to pick up to learn and expand their knowledge.

The last time I was learning map and compass skills, the most recommended book was Be Expert With Map and Compass. I am so glad to find this alternative as I re-learn these skills the second time around.Essential Wilderness Navigation is not only full of excellent content, it is immensely readable and engaging in a way my old book was not. This is like having a kind and knowledgable person personally coaching you through. Well-written and packed with information it is my new go-to for all things navigation. Highly recommended!

Si quieres aprender como orientarte con una lata, con los árboles, con el sol, con las estrellas, etc. este libro te puede interesar. Si realmente quieres aprender a orientarte y navegar con mapa y brújula, este libro NO es para ti. Te recomiendo que mejor compres “Wilderness Navigation” de Bob Burns y Mike Burns (serie Mountaineers).

I have other books on the same subject, but this is the one I would recommend. It is manageable, practical and well edited.

Highly recommend this if you wish to learn about all things navigation.... the authors have considered the reader and the end of chapter test is brilliant