What is the number one thing that you Could recommend to people maybe new to The outdoors or not as confident in the Outdoors what can we do to help them be Gain the confidence to step off the Trail because 99 of the world stays on The road they stay on the path and They're terrified to step off of it for Fear of being lost Basically that a lot of the things that Have been towed to us like the sunrises In the East and sits in the west you all Heard this right that's not true that's Absolutely not true The sun doesn't do crap you all except Sit there and be a boss Y'all know this right the sun doesn't Rise and the sun does not set the sun Sits there and we rotate around it and Because of our perspective of it it Appears as if it rises in the East and Sits in the west but there's some things Happening to us the Earth that are very Important to understand and that is We're rotating and we're on an axis and We kind of wobble so if you understand That from the perspective of primitive We the simplest thing that I want to Myth of us before we get out of here is The shadow stick method is garbage okay It's it's usually most of the Year 22 Degrees off depending upon the wobble of The earth and the axis and where it is The only time that's only accurate two
Days out of the Year okay but it is Accurate every single day at midday Because the sun rises and at midday it's In the southern sky for us in the Northern Hemisphere and so when it casts A shadow on a stick it's going to be a North-south line so you can get that a North-south line every day at midday Now that doesn't mean that this East-West line that we get from a shadow Stick method that we've been taught for Years and in our in all the books all The books except mine so uh is not Useful for a very general sense of Direction it does give you a general Citizen Direction but a general sense of Direction is okay if we can associate to The train there's two different pace Counts there's there's a pace count and A time count ask any Backpacker that Spends great amount of time backpacking Then they're going to understand time Count you ask any Backpacker in the World how far can you hike in eight Hours they're going to be able to tell You how far they can hike in eight hours Okay that's a time count so they know Dependent upon act obviously dependent Upon terrain they're going to evolve x Amount of miles in eight hours okay Pace Count is where we get a known distance And in that known distance we take a Number of steps and your step and my Step and your pace and my Paces are
Going to be different okay if you're Interested I'd really like to do this With you all that sounds good yeah okay So we'll go out here and do this in the Field in just a second but basically What this does for us is that we Determine our Pace count And that pace count I'm going to set you Up for 100 meters and I'll explain why I Like to use meters in the modern form of What we're discussing today in just a Minute but That way you understand for example as I Get older and as you get older your pace Count is going to increase okay I've Done Judo for 30 years I've got a really Bad hip bad right knee bad back my steps Are getting shorter and shorter and Older I get right yeah I mean so I'm I'm Having difficulty uh my Pace count 10 Years ago was different than what it is Now my Pace count with a Ruck on is Different than what it is with a Ruck Off my pace is different when I'm Carrying a rifle versus when I'm not Carrying a rifle and so these are all Important things as it relates to Developing your pace count does that Sound good then you want to go do that Yes sir all right I like to do stuff you All I don't care to another spot Nick is Going to start walking okay I'm gonna go Down there 100 meters is where I'm going To go here's what I want you to do that
Tree is our starting point so you can Back up you don't want to get to the Tree And then take a step because that's not Your natural walking pace you want to be Walking as you pass the tree you want to Be walking as you pass the tree And that way you're at your regular Pace As you get started okay so do that and As we walk I want you to count every Time your left foot hits the ground 67 69. That is your number it would be my Advice that you write that down remember It and then regularly practice that and As you move through age continue to Check that yeah Um so so I've done this before where I've done Pace count uphill downhill Laterally flat ground like all the stuff Um And and for me it was like this Overwhelming thing to try to keep track Of all these numbers so what I did is I Did an experiment and I I averaged I Counted my Pace count I counted my Paces Across a long distance on varying Terrain and I took an average Um is that a thousand we do a thousand Meters okay classes and then you take an Average you figure out what the average Is that a typical glass is that like a Is that a a good oh yeah method of doing
That absolutely okay absolutely rather Than having to remember what's my uphill Pace count what's my downhill Pace count You know what I mean it's really good Okay this is a very general sense Listen to my words General this is not An absolute hey I walk 72 paces and I Walked 100 meters it's not going to be That obvious but what we're hoping to do Is if we're trying to find something Then when we go to find that thing Whatever it is then by doing that We get in the general area and then we Can see it For most of our uses we're not trying to Set up An airstrike Are we no we're just trying to find a Creek If I look on my map and I measure on my Map which we're going to do in a minute And go okay we're 500 meters in and we Should find a water source Let me know Jackson am I getting ready To hit it again [Laughter] The end then I know my Pace count and I Know I walk that number of paces and by Doing that I should show up at the creek Surely you can see it here it's Just going good safe Daniel Boone Simon Kenton Lewis Wetzel Jacob great house Filson
These guys had an incredible sense of Paying attention To where they are they are located as Well as their Pace count And that was both a time and a literal a Time count and a pace count it booms out Walking up and down the hills of Kentucky for two days he knows he's Probably walked x amount of miles He might not think of it that way but he Might he he knows in a good sense Two miles in 200 Yards in whatever his thoughts were There's a break in Um Otter Creek I turn right at that break okay does That make sense So Um a couple of little things to keep in Mind The sun is an important thing think About where we're located in one of the Northern hemisphere so if you realize That we're the we are in the Northern Hemisphere and the sun resides in the Southern sky for us 365 days a year It arcs in the southern Sky it appears As if it arcs It appears that way Then think about when you get out of Your truck this is the way I used to Grab something grouse hunting is if you Don't know what a grass is it's a little
Bird that exists in small uh Early successional forests there in Kentucky so I used to hunt a lot of Grouse and honey Grouse means carrying a Gun a lot in forested Timber up and down Hills and trying to find where they are Okay here's what I would do Get out of the truck where's the sun It's on my left shoulder Walk Keep it on my left shoulder Walk I'll start walking back towards the Truck That's one little thing really useful Little tool for you you just need to Understand where you are as it relates To the Northern or Southern Hemisphere It's very very simple no matter where The sun is just keep it on one of your Shoulders if you can do that and Recognize if that changes you've made a Change Okay so think about it if I call if I Constantly walk on a on a trajectory Whether I'm over there or here and I'm Keeping that sun on my left shoulder the Whole day through Which direction am I walking Generally You're walking East I'm I'm walking east Or west Okay depending upon where I am in the World right depending upon it it's on my Left shoulder or my right shoulder so
Whichever line that that is on Then I just turn around and walk the Other direction back towards where I Came from there are shade tolerant and Shade intolerant species of trees no Matter where you exist in the world so Understanding your trees is very Important if we go out in the field and Look you'll see that there's certain Trees that need a lot of sunlight guess Which way they're going to be facing Amen good job I love it you all are Already thinking really lay your cup is Down and forget it for a second and it Is compass not compass in 1927 the Federal government said you know we we Need to make some really good maps so They did and they called those Maps the North American datum set of 1927 NAD 27. So in 1983 they said you know what we've Got more accurate Geospatial use of accuracy for Navigation let's do it again and make Them more accurate so they did and they Called that W I'm sorry NAD 83. So a lot of people around the world said You know that looks really cool Can you do that for the whole world yes We can and we'll call that look at your Map now wgs 84 the world geodetic system Of 1984. Now Is this Craig talking big words so he Can impress people no this is why this
Is really important to you all on loss Proofing okay we're not I'm not teaching You all Land Navigation right now I'm Teaching you loss proofing If you have a GPS whether it's an app or A standalone GPS system or you have this Map It is going to be on a datum set Okay this one happens to be on wgs 84. If me and Todd are going elk hunting Together and his Map is wgs 84 and then I'm using an app And I'm using nad27 we can easily be off 80 90 meters wow Okay Yes just from the accuracy now that Changes depending because why did it Change you are smart tell me why it Changed from 1927 to 1983. technology is More accurate what else the planet The planet shifted tectonic plates all Kinds of stuff have happened okay so Maps change Through Time So that's really important if you're Using a source of information like a map Or a an app you need to have especially If Jason and I are working together we Need to be on the same datum set that's Very critical you can take a screenshot Pull up your compass app take a Screenshot of your app and then send That to search and rescue and give them Your exact coordinates which is really Beneficial
We've got to adjust our Compass to Reflect the actual magnetism that is Pulled on it by the Earth so again Here's how I like to remember it there's My map that's a representation of the Earth isn't it So I put it on the earth if I measure 180 degrees there and then I want to put That measurement on my compass up here I'm coming up I'm talking about one segment right now I'm getting ready to change it in just a Second okay to hang with me Here on this side of the Mississippi River when I take that number that's 180 Degrees and I bring it up to my compass I'm bringing it up I add six degrees to My compass 186 degrees because the Magnetism on our map is minus six Degrees right I'm calling it six instead Of 6.1 for the sake of math Math and not my strong suit So I've got this magnetic pool that's Happening here But it's not happening on that map so as I go from here And I'm going down it's minus six Degrees right so if I get something here Let's say I do it just the opposite Let's say I'm standing at the Confluence Of those two creeks and I see my Mountaintop and I get 186 degrees You see how I got that
Everybody understand how I got that Don't worry about how to use this yet If I use my compass and I get 186 Degrees on my compass when I go down to Try to find where I am on that map I'm Going to have to use 180 degrees Because the magnetism is pulling this Off minus six degrees Okay now here's the interesting thing Here's the Matthew nice oh there it is There's a map of the United States right There in front of us see it here's a map Of the United States of America it's Beautiful isn't it So there's this interesting thing called The agonic line which runs pretty much Not because it's the Mississippi River But in general it's right near where the Mississippi River is Right there that number is zero Minus one minus two minus three minus Four minus six minus seven all the way Up and it actually well I won't go there Yet over here it's plus one plus two Plus three plus four plus five On either side of the agonic line Everybody with me on that so if we're on This side of Mississippi River we got to Do just the opposite of what I just said And you got to understand that this this Is a simple method if you haven't Noticed I'm from Kentucky And I'm not a really smart guy
Okay I have to have simple ways that I Process information and that's kind of a Joke but really under stress Of survival or under the stress of I Haven't eaten a few days and I'm elk Hunting and I'm only eating what I kill Or whatever you know you don't make the Best decisions or you're from Kentucky And you're just not smart like me okay But There's some simple ways that I remember Things on this compass that help me know How to use it and I want to go over Those with you next as well matter of Fact my compass is a little different Than the other one that I use most of The time I'm you know I'm just slow like This Can y'all see that one better Can you all see that better now That Arrow right there look at it put Your finger on it and call it the Direction of travel Yeah that's the direction of travel Arrow okay now see this one running Right in here I can spin mine you all Can cause yours is inside of a housing The red side is going to be what I refer To listen to me because you've never Heard anybody say this unless you've Read my book the north seeking Arrow Why Because it seeks North Magnetic north because this right here
Is sort of You could argue that this is A nor seeking Arrow too but it's not It's something different this right here Is what I'm talking about the red one The north seeking Arrow now this big Tall house in here big tall skinny house That's red that's the Meridian Arrow Okay I've got some nicknames for these Two this guy right here what is this Called again I call that dude the red Fred what's up Red Fred see him all right see this big Tall skinny house notice it's red guess What I call that the Red Shed So here we go Let's say that we want to walk that 180 Degrees that we talked about earlier and Let's leave it at 180 degrees to make Our class together simple and make me Feel like a king when I get this done Right Set your compass such that 180 degrees Which is due south is directly over the Line on this area of your compass raise Your hand if you cannot do that you're Having trouble with that Heck yeah Nick told me Craig when you Come down here the group that you're Going to have is the smartest ones of The bunch Right you just wait till you get that Other class You'll notice I'm not holding it like This like a lot of you all are
I'm holding like this for a reason lots Of reasons if you want to understand Take your compass and put it near your Watch put it near your neck knife put it Near the gear that's on your chest That's metallic put it near your cell Phone that's in your pocket and watch That needle go [Music] I like to hold it like this get my hands And fingers away from it I'm not trying To look like I'm drinking English tea With this thing I'm actually trying to Hold it and get stuff away from it and I Leave my body as a turret rotate your Body until red Fred is inside the Red Shed All right Craig so question I have for You is what is the number one thing you Could recommend to people maybe new to The outdoors or not as confident in the Outdoors what can we do to help them be Gain the confidence to step off the Trail because 99 of the world stays on The road they stay on the path and They're terrified to step off of it for Fear of being lost So what is your number one Recommendation for those individuals to Give them the confidence to see the rest Of the beauty that's off the trail Yeah I think Land Navigation is the key And Land Navigation is a lot of things a Lot of people call orienteering or
Mapping Compass skills but learning how To use those skills and then taking Those skills into a GPS app on their Phone because most of us have our phones With us and if we know how to use an app Like cow toppo which is the one that I Recommend then building the foundation With actual map and Compass skills the Physical map and compass Enhances your ability to understand how GPS Works exponentially so it's a good Thing to get started that way you don't Completely rely on the GPS never never Know that that fails sometimes yeah I Never require I never I never depend on Anything that runs on batteries anything That could break that easily if you're Dropping the screen you're done right And breaking the screen so Land Navigation is the way to do it uh I Think getting those skills is the hard Part for people and it's not hard that's What I try to encourage people to Understand is it's daunting because it Seems like it's math it's not math at All it's really just getting out and Looking the world in a way that we can Understand it a little bit better and Use a map to be able to do that take Classes take one of your classes yeah I Mean we love teaching people Land Navigation uh just get a teacher whoever That might be read books read books There's a great book essential
Wilderness navigation Um that's that's a good one by me so I Love recommending that book I tried to Make it real simple yeah because the Books that I have the books that I tried To study with were hard to understand so I work worked hard to make my book Simple the best teachers in the world I Was a coach for a long time the best Coaches I've seen a lot of coaches best Coaches in the world best teachers are The ones that make a complicated thing Seem simple yeah right I agree yeah Instead of the the know-it-alls out There wanting to seem smart like you Were saying like I'm gonna throw a bunch Of big words in here make me seem Smarter right yeah make the complicated Thing seem very simple and easy to use And that's navigation so learn Navigation Skills Practice navigation Skills and gain some confidence to step Off the trail that's where I'm at cool Thank you thank you Foreign
