Advanced Navigation and Strategy

1. Advanced Navigation and Strategy • PRIORITIES: • Not getting lost • Fastest route • Easiest terrain • Minimizing risk • The order of priorities depends on your situation. Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Advanced Navigation and Strategy

2. Skills – Routefinding Interpreting the terrain from both the map and real world around you to determine the best route to follow. • The fastest route is not always a straight line. • The better your Orientation skills and pre-race strategy the more adaptable you can be in Routefinding. Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Advanced Navigation and Strategy

3. Strategy Rules • 1. Plan your strategy before you start • 2. Only work with obvious features • 3. Keep it simple - maximize your time in the “Green Zone” • 4. Trust your map and compass • 5. Include all team-mates with navigation duties • 6. Use your watch all the time • 7. Reality check often • 8. Look for what you don’t want to find • 9. Read the “Fine Print” • 10. Navigate ALL the time • 11. Read between the lines Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Advanced Navigation and Strategy

4. Reading between the Lines ON THE MAP: • How old is the map? • What do you know about the region (weather patterns, season, amount of light, type of vegetation, type of rock)? • How did the CP staff get there? • Why was this section chosen? • What are they expecting you to experience? • Who designed the course? • What are the non-race uses for the area (recreation, logging, mining, hunting/fishing, wildlife)? ON THE COURSE: • What is the forest floor like? • How high are water levels? • How old is a road? • Are there tire tracks? How many? How old? • Any signs of human presence. Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Advanced Navigation and Strategy

5. Map Preparation Process • Mark Checkpoints and Transition Areas quickly and accurately • Create timeline and update your team-mates • Discuss and review every possible route choice using every piece of available information • Commit to a route, but have back-up plans and be flexible • Mark the map accordingly • Write notes on instructions and possibly have another teammate carry these • Tape, cut and waterproof the maps • Prepare the maps for each section of the race

6. Eco Challenge Qualifier 2002 Trek 2 Map Date: 1978 Contour Interval: 100ft.

7. Trekking Considerations • Know your rate of travel rules for every conceivable type of terrain • Use prominent features and handrails to gauge your progression along the course • Use experience gained from previous races and previous sections in the same race • Identify and anticipate local anomalies • Is pack-rafting a possibility? • Use a bright light to move faster in the dark

8. Trekking Guidelines: Forested Terrain • If you’re ever in doubt of how far you’ve traveled, chances are you haven’t gone far enough • The type of forest your traveling through will greatly impact your speed • Vegetation near water will usually be thicker than vegetation found at higher elevations • north facing slopes in the Northern Hemisphere have thinner vegetation than south facing slopes • The season of the year, or recent weather activity can impact route choices • Know your contour intervals! • Should you follow an un-marked trail? • Road vs. Trail vs. Bushwack, which will be fastest? • the flatter the terrain the faster you can move • following a ridge will save time in map reading as it serves as an effective baseline to travel along

9. Bark Lake 2001 CP3-CP4 Advanced Navigation and Strategy Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Map Date: 1989

10. RTN Series Champs 2001 (New Liskeard) Map Date: 1994

11. Elliot Lake 2001 Advanced Trek Map Date: 1990 Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Advanced Navigation and Strategy

12. RTN Elliot Lake 2000 Trek 2

13. New Liskeard 2001 2nd Trek Map Date: 1994

14. Bark Lake 2001 CP10-CP12 Map Date: 1989 Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Advanced Navigation and Strategy

15. Elliot Lake 2002 CP7-CP8 Map Date: 1990 Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Advanced Navigation and Strategy

16. RTN Series Champs 2003 (Mattawa) Trek 1 Map Date: 1990

17. RTN Series Champs 2003 (Mattawa) Trek 2 RTN Series Champs 2003 (Mattawa) Trek 2 (Ropes) Map Date: 1996

18. Tremblant 2001 CP8-CP9 Advanced Navigation and Strategy Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Map Date: 1977

19. Trekking Guidelines: Mountainous Terrain • The ability to interpret contour lines is of the utmost importance • Be comfortable with triangulation techniques • Following rivers and streams can be a slow and arduous process • Counting side-streams can help confirm your location and rate of travel • Traveling parallel to the fall line can be faster than sidling around • Know your contour intervals! • Use an altimeter and be aware of their short-comings • Be weary of traveling up avalanche slopes

20. Apex 2002 Final Trek Advanced Navigation and Strategy Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. Map Date: 1996

21. Mountain Biking Considerations • Use your odometer! • Select interim checkpoints to gauge your progression along the course • Be aware of incorrect distance estimates in hilly/mountainous terrain • Don’t forget to use your compass • Use multiple map bags to speed the transition from one map to the next • Use adequate lights so you can move faster at night

22. Paddling Considerations • Know your rate of travel rules, but be flexible and able to calculate these on the fly • Paddle vs. Portage vs. Canoe-whack • Use your compass and mark key bearings on the map • Be proficient at reading the shoreline, but also note prominent geographical features • Keep the map handy and visible • Anticipate worst case scenarios

23. Elliot Lake 2001 1st Paddle

24. Subaru Primal Quest 2003 1st Orienteering Section

25. RTNX Newfoundland 2001 Trek 1 Map Date: 1986

26. RTNX Newfoundland 2001 Trek 1 Map Date: 1986

27. EcoChallenge Fiji The Lost World Map Date: 1986

28. EcoChallengeNAC 2003 Trek 1

29. EcoChallengeNAC 2003 Trek 1

30. EcoChallengeNAC 2003 Trek 1