Orienting the map

With a compass it is especially easy. Lay the long edge of the compass along a north–south line on the map, with the direction arrow pointing to the top of the map. Now turn map and compass together – not just the compass! – until the red end of the needle also points to the top of the map. Done: the map is oriented.

Without a compass you need a feature you are completely sure of, both on the map and in the landscape: a distinctive summit, a lake, a church tower, a long straight road. Turn the map so that the direction from your position to that feature on the map matches the direction outside. Even simpler: stand on a straight path and turn the map until the path on the map runs the same way as the path under your feet.

For orienting the map this accuracy is almost always enough. Declination – the small difference between map north and compass north – usually does not matter here. For precise bearings over long distances, that is different.

Keep the map oriented while you walk. When you go round a bend, you turn – but the map turns in your hands as if it stayed lying on a table. Many people unconsciously turn the map back to 'north up' because the writing is readable that way. That is exactly how wrong turns happen.

A misidentified feature leads to a wrongly oriented map. If you mistake one hill for another, everything seems to fit afterwards – just twisted. So the rule is: always check at least one other feature. Does the stream, the forest edge or the direction of the slope also match? If not, either your position or the orientation is wrong.

Keep the map as flat as possible and the compass away from metal, such as a car roof, a railing or a phone in your chest pocket.

A quick orientation is worth it at every junction. It takes less than a minute and prevents most mistakes where you know the right path but take it in the wrong direction. In orienteering, where speed matters, the map is always kept oriented.

An oriented map also helps you work out where you are: things you see are much easier to find on the map when they lie in the same direction. It works just the same in a town – with a street map and a striking building.

For children and beginners, orienting the map is often the best way into navigation because it creates an instant 'aha': suddenly map and world fit together.

Orienting the map is a tool for the big picture: which junction? Where is the lake? Which side of the valley am I on? For these questions it is fast and reliable.

For a precise direction over a longer distance – for example across trackless forest or in fog – it is not enough. Then you take a bearing with the compass, correcting for declination where needed, and check distance and terrain features along the way.

Without a compass and without unambiguous features (for example in thick fog on a plateau) you cannot orient the map reliably. Then it is better to stop and wait, or go back on a known path, than to guess.

Take a street map or a map of your neighbourhood outside. Stand at a junction, orient the map with the compass and say aloud which street leads where. Then orient it again without a compass, using only a building or a street – and compare.

Practise as a family: at each junction a child gets to orient the map and announce the way. It is fun and trains the eye to see that map and landscape belong together.