How to Find Your Way Without a Compass

Original photo by Anastasia Petrova on Unsplash.

STICK AND SHADOW METHOD

Be aware that the closer you are to the equator, the less accurate this method is.

What You Need:

• An analog watch

• A six-inch stick

Northern Hemisphere

1. Place a small stick vertically in the ground so that it casts a shadow.

2. Place your watch on the ground so that the hour hand is parallel to the shadow of the stick.

3. Find the point on the watch midway between the hour hand and 12:00. If the watch is on Daylight Savings Time—which is during most of the summer—use the midway point between the hour hand and 1:00.

4. Draw an imaginary line from that point through the center of the watch. This imaginary line is a north-south line. The sun will be located toward the south.

 Southern Hemisphere

1. Place your watch on the ground so that 12:00 is parallel to the shadow.

2. Then find the midway point between the hour hand and 12:00. 

3. Draw an imaginary line from the point through the center of the watch. This is the north-south line. The sun will be located toward the north.

STAR METHOD

Northern Hemisphere

• Locate the North Star, Polaris.

  The North Star is the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper. Walking toward it means you are walking north. You can use the Big Dipper to find the North Star. A straight imaginary line drawn between the two stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s bowl will point to the North Star. The distance to the North Star is about five times the distance between the two “pointer” stars.

Southern Hemisphere

• Find the Southern Cross.

  The Southern Cross is a group of four bright stars in the shape of a cross and tilted to one side. Imagine the long axis extends in a line five times its actual length. The point where this line ends is south. If you can view the horizon, draw an imaginary line straight down to the ground to create a southern landmark.

CLOUD METHOD

• Look at the clouds to determine which direction they are moving.

  Generally, weather moves west to east. While this may not always be true in mountain regions, it is a good rule of thumb and may help orient you.

MOSS METHOD

• Locate moss.

  Mosses grow in places with lots of shade and water: areas that are cool and moist. On tree trunks, the north sides tend to be more shady and moist than the south sides, and therefore, moss usually grows on the north sides of trees. However this method is not infallible—in many forests, both sides of a tree can be shady and moist.

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