12. Navigational Skills
Unlike today, our grandparents didn’t have the luxury of GPS when they were growing up so they had to learn to navigate without it. That means knowing how to read a topographic map and I mean KNOWING it. The map has different colors that indicate different types of terrain and lines that tell you the steepness of hills and elevation—it can get confusing if you don’t know what you’re looking for. The closer the lines are together the steeper the cliff will be, and the higher the elevation, the thicker the lines will appear. Not only was the map important, but so was knowing how to use a compass. Using a compass and a topographic map together was the easiest way to get anywhere quickly and efficiently.