Find your direction with a stick and the sun

[ATCclears]

Find Your Direction With A Stick And The Sun

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[huthuthike]

I'm not an expert and I'm not sure where I got the idea but...

Can't you look from the stick to the end of the shadow as a south to north line? This would be reversed in the southern hemisphere but how lost do people usually get?

Again, I'm not an expert and the linked method is also correct. If I'm wrong correct me and possibly save my life!

 

[JRuby]

If I can see the sun I dont have a problem navigating - the problem I have is when the skys are overcast or the foliage is too thick to see the sun. There is nothing like a good compass.

 

[huthuthike]

I'm not an expert and I'm not sure where I got the idea but...

Can't you look from the stick to the end of the shadow as a south to north line? This would be reversed in the southern hemisphere but how lost do people usually get?

Again, I'm not an expert and the linked method is also correct. If I'm wrong correct me and possibly save my life!

I realized that my method only works at noon. If the sun is low in the sky at dawn or dusk the shadow will point mostly west or east. The 15 minute track provides a way to get that east to west line.

 

[Jammer Six]

Another good strategy is to stick to terrain you know. You won't need a map or a compass then.

That all said, I'd trust a broken compass before I'd trust a work-around. A broken compass can be coerced into pointing to magnetic north.