Navigating by the Seat of Your Pants

In this non- OSSA required section of navigating, we will explore some old and some new ways of finding directions without modern equipment.

All readers are encouraged to submit their favorite tricks and hints to OSSA@cooscountysheriff.com

We will put your name and county on the submission!!!!

To determine where north lies, aim the hour hand of your watch at the sun. No matter what time it is, south lies half-way between the hour hand and twelve o'clock, putting north exactly opposite that direction. Got a digital watch? Just draw a big traditional watch face on the ground with the hour hand pointing at the sun. In the Southern Hemisphere? Aim the 12 on your watch face toward the sun. Any point mid-way between 12 and the hour hand, regardless of the time, will give you a north-south line with north being half-way between the hour hand and the 12.

 

 

Shadow-Tip Methods

In the first shadow-tip method, find a straight stick 1 meter long, and a level spot free of brush on which the stick will cast a definite shadow. This method is simple and accurate and consists of four steps:
bulletStep 1. Place the stick or branch into the ground at a level spot where it will cast a distinctive shadow. Mark the shadow's tip with a stone, twig, or other means. This first shadow mark is always west--everywhere on earth.
bulletStep 2. Wait 10 to 15 minutes until the shadow tip moves a few centimeters. Mark the shadow tip's new position in the same way as the first.
bulletStep 3. Draw a straight line through the two marks to obtain an approximate east-west line.
bulletStep 4. Stand with the first mark (west) to your left and the second mark to your right--you are now facing north. This fact is true everywhere on earth.

An alternate method is more accurate but requires more time. Set up your shadow stick and mark the first shadow in the morning. Use a piece of string to draw a clean arc through this mark and around the stick. At midday, the shadow will shrink and disappear. In the afternoon, it will lengthen again and at the point where it touches the arc, make a second mark. Draw a line through the two marks to get an accurate east-west line (see Figure 18-1).

Adapted from U.S. Army Field Manual, No. 21-76, Survival
by  Joe Doman, Coos County Search and Rescue