Navigating the “Search” in Search & Rescue Presented by:
Navigating the “Search” in Search & Rescue The class objective is to provide an opportunity to practice , through repetition and field exercise, the skills necessary to maintain a continuous awareness of your team’s location during a search. For Navigation in areas without broad visibility of landscape and requiring cross country grid travel. Using Foundational Tools: Map, Compass, Grid Reader, Ruler, Fine point pen (colors?), watch Beyond Common Sense and Intuition Yes, these are also useful
Wilderness Navigation Redundant Navigation Systems Reduce Errors www.scvsar.org Search team Team members stays on constantly compare Eyes & Brain intended route navigation info and Natural Clues; Landmarks Maps; Compass decisions GPS; Altimeter Map & Compass Brains & Senses GPS 1. Foundational Tools: Map and Compass 2. Augmented and Backed Up By: • Altimeter • GPS 3
Navigating the “Search” in Search & Rescue (cont.) “Satellite reception lost …” GPS? GPS On – Brain Off? Forget the Extra Batteries? You know you are in the North Cascades, but the GPS is saying you are in San Francisco? Good for confirmation of what you believe to be true Good for retaining digital record of track travelled Brain faster than waiting for satellites? (when practiced, and continuously and fully engaged) *** Would you rather back-up your map & compass with your GPS, or back- up your GPS with a map & compass you haven’t been using?
Active Location Awareness www.scvsar.org “The best way to know where you are, in the forest, . . . is to know where you have been. The best way to know where you have been, is to have had a plan, D A . . . and followed it.” C B
Search Tactics and Developing the Search Plan The best way to find a subject alive is to find them quickly. Planning time is urgent (5-10 minutes max.) Needs to be well practiced. Starting with a plan reduces delays & frequent stops during the search. Develop a search plan that will reduce or simplify navigational challenges. Initial Direction of Travel > - Avoid, when possible, difficult terrain features (cliffs, wetlands, rivers, steep climbs) - Use roads & trails, minimize bushwhacks Develop a search plan that will optimize coverage appropriate for the resource: ground teams, voice checks, K9s?
Search Planning - Navigation Tactics Think “hasty” search – generally, plan to work hard boundaries that offer easier paths of travel first. (“hard boundary”: any unmistakable, unavoidable feature, i.e. roads, trails, cliff band, watercourses, clear-cut, etc. that is also a boundary of the search area) Plan to begin by circumnavigating the assigned search area, • to understand the terrain • to understand vegetation • to locate easiest paths of travel through interior of area “Backstop” cross country grids w/ hard boundaries Avoid needing to be perfect Be willing to change the plan …….By making a new one!
Navigational Imperative Active mental navigation: Maintain a constant estimate of where you are at any given time. Don’t start navigating when you need to know where you are! Know where you are when you find the subject!! Reporting location to IC for “Status” & “Voice Checks” “We have travelled approximately 1/8 of a mile cross country on a heading of 45Degrees from the SW Corner of our assigned area, and we are going to do a voice check” Recognizing differences between what you are seeing on the ground and what you see on the map (e.g., logging roads that disappear, or appear on the ground, but not on the map) Avoiding wrong turns! Returning to a known location NEED: to understand “Distance Traveled”
Navigation Challenges in the Field “ The best laid plans o’ mice and men gang aft agley ” Active Navigation: Comparing your navigation plan to what you encounter in the real world. Maps don’t always keep up with the real world. “Distance” not the only important data – monitor both distance and direction of travel
Personal Navigation Record • Data points – frame of reference to understand distance travelled • Pacing vs. timing – Paces more accurate than time over shorter distances (under ¼ mile, and if you don’t lose count) – Time more accurate than paces over longer distances and off-trail What are your personal data points? (assumes mission pack 32-38 pounds): Your speed walking on a flat paved road: mph or: ft. per hr. Your speed walking on a moderate trail: mph or: ft. per hr. Your speed on moderate bushwhack in relatively flat terrain: mph or: ft. per hr. Your speed on moderate bushwhack in ‘steep’ terrain (125’ - 150’ gain per 1/4mi): mph or: ft./hr. Your speed on hard bushwhack relatively flat terrain: mph or: ft./hr. Your speed on hard bushwhack in ‘steep’ terrain (125’ - 150’ gain per 1/4mi): mph or: _____ ft./hr. Your speed on trail with 1000 feet elevation gain per mile: mph or: ft. per hr. Your pace length* on flat surface: feet Your pace length* going up hill (125’ - 150’ gain per 1/4mi) : feet Your pace length* going down hill (125’ - 150’ loss per 1/4mi) : feet one pace is two ‘steps’ or ‘strides’
Personal Navigation Record – Metric Version Estimated Travel Time per ROAD // TRAIL X-COUNTRY BUSHWHACK Distance // Paces per (Enter Minutes) Distance (assumes mission EASY TO HEAVY BRUSH (Enter Paces* for short pack 32-38 pounds) MODERATE DIFFICULT segments, 100-200m; BRUSH TRAVEL use minutes for 400+ m) METERS MILES FEET FLAT STEEP DOWN FLAT STEEP FLAT STEEP ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 100 .06 328 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 200 .12 656 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 400 .24 1312 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 500 .31 1640 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 600 .37 1967 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 800 .50 2625 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 1000 .62 3280 Your speed on trail with 1000 feet elevation gain (quite steep) per mile: __miles per hr. // _____kilometers per hr. Your pace length* on flat surface: feet // ______meters Your pace length* going up hill (125’ - 150’ gain per 1/4mi) : feet // ______meters Your pace length* going down hill (125’ - 150’ loss per 1/4mi) : feet // ______meters one “ pace” is two ‘steps’ or ‘strides’ // “ steep ” is 125’ - 150’ gain or loss per 1/4mi
Personal Navigation Record – Metric Version Estimated Travel Time per ROAD // TRAIL X-COUNTRY BUSHWHACK Distance // Paces per (Enter Minutes) Distance (assumes mission EASY TO HEAVY BRUSH (Enter Paces* for short pack 32-38 pounds) MODERATE DIFFICULT segments, 100-200m; BRUSH TRAVEL use minutes for 400+ m) METERS MILES FEET FLAT STEEP DOWN FLAT STEEP FLAT STEEP 60 paces 120 paces 110 paces 4 min 5+ min 8 min min 100 .06 328 120 paces 240 paces 220 paces 8 min 10+ min 16 min min 200 .12 656 4 ¾ min 13 min 8 min 16 min 21 min 32 min min 400 .24 1312 6 min 17 min 10 min 20 min 26 min 40 min min 500 .31 1640 7 ¼ min 20 min 12 min 24 min 31+ min 48 min min 600 .37 1967 9 ¾ min 26 min 16 min 32 min 42 min 64 min min 800 .50 2625 12 min 33 min 20 min 40 min 52+ min 80 min min 1000 .62 3280 **Steep / down = 215’ / ¼ mi **Steep = 360’ / ¼ mi **Steep = ‘ / ¼ mi miles per hr. // ____ kilometers per hr. My speed on trail with 1000 feet elevation gain (quite steep) per mile: My pace length* on flat surface: 5-1/2 feet // 1.7 meters My pace length* going up hill ( 215’ gain per 1/4mi) : 3 feet // .9 meters My pace length* going down hill ( 215’ loss per 1/4mi) : 2- 3/4 feet // .8 meters
Example of calculating a personal data point Estimated Travel Time per ROAD // TRAIL X-COUNTRY BUSHWHACK Distance // Paces per (Enter Minutes) Distance (assumes mission EASY TO HEAVY BRUSH (Enter Paces* for short pack 32-38 pounds) MODERATE DIFFICULT segments, 100-200m; BRUSH TRAVEL use minutes for 400+ m) METERS MILES FEET FLAT STEEP DOWN FLAT STEEP FLAT STEEP ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 100 .06 328 4 min ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 200 .12 656 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 400 .24 1312 It took me 12 minutes to travel 325 meters through easy brush ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 500 .31 1640 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 600 .37 1967 325 divided by 12 = 27 (meters per minute) ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 800 .50 2625 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 1000 .62 3280 So . . . How long would it take me to travel 100 meters? 100 meters divided by 27 meters/min = 3.7 minutes (so, about 4 minutes) – for this type of terrain.
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