Orienting the map
We have discussed Orienting the map. This is one of the primary skills. I shall not belabor it here. But
lets review that there are two way s to orient a map.


Orienting the map using terrain and features
Orienting the map with a compass
You as the Orienteer must make a judgment call as to which technique you will use. Observing the
terrain features around you takes a finite amount of time. Depending upon the depth of visibility of the
surrounding area, you will have access to varying degrees of reliable features to note and use to orient
your map. Time could be short or long. The risk of making a mistake could be small or large.
On the other hand, using your compass to orient your map will always take the same amount of time.
That is, assuming you have practiced this skill and are using a competition grade thumb compass. The
risk of mistake should also be consistent and small once you learn to automatically orient your map with
the compass.
The remainder of this document will assume that you are using the compass to orient your map.
Line Features
We discussed line features, what they are, how they are depicted on the map. Line features are
everywhere. Of course a course setter worth his salt designs a course that renders the line features not
so useful. But you, being the more clever, are going to find those elusive lines, nonetheless.
Lets think about this. There are lines all over your map. You just may have to train yourself to see them.
There are of course the trails, fences, and streams. But there are also ridge tops, reentrant systems, and
many vegetation boundaries. They are near the control. They are behind it. In front of it. And run both
sides of you all the way to it. Maybe not directly, but well enough to note.
Let’s recognize the number one rule of line features:
Never Cross A Line Feature Unless You Intend To Do So.
If you obey that rule you will eliminate quite a few potential mistakes. Imagine how lost you could be if
you were on the wrong side of a stream or ridge. Not to mention trails to fences. OK, I did mention it.
Handrails
Handrails are the line features we follow from one point to another. When you are first starting out
learning to orienteer, the handrail might have been an actual trail that you traversed. Not only did you
identify a handrail, you literally walked right on it.
As you moved to more challenging courses the trails as handrails become a lesser option. But they didn’t
completely go away. The trails and other linear features out there are still about you, on your left and on
your right.
You did not have to be on the handrail to use it. You could just see that it is there. You can note that as
long as you do not cross over the handrail you know which side of it you are on.
Catching Features
Catching features are just like any other linear feature. The difference between a catching feature and a
handrail is, handrails guide you along the way to the control, while a catching feature stops you near the
control. A catching feature is able to stop you because it is a linear feature crossing your path just after or
perhaps just before the control.
If you following the number one rule of line features: Never cross a line feature unless you intend to do
so, then when you hit the catching feature you will stop, relocate yourself on your map, and make a
cognitive decision on how to proceed.
A catching feature is kind of like a proximity sensor that goes off when you approach an object. The
difference is it does not actually make a sound, it just lies there. If you are alert, it catches you. You can
then reset your point of surety along your route of travel. The final distance between you and your
destination has shortened. The amount of risk in missing the control point has now lessoned.
Good course setters avoid placing catching features near advanced
controls. So this is not as readily available on the harder courses.
A catching feature cannot by itself guide you into a control. It can only
get you close or stop you from over shooting it. The control feature itself
would have to be along the catching feature or within site to get you
there alone. And even then you may need the help of Aiming Off.
For example, suppose your control is in a small depression with a path
beyond it , a stream to the right and a fence to the left. The path will
catch you if you overshoot and the stream or fence will catch you if you
veer off to the right or left from your desired straight route from X.
Catching features can give you confidence to go a little faster because
even if you make a mistake you will not go too far wrong because your
route is contained.
Intersections – of line features
Something better than a line feature is when two line features cross paths. At the point of their crossing
the intersection creates a point feature, one that is a certain single location. When you find one of the line
features, you can follow it to the other one and you will be at a determinable exact location. This
assumes you are able to tell which two line features are intersecting.
The two line features can be alike or different. For example a large and a very small reentrant intersect.
Or a ruined fence crosses the top of a ridge, or it crosses a very shallow and subtle but mapped
reentrant. All of these crossing points are a single exact point on your map.
Attack point
Controls may be very difficult to see and/or locate. They could be hidden by the feature they are place at.
There could be other vegetation or topography that blocks there view; especially from all approaches and
from a reasonable distance. As you get within about 50 meters of the control you should be looking
intently for the feature and the control bag. It is frequently possible to catch a glimpse of the white and
orange bag off in the distance. Much time can be lost trying to find a small or subtle control feature.
Another method is available to reduce this difficulty. It is called an Attack Point.
An Attack Point is a feature that is much larger, or much easier to find than control’s feature itself. In
addition it has the joyous quality of being located nearby the control feature. So the strategy is:
 Choose an attack point near your control that is easier to find than the control itself.
 Then proceed as if the easy feature were the control itself.
 Arrive at the attack point, comfortable in knowing exactly where
you are.
 Then take a careful compass bearing, and do some fine
navigating directly to the control.
The leg that may have been hundreds of meters long can easily be
reduced to a hundred meters or less.
Control 9 is on a cliff in a forest to the east of a path. Control 10 is on a
hilltop in the forest to the west of the path. To carry out this leg you will
almost certainly want to use the path as a handrail for a large part of the
leg. You could cut down to the path and then pace count as you head
south on the path until you think you have gone the right distance before
heading on a bearing into the forest to locate control 10. This is risky
because you would have to be very accurate in your pace counting.
Instead you should notice the crag on the east side of the path not far
from control 10. You can run fast along the path until you see this crag
at which point you slow down and take your bearing to control 10, the
crag being your attack point. It should be easy to find and when you get
there you know exactly where you are allowing you to take an accurate
bearing to the hill top and control 10.
Enlarging the feature
Another method, very similar to both Attack points and Intersecting line features is “Enlarging the
Feature”. Sometimes the control bag is at a feature which resides near, next to, or on a much larger
feature. For instance, If the control is on the south side of a small boulder you can do your best locating
that little boulder. But perhaps the boulder is on the east side of a small spur. The spur is likely more
visible from more directions than that tiny boulder. What is more, the spur is attached to a isolated knoll.
Form the previous control you identify the spur as an enlargement of the boulder and the knoll as an
enlargement of the spur.
You judge the distance and direction to the knoll and run through the forest like a wild beast. Soon you
expect to see the small hill or knoll and there it is. As you approach the knoll you adjust your aim to the
spur. You make out the likely spur and run to its east side. Over and around the spur you spot a small
boulder and at its south side is the white and orange present.
Enlarging a feature can involve relating a point feature with a linear feature. It can entail extending an
attack point into the control point itself. Other examples are a boulder next to a stream or a rootstock in a
reentrant.
Whenever possible take the challenge the course setter has
created for you and make less of it by enlarging the feature.
Aiming off
Aiming off is a very valuable tool to use in conjunction with
other methods. It is a counter intuitive act of increasing the
distance traveled by deliberately aiming to one side of a feature
(line features, generally, but point features with special care.)
The idea is if the control was on or near a linear feature, you could run quickly to that feature because you
know you will not over run it. It will most certainly catch you. But when you get to the line feature, if you
do not see the bag or any sign of the control feature, which way on the line feature do you go? Left or
right? You cannot know unless you aim off in one direction ahead of time.
Say you adjust your angle of travel just enough to the left to guarantee that when you arrive at the line
feature you will either see the control or most certainly be off to the left of it. Now you will know which
direction to turn when the feature is reached. Still, always look both
ways. Aiming off is not a certainty
Often one side IS usually better to aim for than the other. Choose
carefully
Here is an example: Running on a precise bearing is a difficult skill.
If you're trying to locate a particular point, such as the fork in the
river (shown right), trying to head directly at it is a mistake.
If you miss the fork, which is likely, then you won't know which side
you are on, and will waste time trying to locate it. It's much safer to
aim off to one side and then turn into your destination from a known
direction.
WHY to aim off:
1. You can move faster because you are running for a long feature rather than a point.
2. You can run more confidently because it is easier to hit the long/large feature.
3. It is difficult to run on a compass bearing through the forest and hit a point feature dead on.
WHEN to aim off:
1. Along the route: select a large handrail or catching feature to one side of the direct route.
2. Extend the control: Aiming off to a distinct linear feature that can lead you into the control extends the
area of the control, making it larger & easier to find.
3. Behind the control: A large linear feature immediately behind the control can be used to help find the
control: travel parallel to the linear feature at the correct distance from it.
Hints:
1. There is nearly always a right way to aim off rather than a 50-50 choice. Aim off to the side that
represents the least total distance.
2. Competent orienteers usually aim only slightly off the control site, to minimise the distance to run after
turning. Aim 50-100m to one side.
3. Aim off precisely; don’t be too loose/rough with your aim.
Try this one:
from control 4 to 5 (watercourse bend) aim off to the
left. Once you hit the watercourse turn right to pick
up the control.
Collecting features
Since the 1970’s the term “Collecting Feature” has been in use. It has come to mean two differing things.
In the singular form it is referred to as a linear feature that crosses your path well before you get to the
control. This Collecting Feature is exactly like a Catching Feature except it is too early to be of use in
finding the control directly. It does, however, collect you along the way of your route and identify for you
about how far you have come.
For instance, you are run over relatively nondescript terrain travelling 800 or 900 meters before you reach
your attack point. About 600 meters into the run you must jump across a narrow but deep enough ditch.
This ditch has collected you. You now know you have 200 or 300 meters to go and should slightly modify
your concentration efforts. One or more of this type of Collecting Feature can also keep you from straying
to the left or right by working as handrails, pointing you straight down the alley to the control.
On the other hand, “Collecting Features” in the plural is used here in a different sense. Here I refer to the
act of noting all features as you pass them by on your way. In a way you are collecting them as you
traverse the entire distance of this leg of the course. There are two interacting processes at work.
 One, you select your route and note a handful of features you expect to see along the way. You
begin your route and look for the features, collecting them in route. This greatly assists in
tracking your distance and direction of travel.

Two, you are doing the above when you see a feature you did note plan to see but would expect
to see it on the map. For instance you are surprised to see a short rack face cliff off to your right.
It is only ten feet wide and about three feet high. You glance at your map and sure enough, off to
the right of your planned line of travel is a thin black line embedded in the brown contour line.
You had overlooked it. But there it is and here you are; at a precise location. Adjust the thumb
and continue on. You have just collected an unplanned feature. Keep it up!
The features you collect can be a series of both point & linear along the way. Be alert. Check them off as
you pass them by along the route. With this method it is not imperative that you stay exactly on course.
It is more important that you are staying in contact with the map!
There should be NO unmatched ground to map features. This is a subjective rule based on this mapper’s
‘style’ of mapping. Another mapper may have been less or more detailed.
Before you begin collecting features “verbalize” the routes “recipe”. That is, say aloud what you expect to
see to yourself. For instance “ 3 bends in trail then big spur on right”. Count and verbalize as you pass
repeating features. “that’s 2 bends. One to go and a spur.”
Keep the map aligned to terrain. Keep the terrain aligned to map. Of course you can’t actually move the
terrain, but hopefully you get the meaning.
After developing a comfort with collecting the features along the way you will eventually envision many
routes as follows:
Collecting Feature-> Collecting Feature-> Collecting Feature-> Collecting Feature->Attack Point-> Control
A big caveat. When you are running along looking for a specific feature you had better be
careful or you just may “find” it. Sometimes you are looking for one thing, but you find something
very similar. Is that what you were looking for? Or is it a different feature altogether. It comes
down to really understanding the type of terrain, the map, and the style of the mapper.
Let’s say you are looking for a shallow reentrant off to your left. You find it, but it was a bit sooner
and not as wide as you expected. You could proceed with the rest of your plan as intended. Or
you could glance at that map in your hand to look for an explanation. It might be worth a few
seconds of your time.
After a bit of map study you note that there is shown on the map a long dry ditch just about 100
meters before the shallow reentrant. As it turns out, that is where you are. Two features mapped
differently yet they can independently be perceived interchangeable. In your mind you where
looking for and counting reentrants. In reality, you were nearly punished by the art of map
making. Practice identifying these features to avoid such mistakes.
What other features can be confused?
Orienteering Technique - Traffic light orienteering
Finding each control effortlessly and quickly may seem second nature for good orienteers but
they have worked hard to achieve skills and strategies that make this possible. Traffic light
orienteering gives a rough framework which should help you.
Essentially traffic light orienteering is about adjusting your running speed to each section of an
orienteering leg so that you slow down when map contact becomes most important ie near the
control.
The technique splits the leg into three sections - green, orange and red. The colors correspond to
the colors of traffic lights and relate to the notions of GO, CAUTION and STOP.
In the first part of the leg, the GREEN section, the ground should be covered as quickly as
possible. The detail of the map should be ignored and large features used to keep in contact with
the map. Use large features to navigate by - for example paths, tracks, streams, rides, vegetation
boundaries. As you run concentrate on picking out the major map features, looking at your map
whenever you can without dropping your speed. This section is assumed to be the majority of the
leg. This is ROUGH orienteering.
The AMBER section is where you approach your attack point. You should slow down so that
you can read your map more frequently and carefully. You need to have a precise view of where
you are. This is really important new as you need to be sure of what you are looking for and be
able to visualize how the ground will look as you approach the control. You also need to be
aware of any collecting features which will warn you that you have overshot your control and
gone too far.
In the RED section you are almost at the control. You should slow right down, even to a walk to
maintain continuous map contact. Pace accurately and keep checking the compass to find the
control. Tick off any features on the map as you pass them and keep a sharp look out to check
you are not going off course. This is FINE orienteering. In complex areas it is just too easy to go
too fast and overshoot the feature and waste valuable time. And once you have seen the feature
(or better still the kite itself) you can speed up. If you have done things right everything should
appear as you have visualized it and nothing is better than when that happens. But just in case ...
don't forget to check the control number before you punch.
The first example is the leg from control 6 to 7. The
green phase starts immediately as you head roughly
east of south to the path shown and then run to the
prominent path junction half way to control 7. This could
extend to turning right reaching the road and head for
the sharp bend.
Alternatively shift to the orange phase at the path
junction and head along the side of the thicker
vegetation to the ride. This would be the attack point
and you then go slowly on a bearing looking for the
rising ground: the control is on a knoll one contour line
(roughly 5m) above the lower lying ground you are
traversing.
You can also see that to get to the control from the
attack point you need to cross a small marsh - further
information to use as you close in on the control.
In this example the leg is from the start to number one.
It has been chosen because there are no line features
to follow but the same principles apply as this example
illustrates.
The first step is to identify the feature or features that
will act as the line feature and hence allow traffic light
orienteering.
The green phase is achieved by using the prominent
feature in the contour lines (the re-entrant) and
following the re-entrant up until the shoulder of the hill is
reached.
The orange section is very brief starting as soon as you
leave the re-entrant. The red section starts as soon as
the ground drops down into the re-entrant with the
linear marsh.
On entering the red section make sure you are on the
right bearing.
Rough Orienteering
Rough azimuth, rough compass
Measure distance - estimated
Identify attack Point
Identify interim catching features
Identify Collecting Features
Run!
Locate final Attack Point
Careful compass
Stop / slow / think
Know fine details
Locate Control
Fine compass / maybe
Fine feature reading
Know the control description (know what you are looking for)
Know your exit route (check for 180º, avoid error)
Below are two examples to help illustrate how attack points are used.
4 to 5 (Green) Find the narrow ride to the north of no 4 and follow this east until
you reach the eastern end of the thicker block of trees which is runnable in one
direction. Cut diagonally across the runnable block of forest next to it aiming for
the narrow ride at the far side.
(Orange) The combination of the end of the narrow ride and the thick vegetation
(which is marked as having a distinct and easily identified edge) should make
this easy to find. This is your attack point. Follow the edge of the vegetation
change round for 50 meters.
(Red) The control should be easy to find from here if you look at the contour
lines and identify the re-entrant on the ground
7 to 8 This leg appears to be more daunting as there are no line
features to use. This can be overcome by using the contour lines.
(Green) Take a bearing from 7 to 8 and follow this up and onto the end
of the spur.
(Orange) This is your attack point. Take a brief look from here and you
should be able to see the linear marsh ahead of you. To your right and
ahead there is another smaller spur. They all help to confirm you are in
the right place. Drop down and over the marsh.
(Red) As you get abreast of the smaller spur slow down and look for
the re-entrant and the kite.
Points to bear in mind when choosing attack points:
1. Choose a feature which is easily found: this includes features such as track or path junctions,
distinct path bends, streams crossing tracks, large isolated boulders, buildings. Pits, small
depressions or features in dense undergrowth are bad news. Vegetation changes on old maps
might not be too wise either.
2. Try to pick a feature that is distinctive. One particular large crag on a hillside of large crags is hard
to find, as is a ditch junction among a set of ditches. One cairn on a hill top on the other hand can
be very suitable.
3. Be wary of parallel features that are similar and could be confused. It can be very easy to focus
on one little bit of the map and miss the bigger picture.
4. Remember that less obvious contour lines can at times provide the best attack points of all,
particularly when navigating on open moorland.
Avoiding & watching for – Parallel and 180º errors
Cutting the corners
Saves time if…
Terrain is not too rough
Can be traversed without hesitation
Going straight
Route Choice
CAR
Control
Attack Point
Route
1.1.1. Least overall time
1.1.2. Taxing on personal Resources
1.1.2.1. Stamina
1.1.2.2. Alertness
1.1.2.3. Affect from ambient conditions.
1.1.3. Least climb?
1.1.3.1. Calculate climb change in a leg – look at contours – consider route differences
1.1.3.2. Avoid unnecessary climb
1.1.3.3. Understand trade off of climb and distance – this is different for each of us
1.1.3.4. High Ground – gain the , keep the
1.1.3.5. Run Spurs / avoid Reentrants
1.1.3.5.1. Reentrants tend to collect rock and debris
1.1.3.5.2. Spurs generally are more runnable
1.1.4. Safest? Risk assessment?
1.1.5. Best for your particular strength and navigational ability
1.1.6. Factors
1.1.6.1. Climb
1.1.6.2. Distance
1.1.6.3. Difficulty
1.1.6.4. Error possibilities
Route Choice
Having visualized the control and chosen your final approach via an attack point look at Route Choice. A
choice of routes between controls that takes into account the degree of difficulty, amount of climb and
your fitness. The straight red line is the most obvious but not necessarily the best for you. Look at the
amount of green on the map to get an idea of runability. Look at path networks going in the general
direction of the control. Look at the contour lines to get an idea of climb or loss of height between you and
the control. Now choose a route taking into account your present fitness and the runability of the terrain.
Minimize the amount of climb; it may be quicker and less tiring to detour round the top of a deep reentrant
than dropping height and having to climb back up the other side. Path routes may be longer but they are
sometimes, not always, quicker and you can thumb your way confidently.
An example of route choice
Look at controls 3 and 4 on the map extract, where some possible
routes have been added in pink. Using the map, say you have now
reached control 3 (knoll, eastern side), just before the major road.
To make sure, you check the code (31) and punch your SI card to
confirm you have been to that control. Now you have to choose
how to get to control 4. You could use any route, but the three
most obvious are:
A. Go north up the road until you reach a path on your right.
Follow this until it passes through a gap in the fence and then
continue along a wide ride. When you reach the vehicle track, turn
right (south east) and follow it for 150 meters, bringing you to
control 4, code 77.
B. This time you go to your right (due east) across the rough open land until you reach the fence bend.
Follow the short section of fence until a wide ride is reached at the next bend in the fence. Now follow the
ride as it curves around to the left. Upon reaching the vehicle track, go left for 250 meters until you come
to control 4.
C. The first two ways involved going around, following tracks and rides, but you could follow a more
direct route, using a compass and going straight across the rough open, through the open forest until you
reach the rough open, through the open forest until you reach the vehicle track. If you do, it will be best to
'aim-off' to the left, so you can know that you need to turn right to control 4. If you go straight for the
control but can't see the control when you reach the track, you won't know which way to turn. Although
slightly longer and a bit slower, aiming-off can save time in the long run.