Before we can start actually navigating, which we'll get to in Part III of this series, we still need to learn where we are in relation to our map — how to orient ourselves. So in this installment, we'll go over the skills you need to do just that.

Adjusting Your Compass For Declination

Remember declination from Part I? Now that we're putting compass to map, we need to adjust for it so that we can accurately orient and navigate.

Before we do that, let's dig a bit deeper into declination. It will make it easier to understand why we adjust for declination in the first place.

As mentioned in Part I, true north and magnetic north aren't the same. True north is at the very top of the earth, while magnetic north is currently off the coast of Greenland. The angle between true north and magnetic north is declination. But here's where things get tricky: the angle of declination changes depending where you are on the earth.