Find Direction without a Compass
Quick, Easy Ways to Gauge Direction When Lacking the Proper Tools
A brief list of simple techniques for affirming rough direction when lost without a map or compass.
Whether you’re making good time on a hike and want to confirm your route without pausing to check the map or genuinely lost and for some reason lacking any map at all, let alone compass or GPS, there are a number of methods for finding direction without modern means, so long as you know if its north, south, east, west or any combination thereof you should be heading in.
Look Up . . .
The first tricks you might resort to are among the fastest and easiest, as they require no tools or reference to any particular geographic feature.
In daylight: Wait until either a few hours prior to- or following noon, when the sun is clearly rising or setting on its appointed route. First, place your right shoulder toward the sun (putting it to your right side). Having done so, if it’s before noon, the sun is rising and so is still to the east, meaning that you are now facing more or less northward. If in the afternoon or evening, then the sun is setting in the west, and with your right side to it, you now face south.
If lost at night: You should ideally seek adequate shelter and leave travel for the morning. Assuming this isn’t an option, however, look to the stars. If you’re turned-about somewhere in the northern hemisphere, try to locate Polaris (the North Star). It will be one of the brightest lights in the sky on any night and forms the last point in the ‘handle’ of the Little Dipper constellation. As the name implies, this star can be used to mark north.
If you’re located in the southern hemisphere, you have a bit more work to do. The Southern Cross is a grouping of four stars that create the shape of a crucifix, set diagonal to the horizon. The two stars that mark the ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ tips of the cross point toward an imagined location above what can be considered south. Draw a mental line extending from the bottom star for about five times the length between it and the top star and on the same angle as the axis between the two. At the end of this extended length, envision another line aiming directly to the ground, and consider the point where it touches the horizon south.
Look Around . . .
Should clouds or overhead foliage hamper your view of the heavens, there are a number of clues to be found on the ground which can indicate north versus south.
Trees: Most people have heard the old saying that moss grows on the north side of a tree, but before you go looking for lichen, keep in mind that moss is in no way forbidden from growing on the south face as well, or the east or west, or completely circumnavigating the trunk all together. Instead, try to locate a felled tree and examine its growth rings. Regardless of hemisphere, tree growth is more pronounced on the side facing the equator, and so the side of the stump with wider spacing between individual rings faces south if you’re north of the equator, and vice-versa.
Hills: If you happen to come within sight of a particularly large hill or mountain and are located in the northern hemisphere, keep an eye for snow coverage near the peak. North of the equator, slopes which face north receive a degree less sunlight than their south-facing counterparts, and so will collect snow earlier in the fall and retain it later into the spring.
While easy to perform, these techniques provide loose indications at best, and so should be used mainly to occasionally reaffirm your route after first confirming your direction using a more precise method.
See also Create an Improvised Compass
