Overcoming Navigation Worries

If you have ever had any fear of getting lost in the woods but felt ashamed of it, I am here to tell you that you are not alone. Back in the early days (late 1980’s) when Marcus and I hired Hal to teach us how to deer hunt in the big woods, those feelings were part of the many challenges I faced to become a proficient woodsman. Back then we had to use topo maps and a compass to get us in and out of the woods. They worked just fine, but I did not know that at the time. Instead of putting energy into learning how to navigate I used up a good amount of energy on worrying ‘what if I cannot find my way out of the woods!’ It has been a while since I have feared navigation, and I have found a system that works for me, but they were really debilitating fears at the time. Woodsman skill sets enable anyone to roam around the woods without fear of the worst possible outcomes. From learning to build a shelter, lighting a fire in the rain to knowing you can get out of the woods if you must leave a track at 2:30pm and you are 7 miles from the truck. I learned this along the way:  knowledge=confidence=success. That applies in life as well but certainly has helped many learn to survive if things do not go according to plan in the big woods. Plus, it is a feeling of accomplishment, it is fun to learn or teach your family and allows you to live a buck's life for that day and not worry about where you are. 

Today’s modern technology has added precise location tracking and navigation tools to augment the hunter’s skills. Electronics are not to solely be relied on, but the onX app is quite a comfort to the woodsman who does not spend 200 days a year in the woods like some of the BWB Team does. I use onX Hunt in conjunction with a handheld compass for all my needs to safely get us in and out of the big woods. Satellite imagery has saved us from long drags by helping us find a road system that is closer to us than going back the way we came.  

Our partnership with onX enables us to get a detailed explanation of the innovations they develop for their subscribers every year. We take that information and learn to use what works for us. Lidar is a great new addition to the app. I have already used it with success finding a finger with small saddles next to a swamp that runs to the southeast side of a lake. Lidar shows more subtle topographic features than topo lines can, with resolution down to 3 foot changes in elevation. I had never been in that piece of woods, but I did a little ‘screen scouting’ and dropped a waypoint in a location that I thought looked interesting. My son and I took a walk in about 1.5 miles and cut down to that swamp. Lo and behold at the head of it was a beautiful signpost, a beaten down game trail with plenty of droppings and we found the swamp to be a cedar run all the way down to the lake. In the cedar run we found bear markings which was a pretty cool find for Rhode Island. I wanted to scout the southeast side of the lake because a close friend of mine had told me some time ago that deer will go to the side of the lake that the prevailing wind blows to. Logic says lots of food will blow down off the trees, knock down trees and the like. For us here in Rhode Island the prevailing wind blows from the NW. He was right and that small bit of information along with the onX app helped me find a nice travel corridor and a signpost without even setting foot on the property. At least it gave us a starting point. Granted there is a lot more to discover but I am pretty sure the deer will feel light pressure over there as it is not easily accessible and when November rolls around and the woods smell like humans more than any other time of the year, the deer will file in there for a hiding place. By the way, there is a lot of thick laurel and thorns and plenty of deer trails cutting through that thick cover as well. 

 If you do not have an onX Elite subscription yet use code BWB for 20% off your membership and enjoy all these new features and more as you head into the woods.  

Keep your nose to the wind and your powder dry, 

-Chris Dalti
Co-Founder, Big Woods Bucks