Route-finding
If the trip you've planned goes through heavily traveled backcountry, such as that found in most national parks in the summer, then route-finding consists primarily of knowing the name of your destination, reading the trail signs and staying on the trail. As the country gets wilder and more rugged, the trails more obscure or non-existent, you need to become increasingly savvy about using a map and compass. In the winter in the high mountains, when snow obscures all trails and clouds frequently shroud the peaks, an accurate altimeter is another highly valuable tool.

The ultimate tool for really difficult route-finding is a Global Positioning System receiver. GPS receivers use radio signals from a network of satellites to calculate your position to within 100 meters anywhere in the world. Receivers now cost less than a good pair of backpacking boots and weigh less than a pint of water. A GPS receiver is a dazzling navigational aid, but it does not stand on its own. It is essential that you bring a map and compass along as well, and know how to use them. What good is it to know you’re at latitude 40° 39’ 12” north, longitude 105° 42’ 57” west if you can’t take that information to a map and plot your position? All GPS receivers have a “go to” function. Let’s say you record the position of your campsite, go exploring for a while, then take another position fix. By simply entering “go to camp” into the receiver, the receiver can tell you exactly how far camp is and in what direction. That’s highly useful information, but you need to take it to a map to see if following the compass bearing given by the receiver will lead you straight over a cliff or into an avalanche starting zone.

A full treatise on the art of backcountry navigation would fill an entire book of its own. If you'd like to pursue this subject in depth, you might want to read my book The Outward Bound Map and Compass Handbook, second edition, published by The Lyons Press. What follows is an introduction to the basics.

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