'Useful, practical, fun': Hikers learn land navigation at Lorain/Stonycreek trails

Apr. 8—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — In roughly four hours Sunday, Dan Kovalik provided a crash course on land navigation to more than a dozen attendees and gave them the opportunity to put their new skills to the test on the Lorain/Stonycreek Hiking Trails.

"We love this stuff," Altoona resident Katy Simanski said. "It's a very complex thing, and he's making it very simple."

Simanski signed up for the course with her husband, Mark, and their 5-year-old son, Auggie.

Kovalik said the goal of the class, which he's taught about three times before, is to give people the skills to navigate terrain unaided by technology, a craft he described as "useful, practical and fun."

He served in the U.S. Army for 23 years and learned these skills being the forward observer.

"This was a big part of the job," Kovalik said, "and I enjoy the outdoors and want to share that."

As attendees arrived at the 503 Green Valley St. location, they were greeted by Lorain/Stonycreek trails President Michael Hammers, who signed them in and provided packets containing 1:24,000th area maps, a protractor, compass and additional information.

Throughout the class, Kovalik covered the different parts of the map — including the legend, series and bar scale — what different colors mean — such as green being significant vegetation, blue representing water and white meaning open areas — and the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system.

He also covered how to properly read a map — from left to right and up — and plot points on the grid.

"It's definitely interesting to learn a little bit more," said Gary Deible, of Johnstown.

Deible added that he has an interest in maps, which is why he signed up for the course, and once he comprehended the information it was easy to learn.

Boy Scouts of America Scoutmaster Jennifer Soisson, of Troop 28G from Bellwood, brought three Scouts with her to learn from Kovalik.

"This is amazing," she said.

Soisson said providing immersive experiences to students is an important part of Scouting, and she appreciated the Lorain/Stonycreek Hiking Trails group for offering the course.

Laurel Smith, an 11-year-old Scout, said she thought land navigation is a useful skill to know and she was excited to gain that insight.

Halfway through the course, Smith said everything was going pretty well, although some of it, such as finding the coordinates, was challenging.

Other information Kovalik passed on to the attendees was determining pace count and calculating degrees for direction.

During the first two hours, Kovalik provided test points for guests to find before sending them out to find four others on the 12 miles of trails.

"It's an important skill for people to learn," Hammers said of land navigation.

Hammers and Kovalik both touched on the fact that technology, such as a cellphone, isn't always reliable for navigation because there may be no service or the battery has died.

The skills taught Sunday are universal, Kovalik said, as long as a person has a map.

That's why he and Kovalik organized the event — an extension of offerings at Lorain/Stonycreek, including guided hikes, camping trips and festivals.

Hammers, who also serves as Lorain Borough mayor, said a lot is in store for the trails and Lorain Borough Park, including an amphitheater on which construction will start this summer, a gun bash May 11, a beer and wine event June 1 and a fall bash Oct. 12.