"Replacing Luck"

Countdown: 12 Days

"Note: In misty conditions it is essential that you take a compass reading from the top of Loft Beck to ensure that you do not wander off-route and end up in Seathwaite or Buttermere." There it was in stark red letters, from my day-to-day instruction packet from Contours. Take a compass reading. Well, I guess I'd better get a compass. Went down to my trusty Hudson Trail outfitters, bought a nice looking compass, with instructions given in 10 languages, including Japanese. The compass, from a Finnish company, Suunto, assures the user that he or she will be "replacing luck." I guess replacing it with sure footedness and correct bearings.

If I could only learn how to read the compass. "Place the long edge of the compass on the map between the starting point and your intended destination. The directional arrows on the baseplate should point to your target direction. Turn the capsule until the North-South lines are parallel to the coordinate lines on the map and the N on the capsule points to the North on the map. . . . "

Okay, this is going to take a few days to figure it out. "The local declination is given on the map margin either as easterly plus declination (E) or as westerly minus declination (W). When orienteering, the map direction is corrected by subtracting the plus declination or adding the minus declination . . . "

Of course, the easy, twenty-first century solution is to rely on the GPS system on my iPhone. But I like the simplicity (albeit mysterious to me right now) of the compass, which has been relied upon for centuries by intrepid hikers. This is still a work in progress, so let's see what happens. Let's just hope it isn't misting, lest I end up in Buttermere.