Outdoor Survival Tips (DIRECTION)

Nature can supply everything that is essential to survival but the secret isn’t just availability. The secret to survival is knowing what you need, where to look for it and how to use it to your advantage. Keeping this in mind the following material has been specifically designed and organized to answer these questions and supply as many helpful hints as possible about surviving within a wide variety of extreme situations.

DIRECTION

1. Keeping on course: To find your way out of most forests these days, a person only has to walk a few miles in any one direction. The problem is that a few miles can turn into several days of travel if the course chosen isn’t a straight one. So, to avoid any delay in self-rescue simply pick an object in the distance and walk to it. As you approach this object choose another directly in line with the first. By following this simple yet effect formula you can’t help but travel in a straight line.

2. Using your watch as a compass: There are three requirements for this process to work. First your watch must have an hour hand. Second the watch must be set to the correct local time and third the sun must be shining bright enough to cast a shadow.

Next to the watch place a thin object (Pine needle or twig) capable of spreading a narrow shadow across its surface.

Line up the watch so that the shadow crosses over the center of the 12 O’clock symbol.

Calculate the half way point between the 12 O’clock symbol and the hour hand. This is True North. To find True South simply line up the hour hand with the shadow, and find the half way point between it and 12 O’clock.

3. Using a pin or needle as a compass: In order for any survival expedition to be successful, you must have the right materials. To use a needle as a compass, you must have a silk or other type of polarizing cloth. This is all you will be needing (aside from the pin of course!)

Rub the needle on the cloth in one direction (it doesn’t matter either up or down. It must be rubbed in a dragging motion IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY!!!

Place the now magnetized/polarized needle on a leaf or other such floatable material in a small motionless pool of water. The side of the needle that was dragged across the silk will point North. And that’s how it’s done!

4. The Moss theory: Due to moisture content and sunlight, moss generally grows on the North side of trees. This of course isn’t very dependable because of the various climate conditions but it could be a good collaborator to other methods of telling direction.

5. Celestial navigation: The North star, Northern lights and the suns movements are the oldest means of navigation in the world. Northern lights: Simply scan the night sky and watch for strange cloud type objects moving in the sky just above the horizon. These are the Northern lights. After finding them simply make note of their direction by lining up two land marks in a straight line with the movements of these lights. Rising and Setting sun: The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

6. Know where was that spot again? Triangulation is simple when using a compass. When your standing in a spot you would like to come back to, take out your compass and face directly toward one of the four main directions North, South, East or West. Now simply move to your left 45 degrees and line up a landmark (remember it), then turn back to where you started and move 45 degrees to the right and line up another landmark. This quick triangulation will get you back to this position within a few feet every time. (Just remember your land marks and original direction chosen, then its a simple task of just realigning them).

Original at: http://adventuresage.com/2008/10/18/outdoor-survival-tips-direction/