The relaunched ITS Online Store is live with awesome new products!

From the category archives:

Navigation

Post image for Sign Cutting and Tracking Methods Employed by the US Border Patrol

“There’s always sign.”

Sign is the physical evidence of any disturbance of the environment left behind by animals, humans or objects. The detection of this sign is called sign cutting. A person (or animal) cannot traverse ground without leaving some sort of telltale sign. This sign is what we’re trying to find and track.

When most people think of tracking, they usually think of following footprints. But a trained tracker looks for more. He looks for kicked-over rocks, soil depressions, clothing fibers, changes in vegetation, changes in the environment, ambient noise or lack thereof, etc. Basically, the tracker looks for the disturbance — the sign — left behind by the person or persons being tracked. [Read More…]

{ 16 comments }

Post image for The Launching of Official ITS Tactical Geocaching Travel Bugs

We’re stoked to be releasing two Travel Bugs into the Geocaching world. This is our first series of Travel Bugs and we hope you guys/gals will get involved with moving them through their missions.

If you’re not familiar with Geocaching or don’t know what travel bugs are please check out our Introduction to Geocaching article. Mike does a great job of giving you the basics about getting started. If you are a seasoned Geocacher then you know how much fun it can be to help travel bugs along their way.

Both Travel Bugs will be launched from the UDT/SEAL Museum in Ft Pierce Florida. We started a cache named In Memory Of Our Fallen (GC37M7X ), which is right outside the entrance to the Museum and also the inscription on the ITS Tactical brick at the UDT/SEAL Museum. [Read More…]

{ 7 comments }

Post image for 2nd Annual Gear Junkie: Treasure Hunt AAR

With our legs screaming, our breathing fast and shallow, we continue climbing. The GPS says we’re just a few hundred feet away and while we tried to resist bushwhacking due to the waste of energy, if this gamble pays off it will net us a solid 40 points. The second most valuable checkpoint in the race.

My brother and his wife have joined me in the second ever Gear Junkie Treasure Hunt taking place in Roanoke, Virginia. It’s quite a drive from Washington, DC but it sure is scenic this time of year and the weather was absolutely perfect. [Read More…]

{ 2 comments }

Geocaching Ready - circa 2004

Most of you are probably familiar with Geocaching (pronounced ‘geo-cashing’) one way or another. In it’s simplest form, Geocaching is a ‘treasure hunt’ where users with GPS devices find hidden containers (called caches) and log their visit.

Sometimes there are even items in the caches to trade. It’s honestly just a great excuse to get off the couch and explore the great outdoors.

My Geocaching ‘career’ started in high school. I picked up a Garmin Geko 101 from Radio Shack and while it was super entry level and didn’t have any bells or whistles, it did everything you need it to do for Geocaching; Just input the GPS coordinates and go! [Read More…]

{ 10 comments }

Post image for LandNav 101: Maneuvering with Map and Compass
6 of 6 in the series LandNav 101

The LandNav series has reached its zenith; we’re now at the point where we are ready to learn how to use the map and compass together to maneuver.

In one sense, maneuvering with the map and compass is rather elementary since the compass is effectively employed as a protractor and ruler.

The straight sides of the compass’ base plate are used as a ruler to connect points and measure distances. This, in fact, is the first step in maneuvering from point A to point B with the map and compass. [Read More…]

{ 6 comments }

Post image for LandNav 101: Understanding the Universal Transverse Mercator System (UTM)
5 of 6 in the series LandNav 101

In its essence, the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system divides up the globe into small, manageable segments. Rarely is someone going to set out and hike from Oregon to Maine and most planned adventures, even when spending a week in the backcountry, won’t require more than a handful of quads.

Latitude and longitude is obviously a very valid way of referencing your position on the globe, but most recreational outdoorsmen have moved on to UTM. Likewise, the military uses MGRS, another type of globe grid system, in lieu of latitude and longitude. MGRS is a topic which will be covered in-depth in the future. [Read More…]

{ 4 comments }

Post image for LandNav 101: Compass Selection and Recommendations
4 of 6 in the series LandNav 101

Today we are going to continue from our last article on Reading and Associating Terrain and discuss compass selection for use in land navigation.

Compass selection is often driven by personal preference, much like some prefer one vehicle make and model to another.

Our goal with this article is not to suggest which compass to buy before you know how to use it, but rather to show you the different options out there. We feel it’s important and necessary to have a compass at your disposal during this series. [Read More…]

{ 6 comments }

Post image for LandNav 101: Reading and Associating Terrain
3 of 6 in the series LandNav 101

Today we’re going to discuss how to read terrain off of a map. Reading terrain is more about artistic visualization than it is science. There are three major factors that aid in the visualization of terrain from a 2d map:

  • Contour Lines
  • Colors
  • Shading

The ability to fuse these major factors is the most critical skill one can learn when using a topographic map. The primary purpose of a topographic map is to accurately represent the shape of the Earth’s surface, but the utility doesn’t stop there. Topographic maps also represent streets and trails, vegetation, streams, and every type of feature that may positively or negatively impact your ability to navigate through the terrain. [Read More…]

{ 16 comments }

Post image for LandNav 101: Introduction to Map Margins
2 of 6 in the series LandNav 101

In our last article on Land Navigation, Intro to Map Terminology, we introduced you to our LandNav series and went over the most common terms that get thrown around when dealing with maps.

Today we’ll be addressing what all those things in the margins of your map mean and how to best use them to your advantage when navigating.

The margins of a topographic map are rich with information. For the LandNav 101 series, we are going to be operating strictly against USGS maps. While other cartographic entities may vary their margin layout, most will contain all of the details covered herein. [Read More…]

{ 3 comments }

Post image for LandNav 101: Introduction to Map Terminology
1 of 6 in the series LandNav 101

There’s an old saying wherever you go, there you are! Unfortunately that isn’t good enough, especially in a survival situation. Even a rough estimate of your position is far better than being totally clueless.

In the most ideal situation, you might have access to a GPS with fresh batteries—but even then successful wilderness navigation isn’t a guarantee. Remember back to elementary school math; they always taught the long, hard way before introducing the shortcuts that are used in the real world.

It is in this spirit that we are launching a new series on land navigation. We’ll start with the basics, progressing to more advanced land navigation topics. [Read More…]

{ 13 comments }