How To Improvise a Compass (Day and Night)
"North? That's UP, right?"
Whether climbing at Annapurna Sanctuary or wandering in the local park, it's a good idea to know your direction. Knowing that the sun sets in the west doesn't do the trick. But even if celestial navigation is more reliable, how does it help on a day hike?
This tutorial will cover three different methods, two by day and one by night: Use your Watch, Use a Stick, and By the Stars. Each of these methods will enable you to better understand your locale--there is actually a basis for navigation, you know.
If you have become lost, don't panic. Relax, sit down, and come up with a solution to the problem, or at least a plan. If it is Daylight Savings Time, turn your watch back an hour before you calculate your direction.
Method 1: Use Your Watch (Daytime)
Find a small stick about 1 - 2 inches long. A match stick works great..
Prepare
your watch
Hold your watch flat, with the face towards the sky.
Position
the stick
Place a small stick upright (towards the sky) at the tip of the hour hand (the little hand).
Adjust
your watch
Turn the watch until the hour hand points to the sun. The shadow of the stick should fall exactly over the hour hand.
Method 2: Use a Stick (Daytime)
Find a stick about 8 - 12 inches long, then find a sunny patch of level ground.
Position
your stick
Poke your stick into the ground, tilted so it points into the sun (and casts no shadow).
Be
patient
Wait at least 15 minutes until the stick casts a shadow around 6 inches long
Add
the finishing touch
Draw a line straight across (perpendicular to) the shadow line.
Read
the results
Voila! You've got your compass. The stick is your west point and the end of the shadow is the east. The cross-line goes from north (on the right) to south (on the left).
Method 3: By the Stars (Night - Northern Hemisphere Only)
Find two (2) sticks, one longer than the other. About 10 inches and 14 inches.
Find
the North Star
The North Star can be found by following up the outside edge of the bail ("scoop") of the Big Dipper. Follow the line through the sky. The biggest shiniest star in that direction is the North Star. (The North Star is the first star in the handle of the Little Dipper.)
Plot
the placement of the sticks
Draw an imaginary line from the North Star to the ground. Stand facing the "point" where the line touches the ground. Poke holes into the ground for the sticks, a couple of feet apart, along the line between you and the "point.
Order
the sticks
Place the sticks in the ground so you see the tip of the shorter one first, then the tip of the longer one, then the North Star.
Finish
it off
Draw a line in the dirt between the two sticks. The stick closest to you is South, the one farthest is North.
-END-