A question from another post deserves it's own thread.

How do you do it? GPS? Map and compass? Map and reading terrain? Memory?

We've never brought a GPS, always bring a compass, but have never used it. For us the compass is there for emergencies. I use the map and read the terrain. The map is always out and in front of me on the floor or strapped to the pack in front of me. I'll look at it frequently as we make our way across a complicated (lots of points, bays and islands) lake.

Same for me

Primarily maps. It is usually open in front of me unless it is obvious where the next portage or campsite is.

I also download the portages and campsites from another website to GAIA GPS on my phone. Twice it has helped me in areas where I got turned around. Both were in bays of bigger lakes, and everything started to look the same.

Pretty much just map reading for me. You can get lost in the BWCA, but unless you portage or go hiking, you shouldn't get irreparably lost.

Compass is always in the life jacket, pretty much only comes out in worse-than-normal conditions like a white out snowstorm or a starless night.

I did use laminated air photos on this last trip for the PMA (since the maps are almost worthless there) and loved it. There was no more guessing at what a marsh looked like or whether or not there should be open water. It was way easier to use to navigate than any map ever could be. It was an interesting thought for me going forward.

I'm usually just watching the map in front of me and trying to keep track of where I am and the direction I'm heading. I have a compass too but rarely take it out except for practice. The only time I was "lost" was one night trying to find my way back from the latrine through a maze of trails around the campsite. It didn't last long - just long enough to become almost "terrifying". ;)

Traditional paper maps: always. I usually have several extras plus the current and next map in a case (or zip lock baggy) in front of me. I've had a few familiar trips, like Moose to Knife, where I started off thinking "I don't need a map!", but the thing is I love maps so stinking much I can not resist looking at it. 99.9+% of the time the map is all I need.

Compass: always have one, or usually two. I have in some 30 trips probably looked at my compass 6-7 times? I've probably needed it 3-4 times, but would not go without one. Once I left the island site on Kek in a dense fog with 10 yard visibility and needed a compass to keep on track to the southern portage.

GPS: I started carrying a Garmin InReach Mini 3 years ago that is paired with my phone which has Earthmate. I can at any time look up via satellite where I am, but have only done this twice that I can recall. Once I could not find a portage on the Perent River and took an alternate, then checked to make sure I was on the right lake. Later that trip on the Kawishiwi River found I had about a 3/4 mile gap due to two different map companies so checked where I was once.

In general, as easy as it is, I find using GPS unsporting and something of a failure of outdoor skills for me. I won't judge others though.

I remember being 4 or 5 years old in the back seat of my grandpa's Ford sedan (standing, no seat belts) fascinated as the globe compass mounted on his dash slowly corrected as we navigated rural Iowa gravel roads. Grandpa rarely got more than 10 miles from home and probably left the county less times than he had fingers... (If you were born before 1975 and had an Iowan grandpa you know that they all had a few less fingers than most of us are born with). My point is, Grandpa always knew exactly where he was and where he was going so the need for a compass???

I use paper maps. I carry a compass next to the maps but just like grandpa's it is more for show,

I do take two compasses and two sets of maps but always navigate with the GPS during the day. I study the paper maps in camp and lay out a route in the GPS. No need to spend my time staring down at the maps and then keeping track of the islands and bays. Just follow the Yellow Brick Road or what ever color you chose for the days route color. For bushhacking I download the BIrds Eye maps on my 66I gps. This method really pays off on smaller streams where you need to take a right turn into a smaller creek. In these situations a moose path may look better than the little creek and with the GPS I know I am on track.

Map & compass, bow & stern.

TZ

Papermap and compass for navigation, garmin inreach for tracking and family at home to follow along, downloaded phone map for location if necessary.

Map and compass or map and landmark. Don't carry a gps.

Speckled: "A question from another post deserves it's own thread.

How do you do it? GPS? Map and compass? Map and reading terrain? Memory?

We've never brought a GPS, always bring a compass, but have never used it. For us the compass is there for emergencies. I use the map and read the terrain. The map is always out and in front of me on the floor or strapped to the pack in front of me. I'll look at it frequently as we make our way across a complicated (lots of points, bays and islands) lake."

I agree.... Just a map.... unless you are brushcrashing

i'm a map and compass guy . i lock in a bearing and watch the needle move off course and i fix it. i count bays and camp sites.

Gaia and Garmin Earthmate Apps on the phone which is in pocket of PFD on a tether. Traditional map(s) and compass for back up.

I review the day’s route on map before leaving camp but I use Gaia or Earthmate app for quick position/progress checks while paddling. Maps usually only come out in camp.

If my bow paddler doesn’t have a phone or prefers traditional maps, I make sure they have a map to help navigate, follow our progress, etc. If I am tripping one of my teenage sons I make them use the map over the phone as map reading and terrain recognition is a good skill to learn.

No one crosses Cache Bay twice without a compass and a map unless they want to get some practice paddling. “Stuff” happens to electronics.

My first time passing through Insula was a guide trip I did in 1981.
Middle of the night (we had been wind bound on Alice).
No compass & just a 100 series map.
No problem.

When I was younger - my sense of direction was way better than it is now. I could bushwhack 2+ miles to a section of brookie stream and come out within 100 yards or so from my intended access point.

At the time we were just using the big red Delorme book. and reading the terrain lines.

Today - that's gone. I don't know when or why, but I get turned around bushwhacking and have to have a compass. This came after a couple times in the last 5 or so years of getting slightly lost. One time in particular, grouse hunting, every fiber in my body told me I needed to go a certian direction to get back to the road and ATV and after walking in that direction for a while and not finding the road. I had stop - re-assess, remember the time of day, remember what direction I went in from the road and put the sun on my right shoulder and keep it there as I walked out. It worked, I hit the road I was looking for, but was a mile or so down from my ATV. After that a compass always comes with and I just check before marching off.

I’m another one that only uses paper maps. Always in front of me and I watch the terrain. I check it so much that sometimes my wife says stop pretending to look at the map and help paddle. LOL.

I have a compass in the map case, but don’t remember ever using it. I avoid big lakes so that plays a part in not needing the compass.

I may start downloading maps ahead of the trip so I can use the offline map to find where I am in case I ever do get lost.

I've been using a map and compass exclusively since I started tripping in the early 80s. It's what I learned and what I am comfortable with.

I have a larger size SeaLine map case. It is two-sided. I have my map sheets folded to the area in which we are paddling. One side I usually put a Voyageur map, the other a Fisher or McKenzie. Maps vary on occasion and I like to be able to see possible map discrepancies in real time.

My compass is located on the top of the thwart in front of me, secured with Velcro. I have the cover closed while portaging, and open when I am paddling. Since the cover of the compass has a mirror on the inside, I try to keep the mirror at an angle so that it will not flash in the sun and inadvertently signal to aircraft that I might be in trouble.

The map is secured with a BDB to the thwart or the pack in front of me. My map is ALWAYS oriented to the direction I'm traveling. I constantly use terrain association, known campsite locations, and other physical features to follow along on the map and know where I am at all times.

Mike

Navigate nearly entirely by memory. I carry a Chrismar Park (Quetico) map but it generally never leaves the pack unless I venture outside of Hunter Island. I love the strange interaction between landscape and memory and the freedom of paddling without ever having to look at something besides the land and water.

Banksiana: "Navigate nearly entirely by memory. I carry a Chrismar Park (Quetico) map but it generally never leaves the pack unless I venture outside of Hunter Island. I love the strange interaction between landscape and memory and the freedom of paddling without ever having to look at something besides the land and water."

If I went to the same spot every year then I would do this as well. I like to travel to a new location every time and explore new areas so I always have my map accessible and check it often.

I do not bring or check a compass though. I have my phone GPS if it ever gets that bad, but we keep track of the sun and I am usually good at telling which way is north.

A1t2o: "
If I went to the same spot every year then I would do this as well. I like to travel to a new location every time and explore new areas so I always have my map accessible and check it often.


I do not bring or check a compass though. I have my phone GPS if it ever gets that bad, but we keep track of the sun and I am usually good at telling which way is north."

I don't go to "the same spot", though most often it is the same park and generally through Prairie Portage, but I choose different entry points and different routes. My first Q trip was in 76 and since the late 80's have tripped with some frequency/year so I've been through most of the park, my "geographic memory" just seems to work; by a second trip its sort of written to the hard drive.

Banks - that's amazing and kind of crazy to me. You just look at a map before you go and remember where to go? Man alive - my memory is nowhere near that. There are days I feel like i'm lucky to find my way home from work the way my memory is.

My love for maps began at a young age, my grandparents would collect all of the National Geographic maps they saved for decades and send them to me.
My first experience in the Boundary Waters was a school trip after eighth grade and I was appointed official navigator for the group because I was really good at it using the maps that were around in 1980.

I went to school and earned my degree in Geography, and have been in the GIS business world since '90.
You would think I'd be up to date with the most recent GPS offerings, but besides my boat GPS, I don't really use one. My only handheld GPS is the old Garmin 45XL.
It's been mothballed for many many years, and the only points on it were stuff like sunken islands, boat accesses and canoe sized bogs that we would need to locate in the darkness while duck hunting large wild rice lakes. Not a true map GPS, just points and routes on display.

So needless to say, I'm a map guy, and a memory guy, but I have a compass along for those foggy mornings.
I'm always playing around on Google Earth, whether it's for work or play.
One of the products I work on is a national coastline for the insurance industry.
I've digitized all the coastal states, so I'm pretty familiar with what's out there.
Woke up from a nap on a flight to Aruba once and looked out the window and recognized that we were above Jacksonville, FL. And I'm pretty good picking out cities when flying at night. It comes from many years of looking at national road bases day after day.

With access to plotters, I've always printed out trip specific maps for my BW trips. These days it's satellite imagery with campsites and portages overlaid on them. I like all the map offerings these days, but I prefer the more natural view of the imagery. And I study that imagery both before I go and when I return. Zoom in on certain areas that I've been or would like to see. It truly is amazing that you can spy certain logs or rocks that you have fished from imagery.

I do bring my phone, but have never had to check it's GPS yet.
It's nice knowing it is an option should the need ever arise.

I don't even really use the truck GPS, before we go somewhere new in the Twin Cities, I'll bring up some mapping software and check out how to get there before we go. Drives my wife nuts that I can just look at a map for a few minutes and I'm good to go. She also hates it when I play the "Which direction are we headed?" game in the truck while covering up the digital compass on the rearview mirror. She never guesses right. lol

So it's part of me, even my fishing boat is an Alumacraft Navigator.
:)

I get it though, even to the most veteran canoe country traveler, it can all look the same up there. Not surprised in the least that newer folks can lose their way even with a map in hand.

Most of my backcountry time the past twenty years has been backpacking in the mountains of southwest Colorado or the high desert of Utah. In that environment, I am rock solid using a topo map and the terrain for navigation. There was always a compass somewhere in the bottom of the pack, but I never had to use it.

As a canoeing newbie, I still navigate using the topo and terrain, but I like having the Garmin and off-line maps on my phone to check myself.

I have never been lost, but have definitely made a few minor wrong turns while distracted by the beautiful scenery around me. Although I seem to be good at realizing something is not right before getting too far off track...

Primarily map only. Never bring GPS. Bring compass but rarely use it. Only time I would use compass is after finishing portage. I will get reading where next portage is and start paddling in that direction. If there is any question as to where I am at I will fire up cell phone in airplane mode. I will open up Earthmate app (for my Inreach) or Google Maps. Either of these two apps will pinpoint where I am at.

I bring map, compass, and GPS.

Map - Primarily used to navigate. It sits in front of me while I paddle in a laminated case, which is tied into the boat. The map is orientated to the landscape of the lake.

Compass - On my PDF. Mostly just use it for foggy mornings when I am crossing a large lake. I'll set the heading when I leave camp and paddle right into the fog, sometimes not seeing any shoreline. I also use it when I need to go in the general direction when I am bushwhacking.

GPS - Don't like to rely on it as it runs off batteries. But every blue moon or so I'll pull it out to confirm a location, mostly when I am bushwhacking.

Map and Compass. Garmin Earthmate app to occasionally confirm my location.

A little more than 50 years ago Uncle Sam graciously taught me navigation skills with a map and compass. Still navigate that way today. Don't trust a gps to always work.

Carry maps and read the terrain,,,it's no fund if you don't get "turned around" once in awhile. Was tripping when my kids were younger, and got semi-lost for an hour or two, (we knew what lake we were on but couldn't get oriented)...that was part of the fun. What's there to worry about if you get lost? You're carrying food, water filter, shelter, fire making tools, clothing, etc....enjoy the adventure!

johndku: "it's no fund if you don't get "turned around" once in awhile. Was tripping when my kids were younger, and got semi-lost for an hour or two, (we knew what lake we were on but couldn't get oriented)...that was part of the fun. What's there to worry about if you get lost? You're carrying food, water filter, shelter, fire making tools, clothing, etc....enjoy the adventure!"

Agreed!

Always have McKenzie and Fisher maps for each trip
I like to have two different maps just because they compliment each other. Always have a compass in the jump bag but I've never used it. However this year for the first time I used Gaia GPS. I was really impressed. It was nice on insula or there were a ton of Islands and we were paddling around. It was really slick device. That said, I know it is an electronic device. However you can lose compasses too. I think having the compasses in my backup is nice, but from now on I'm sold on the Gaia GPS app.

Map and compass in my map case attached to portage pack (typically fisher with a Sunto compass).

Folded Nat Geo map in my PFD.

I’ve gotten plenty lost out west in the mountains before and learning how to triangulate was super important. Though in the Midwest that can be challenging.

I just use the tried-and-true method of looking at which side of the trees the moss is growing on. It only grows on the East side, enabling flawless navigation! Or is it West? Does not matter - it's foolproof.

Waterproof map on the bottom of the canoe (re-fold after portages as necessary). With compass as emergency backup.

As others have said the key is to always know where you are on the map, marking the next point, campsite, bay, etc as you go.

I navigate with a GPS. Map and compass stay in my pack on the bottom because I never look at them anymore. Nothing better than a moving map on a GPS. It hangs on my PFD with a carabiner so it’s handy. Over the years I have had 3 people on 3 trips say we are going the wrong way because they think they know better reading maps. Yes, I fully understand how to read maps and work a compass. A GPS is so much faster to read. I hardly miss a paddle stroke when looking at it.

Primarily map and read terrain. I have never taken a GPS because it just doesn't work well for my brain. I bring a compass but only use it for occasional verification or if I need to cross a big lake in dense fog.