24 July 2018

Tick Offs & Cut Off - My Two Favorite Navigation Tools

Tick Off Points:
When navigating from A to B; before you begin moving pick two/three/four points from your map, along your route. These points need to be obvious and reasonably foolproof.

Ideally they need to be features you will physically hit and not something you may see in the distance.


So, for example, as you move from A to B you are expecting to pass a forest, cross a stream and go through a col. You tick off these features as you go and you know things are going to plan.

If you miss one or two tick off points it can act as an early warning system to stop and reassess.


Cut Off Point:

When navigating from A to B; before you begin moving pick a point from your map, just beyond your destination. This point needs to be obvious and reasonably foolproof, for example, cliff/lake/change of slope/headland/island.

It has to be a feature you will physically hit and not something you may see in the distance.

If you reach this point it will cut off your progress and let you know you have overshot/gone too far - hence the name Cut Off Point.


We sometimes overshoot our destination on purpose, to hit the cut off point and establish everything is good, especially in times of poor visibility.


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