Isle Royale Forums

just learning to use compass so bear with me.... Is IR East, West or zero declination?

I don't know, but Isle Royale would be a great place for a start and practice for using
a compass. You will never be over 100 yards from target as you would hit a trail or
Lake Superior before you could ever dig yourself into a hole.

But know thinking, i believe the Magnetic North Pole is drifting in westward direction and farther
North relative to United States. I could be wrong.

About 4 degrees West, if memory serves. Drifting lightly to the West. Not big enough to warrant too much of a change in navigation. If on land, the terrain will jurisdict your general path; on water, well, then it's an option.

I haven't tested it, but given the geology of the Isle it's possible that the iron within the rock would cause a greater issue than declination, with the compass providing errant readings if you're too close to a mass of metal. Those who hike in Minnesota's iron range will know what I'm talking about... a 'goofy' compass..

Good luck with learning the skill, however! Having orienteering/compass skills is a great thing to have in one's hiking repertoire.

Tom, you may be right about the large metal deposits skewing the compass reading. Although, like head2north said, it would probably be pretty hard to get lost as long as you don't stray too far from the trail. And, using a topo map would help hone your orienteering skills as it relates to determining your position based on landmarks and map features. I'd be interested in hearing from someone with some real expertise in terms of the whole "compass and metal in the earth thing".

According to NOAA Chart 14976, deviation was 3º45'W in 2004 with an annual increase of 6'.

So, Tom is correct, just under 4º: 3º81'W.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. I am new to backpacking and have been very impressed with the backpacking community as a whole.

larrysheldon wrote:Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. I am new to backpacking and have been very impressed with the backpacking community as a whole.

Lots of knowledge and experinece here, don't be timid about Questions you may have!!!
We were all new to Backpacking at one point!!!

Hi all, it has been a while since I was here last. The most recent declination figures are 3 Degrees 29 Minutes West at the Windigo dock with an increase to 4 Degrees 12 Minutes West at the Rock Harbor dock.