Navigation

by Carl Rooker
(Michigan)

You are in the wild, and find that you have lost, broken, or even have forgotten your compass. What do you do?

There are many tricks for finding your way, but some are better than others.

1. It is said that moss only grows on the North side of trees. This is not true. For a lone tree without low branches this may be true, but in a woods, or if the branches are low enough to shade the base of the tree, moss can grow on all sides of the tree.

2. Flowing water will always lead you to civilization. Problem is that you can add many miles to your trip, when a road will be within a couple of miles to either side of the water.

There are better ways to navigate. You can find North by taking a piece of metal, magnetizing it and placing it in water. It will give you the magnetic North/ South line.

Another method is to place a straight stick in the ground, and mark the end of the shadow. Wait a little while, and when the shadow has moved sufficiently, mark the end of that shadow. Draw a line through these two points, and you have the East/ West line. In the Northern hemisphere the shadows will be to the North of the stick, so just draw a line perpendicular to the East/ West line and you have True North, and the other cardinal points of the compass.

A quicker way is to use your watch. Place a stick upright over the center of the watch face, place the shadow of that stick over the hour hand, and half way between that shadow and 12 will be true North (or True South in the southern hemisphere). Your watch is digital? Then draw a clock face on a piece of paper, wood, or stone and do the same.

Of course, when ever you enter an area, keep track of the direction you are going. Reverse direction, and you get back to the road you started on. If you are not sure the precise direction, then make a deliberate change in direction. Let us say you went generally east. The road is generally west of you, but your car may be either North or South of where you end up. So go a few degrees off in either direction, and when you get to the road go the other way (If your correction was North, then go South at the road. You will go right to your car.

If you know true North, with a little patience you can refine this solar or makeshift magnetic compass to the point of knowing any direction in degrees.