Top 10 Trip Planning & Navigation Safety Tips

February — Trip Planning & Navigation

The quiet month. Build the skills before you need them.

1. Leave a written plan with a specific return time and instructions on who to call if you're overdue.
2. Carry a map and compass, and know how to use them. Batteries die; paper doesn't.
3. Set your compass declination for your area, or every bearing you take will be off by degrees that compound over miles.
4. Practice taking a bearing and following it, plus triangulating your position from two known landmarks. Do it in a park before you do it in a whiteout.
5. Download offline maps and carry a battery bank. Airplane mode dramatically extends phone battery.
6. Check the forecast for the whole trip window — including road and trailhead conditions, not just the summit.
7. Set a turnaround time before you start, and honor it. Most epics begin with "we're almost there."
8. Test your satellite communicator before you leave. Send a check-in message from your driveway and confirm your emergency contacts are current.
9. Plan for the least experienced person in the group, not the strongest.
10. Know your bail-out options. Identify escape routes and shortcuts before you're tired, cold, and improvising.

See also: How to use a compass.

Want this broken into weekly topics? See the February Weekly Content Calendar.

Not into trip planning & navigation? Try birding instead — winter waterfowl and raptors, plus the Great Backyard Bird Count in mid-February, pair naturally with map and optics skills.

Part of the Rec+Safe Theme of the Month calendar.