Navigation demo - Novice Level

In this video we’ll discuss Novice Level Navigation. Don’t let the word Novice put you off as this where the vast majority of people are at, which is perfect for the type of outdoor walking they do.
They may follow tracks or handrails (these are things like walls, streams, the edge of a wood, etc.) basically anything you can walk on or along. Using a map can also let you know how far away something is, tell you if you’ve made a slight error and give you many more alternative routes.
They may use a map if they’re visiting a new area and from their map they will be able to see the direction of large ground features (such as hills, valleys, rivers, etc) and use these to navigate by. E.g. “let’s go towards the hill over there and when we reach the stream we’ll turn right”.
If you’re new to navigating you’ll find that a map, which at first may seem confusing, is, after a little practice, a very useful piece of equipment and it will enable to you explore areas which wouldn’t be possible without someone to show you the way.

[@fyvewytches]

If you fall into a stream you get wet. If you fall into a river you get bloody soaked. 😊

[@bluzizalright]

…and perhaps… drown!

[@ericchilver9113]

Hopefully swim with the fishies, 😂😅😃👍🇦🇺

[@TheFairway8]

Such a great channel. Wayne is such an affable guy and excellent instructor

[@HuplesCat]

Yup. I’m learning lots here

[@markjones127]

Best example of taking a wrong turn I've come across is bumping into a group of 8 hikers in Beddgelert Forest who thought they were on the Rhyd Ddu path up Snowdon, so they'd parked up and started off going exactly 180° in the wrong direction, thing I noticed there though which is often the case, there was one group member who'd taken control of map duty and the rest were just following blindly, I think it always helps to have a second pair of eyes! I got into navigation when I started fell running, and I wouldn't say I'm the best navigator but I can 'not get lost' which I think is important! I learn lots on this channel though, so interesting, you fill in all the gaps!

[@stpetie7686]

I can't say it often enough. Man, this is an awesome channel.

[@martinbobfrank]

A stream I'm jumping over, and a river I'm crossing over a bridge etc. A lake I'm taking pictures, and a pond I'm feeding ducks and not worrying about drowning too much. I'd class myself as Dad level. I can read a map, and use a compass with four kids running around and a wife talking about anything and everything. I'm slightly above Novice level, but you'll never find me anywhere that needs more. Great channel, and I'm glad I don't need your skills as I'd shit myself.

[@Uns_Maps_8]

You deserve all the best, because of the great content you always deliver, and with a smile as well

[@EstebanGaeteFlores]

This looks like exactly the only type of navigation I do when I go out hiking, excited to see how different the Intermediate level will be!

[@AphelionSol]

that zone and those rocks in particular are very mystical. I can imagine the beautiful stories and lore surrounding that area.

[@awalton6561]

Another great video. Your calm and unflustered instruction is wonderful to listen to. I love the content of this video and your relaxed explanation of reading a map.

[@user-yn8pb4cq1m]

I wish the USGS and other maps in the USA were of the same quality and detail as the OS maps. Excellent set of videos for self-assessment.

[@h3ngist]

Canoe instructor here! Unfortunately Wayne, there is no strict definition between creek, stream and river! Creek is defined as the smallest of the 3, with river being the largest and stream being somewhere in-between. A trick I use is if I can walk across, it's a creek. If I have to wade a bit, it's a stream and if I need to swim, it's a river!

[@paddor]

Thanks

[@ervano798]

I don't know how it is in English, but in Flemish (Dutch) it is like this. A stream is a watercourse that flows into the sea. When a watercourse flows into a stream, it is a river. Watercourses that flow into a river are tributaries.

[@waelisc]

By the time you've straightened out the definitions of rivers, rivulets streams, streamlets, burns, brooks, becks, gills, sikes, rills, creeks, etc you'll probably wish you'd never asked 😅

[@hikingandbackpackingadventures]

River V stream. While by definition they are the same, in reality, the river is a bigger body of water. A stream is smaller and it even allows you to walk across it. What is more, the river is a collection of streams, whereas the stream is a single flowing body of water.

[@sharktripdan]

I like this definition, a stream you can walk across, a river you can swim or use a bridge or boat, a creek you can jump or step over

[@ericchilver9113]

Earl grey or English breakfast ? lol mm 0:27 and a bikky 👍🇦🇺🇬🇧. 1:00 found it on google earth . 😃 4:37 I’m thinking a stream or a creek. A river would be big enough for boats I’m thinking. 10:33 public right of way. I understand England has ancient laws , so different to Australia, I’m learning…such beautiful countryside. 16:14 thoroughly enjoying your channel and content , very much appreciated thankyou for your efforts and explanation.

[@Juanlu.]

Buen ejercicio de orientación. El mapa tiene mucho detalle y eso es fundamental. 1:25000, supongo. Gracias por el vídeo. Saludos desde España.

[@catprog]

Turning left or right is not just important in the hills. In urban areas with roads it is important too. (as my short walk to a supermarket when traveling overseas with no map turned out to be)

[@nikob5899]

I like how the question about streams and rivers etc has really got us thinking and reading up! 😊

[@johnpowell9174]

Those trees surrounded by a wall (at 6') are almost certain the site of a former lead mine. The spoil from the mine would be poisonous to sheep so has been walled off. I am very surprised you did not 'expound' on this observation!

[@matthewmccooke7748]

Great video. Looking forward to the intermediate one.

[@BimbleWithBruce]

Such a great video. This has showed me I feel I'm not even at novice level and need to learn more. Love your channel and I learn a lot. Thank you

[@discerningscoundrel3055]

Really appreciating the videos you produce. I'm getting back into rambling after more than a decade, this time on wheels due to disability, so I'm constantly having to adjust routes and find ways round not just for things like broken bridges but for narrow ones, kissing gates, stiles etc. I find the only time I ever get my compass out is to use the clinometer function so I can record how steep the slopes I can climb are, but the map lives ony my lap at all times.

[@pauledwards499]

Brilliant video, you make navigating entertaining and very easy to learn. As for rivers and streams, rivers are a lot wetter than streams. I know that because you get more fish in rivers and this is because the water in streams isn't wet enough for most fish to survive.

[@ExtraRice365]

A pond can be swam across with relative ease. Swimming across a lake without exhausting yourself requires significant swimmer fitness.

[@stirfrywok2927]

This is excellent, many thanks

[@user-bl8lz2we9f]

Regarding the maps I print my map off from the OS app so the area I need is on one piece of paper, I could always guarantee if using a map my routes would always be on different maps, or if folded different sides or right along a crease,

[@hedgerowpete]

Brilliant video

[@jerryfredriksson369]

We stopped by Owler Tor on our way to Castleton last week. Nice little area for having your pack up :)

[@RodCornholio]

Pond: If you can throw a basketball across it. Can’t be deeper than your shoulders at the deepest point, water level is usually no higher than ones buttocks in most places. Lake: Bigger than a pond. Often someplace deeper than your height.

[@johnprice4893]

I like the mistakes method of learning

[@rhythmking9781]

I love your channel and your charisma. Surely your map on the bottom left of the screen at 1:36 should be oriented by 90° inline with your camera/ your head direction ? Always hardest starting the walk..😂

[@ExtraRice365]

A stream becomes a river when you can no longer cross it on foot without getting wet, or if you can ride a boat down it. Or if some bloke decides to call it a river.

[@puddinggeek4623]

An excellent video as always. Very informative and entertaining, keep up the great work. Also this video has highlighted some areas of navigation I need to practice/ improve. I would say I am an Intermediate Novice.

[@RodCornholio]

Stream: you can jump or step across it without much effort. Creek: slow enough that you can walk across it without getting swept away (most of the time), mostly no deeper than halfway to your knee - often more or less ankle deep. If it’s wider than a 3 lane road, it might be a river that’s just low. A creek is about the size of a one lane road, maybe two. River: Wider and often deeper than a creek. Source: a magical childhood exploring creeks, streams, rivers. These are my personal definitions/guidelines. There have been waterways officially labeled as a “creek” that have flooded and swept away structures as large as a house. That’s a river in my opinion.

[@hikingandbackpackingadventures]

Pond V lake. Ponds are generally the smaller and shallower of the two, resulting in less surface area. They're considered lentic systems, which means they're pretty much bodies of standing water. That water also is in the photic zone, meaning it's shallow enough so sunlight reaches the bottom. The light allows plants to grow at the bottom, too, as well as on the surface. All the water in a pond tends to maintain a more uniform water temperature and has smaller - if any - waves, lending itself to a variety of flora and fauna.

[@mrparlanejxtra]

Smarty Pants or in Indian, Smmarratatee pants

[@jamienightingale707]

I had a dog with me that got hungry and knew where the truck was parked LOL

[@davehumpleby3440]

Stream, creek, brook, ghyll, river... God knows how you're supposed to differentiate. I'm keen to know the answer to this myself.

[@mrparlanejxtra]

A river is bigger and a more defined water course than a stream, also called a brook or creek which usually originates from a mountain spring. Streams (several) flow into rivers. Sometimes rivers are able to be navigated in a boat or bigger boat like a ship (what is the difference between a boat and a ship?). I would say that you could wade across a stream with little effort but a river would be less wadable? Also if it is named on a map as a river then it is a river and if the map says "stream" then it is a stream.

[@2adamast]

No need to go outside, I can just sit here doing novice level of navigation

[@simongee8928]

Or a burn in Scotland, or a breck in Yorkshire - ! 😅 But as you surmise Wayne, when does a burn / breck / stream qualify as a river - ! 😅

[@rhythmking9781]

The difference between river and stream is the spelling!😂

[@adkvoyageur]

The only thing I noticed on your map was the water feature has dark blue borders on both sides. On U.S. topo’s that signify a specific width 25’ +. Not sure what qualifies a body of water its title.

[@brucefay5126]

Wikipedia suggests that rivers and streams flow to the ocean, and anything smaller flows into a stream or river. But the distinction does not appear to be exact, and size seems to matter.

[@waelisc]

I'd personally expect a stream to be both shallow enough to wade through and narrow enough to jump over. Too big for either of those and I'm calling it a river

[@woudt61]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@stephaniejames6672]

Nice videos. Thanks for posting them. Who are you? No info here, except “we.” Even the website just has “admin” as credit for articles. The contact form is basically empty, and there is no “about us” page, though I expect it would just be like the description here with the “we” who run the business. We need more info.

[@nikob5899]

I have seen his name in some videos. 💬 His (long) list of qualifications are listed in other videos. (As I've watched them all now) 🤓 Maybe it's unusual these days, but there are some videos where the content is more important than the person presenting it. I think it's refreshing to find a channel that isn't just an ego thing but is actually trying to teach. I'm grateful to have leant so much. Oh, and I've been on his courses. So I've met him in person like a few have on here. 🎉 Keep up the amazing teaching Wayne!! 😊 We've got your back! 🤝

[@mihailvormittag6211]

👍

[@ibnewton8951]

Have you ever navigated in the wilds of say, Africa?

[@Uns_Maps_8]

The Homo Sapiens came from Africa, most likely on foot.

[@HuplesCat]

Be specific. Africa is a continent

[@frictionhitch]

In Utah that's a "crick"

[@stevemuggleton8936]

A stream runs into a pond, a river runs into a lake. 😂

[@HuplesCat]

Not necessarily. They can merely disappear into the good Earth

[@user-cd5vf3we2h]

Pond is small. Lake is big.

[@deepstate8474]

What tea are ya drinking? How do you fix it?

[@HuplesCat]

Ponds Dnt have lake monsters in them 😂

[@deepstate8474]

A river is navigable

[@Olan...]

i have been saying ' "Orientate my map" for 45 years !!! So it's "Orient " ? Also isn't the source of a Stream A River 🤔

[@peterdillon2628]

Giving initial thought to the difference between a pond and a lake, I arrived at a pond being artificial and a lake a natural phenomenon - but no, not good enough! (lakes behind dams!) - so, how about ponds are features dug out by non natural methods and lakes are not.

[@rodyazzie]

More like a creek.

[@astrecks]

Creek is not commonly used in the UK. Small water courses are variably called brooks, becks or ghylls.

[@Steve-uq7np]

It’s all knowledge gathering….

[@Jason-ke2nj]

Fantastic. My favourite instructor on YT.🫡

[@ohforfxcksake]

What a great video

[@shaunmorrissey7313]

Rivers Need Streams Streams Feed Rivers