AN ARGUMENT FOR MAINTAINING PACE-AND-COMPASS LAND NAVIGATION AND MAP READING AS TOPICS WITHIN GEOSCIENCE FIELD CAMP CURRICULA

As field camp curricula evolve, constraints of time will make it tempting to replace some traditional subjects. Pace-and-compass land navigation and map reading will likely seem easy targets. After all, GPS devices, including mobile phone applications, are ubiquitous at this point. However, gutting these topics would do students a disservice. The US military recognizes this, and when preparing infantry for 21st century laser-guided battlespaces, still trains candidates in map reading and land navigation methods that have changed little since the Vietnam era. The reasoning is simple: even ignoring the fact that many GPS receivers do not provide sufficient data to ensure users are aware enough of their environments to avoid degree offset errors, device failure and device loss remain situational possibilities. And when those possibilities become realities, people will still need to be able to understand terrain association, execute ridgelining and streamlining, do resections/modified resections, or simply bypass large obstacles while remaining on azimuth. Geoscientists operating in the field face similar situations. And the skills are valuable in their own right: geologic map construction, cross- and stratigraphic section preparation, and interpretations of subsurface structure based on outcrop all still benefit from a solid understanding of topographic maps, regardless of one’s possession of a GPS receiver. Moreover, these topics are not esoteric. Most US states now base their K-12 curricula and high stakes assessments on three-dimensional content standards that task students with making and reading maps as early as second grade (e.g., Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectations 2-ESS2-2; 4-ESS2-2; MS-ESS2-3). Field camps remain very logical places to bring in the higher-ed progressions of these topics, even if only basic things like how to orient maps and air photos or how to determine and keep pace counts are addressed. Students might well complain about spending time on such seemingly archaic skills. But if they ever do end up in a situation where “all other lights have gone out,” they will be thankful for it.