Compass?

[Lyle]

I always carry map and compass, no matter where I hike. In section hiking from Springer to Manchester Center, VT on the AT, I have used the compass 3 times. Was it absolutely necessary? No. Was it handy to have? Yes.

[rafe]

Point is, a compass weighs next-to-nothing, and carrying one just seems to make sense. Odds are you will never really need it, but if you do, it could be a life saver. IMO, it's for peace of mind. Just like some other stuff I carry -- band-aids, Moleskin, gauze, needle and thread, extra bits of duct tape, Iodine pills, etc.

[Casey & Gina]

We each have one of these clipped on to our sternum straps:

http://www.suunto.com/en-US/Products...LB-NH-Compass/

Weighs virtually nothing, won't fall off, and it's there just in case. Probably something cheaper would work just as well. In trips along the AT after stopping for some time, we have wandered back to the trail only to be in disagreement as to which way we were going. The compass fixes that. The last thing I want us to do is be hiking separate directions thinking the other of us is just a little behind or ahead.

[swisscross]

We each have one of these clipped on to our sternum straps:

http://www.suunto.com/en-US/Products...LB-NH-Compass/

Weighs virtually nothing, won't fall off, and it's there just in case. Probably something cheaper would work just as well. In trips along the AT after stopping for some time, we have wandered back to the trail only to be in disagreement as to which way we were going. The compass fixes that. The last thing I want us to do is be hiking separate directions thinking the other of us is just a little behind or ahead.

I have one of these on my pack strap and use it quite often.

[Harrison Bergeron]

If you never get lost, you'll never need it on the AT. But read the thread on "inchworm" for an example of what can happen if you get lost. I understand she was found a few hundred yards from the trail, but I have no idea if she was carrying a compass or knew how to use it.

I can tell you this -- on much of the trail you could stand 20 feet away in the bush and not know the trail was there if there's not a blaze in sight.

I was hiking a trail in Texas once and suddenly realized I hadn't seen a blaze in a while when the trail seemed to disappear. I'd apparently missed a turn and had been following a deer trail for at least 15 minutes since I'd seen a blaze (half a mile!). When I turned around and headed back the way I came, after a few minutes the trail petered out in that direction, too. I dug out my compass and discovered I wasn't even going the right general direction, but if I continued bushwhacking south, I should intercept the real trail eventually. Man, that's a bad feeling -- you're a day's walk from anywhere and you look around and the forest in every direction looks exactly the same. In Texas, there aren't even any hills to find on a map. But there was nothing else to do, so I picked out a tree and hiked to it and kept doing that until I crossed the trail. I didn't even see it until I actually stepped onto it. I followed it back to see how I'd gotten off the trail and discovered that the blaze indicating the turn was buried under a blow down.

Believe me, it can happen easier than you'd imagine, although its less likely on the AT because there are so many other people on the trail. But I would never go into the woods without a compass of some sort.

[rafe]

I have one of these on my pack strap and use it quite often.

I do the same. But I'm thinking, I often drop my pack and head into the woods a ways to honor nature's call. Those are some of the occasions where it's possible to get lost -- and I wouldn't have my compass to help. So maybe the smart thing is to have it on your person. Just a thought...

[TexasBob]

Silva Starter is one I like that weighs 0.7 ounces. I keep it in my hip belt pouch, always handy but not often used.

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[Feral Bill]

Always carry one, seldom use it. See post #25 for why it's in my gear.

[MuddyWaters]

I always have two. One on watchstrap, other in pack for real use should it be necessary.

It seldom is necessary, and a few times I wanted to know location, I couldnt shoot a bearing , cant see defined landmarks over lower ridges, etc.

The one on the watchstrap is useful at a glance to confirm where you are on a map by direction of the trail you are on and intersecting trail directions. Not so much on AT as out west where there is no blazing and sometimes no signage either.

[Traveler]

Compass and map should precede water and a means to start a fire as basic equipment in backpacking and hiking long distances. Its fundamental equipment that requires no power, only the knowledge in how to use them together, which is not hard to learn. Is it necessary to have on the AT? As some have pointed out the trail is pretty well established in open areas, except when it isn't due to a snowfall, darkness, or heavy fog/rain that limits visibility.

Trail craft includes several fundamental things, the compass and map are at the top of that list.

[Slo-go'en]

[QUOTE=Traveler;2041349 As some have pointed out the trail is pretty well established in open areas, except when it isn't due to a snowfall, darkness, or heavy fog/rain that limits visibility. [/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, a compass isn't of any help in finding exactly where the trail re-enters the woods or where the small twists and turns in the trail are which don't show up on a map.

It's more important to learn how to read the little "signs" which keep you on the trail, but that takes experience. A common error is missing a sudden and unexpected turn in the trail and when that happens, you need to be able to realize something no longer "feels" or "looks" right and turn back before going too far.

[Puddlefish]

Unfortunately, a compass isn't of any help in finding exactly where the trail re-enters the woods or where the small twists and turns in the trail are which don't show up on a map.

It's more important to learn how to read the little "signs" which keep you on the trail, but that takes experience. A common error is missing a sudden and unexpected turn in the trail and when that happens, you need to be able to realize something no longer "feels" or "looks" right and turn back before going too far.

I'm often doing this, even on familiar trails. I tend to clear the trail of any fallen sticks and branches, so that no one turns an ankle or rolls over it. If I find that suddenly I'm clearing too many in a row, chances are I've left the trail. Noticing that the trail got all squishy suddenly can also be a good indicator that I missed a turn.

There are a few local trails where I'm one of maybe three people who might use them in a year, and certain portions of that trail such as a long rocky stretch can fade quickly. Two or three trails come together at or around certain points. Some trails have passed from one trail organization to another, and there can still be antique outdated blazes left on re-routed sections. These are usually the places I'll pull out the map and compass, not so much to get back on the trail, but to choose the right trail.

Obviously the AT will be better marked and traveled, but I still may want to wander down some side trails.

[Another Kevin]

I bring compass and map. Always. The compass I'm using at the moment is a K&R Alpin. The Brunton I had been using got a bubble in it, and that's not the first time that's happened to me with ones from Brunton and Silva. The quality went downhill when they both decided to switch their manufacturing to Malaysia.

I also carry a little notebook, and often even when my hike doesn't involve bushwhacking, I make notes about the compass bearing back to the trail, or the compass bearing to the tree where I've hung my food. For cathole trips I just leave the back azimuth set in the bezel.

About a third of my hikes involve at least some bushwhacking, and a good many others are on trails that don't see a lot of maintenance. Some of the wilderness trails around here, you might see a blaze only every quarter mile or so. They're maybe more "routes" than "trails." Map and compass are part of the basic skill set for those.

I think that I might find many stretches of the A-T a bit, uhm, almost urban for my taste. The very idea that you could navigate a trail by the blazing alone is foreign to me.