How to Get Bearings Using the Shadow Tip Method

You are lost--hopelessly lost. The irony is that if you could only get your bearings, you know you could find civilization, but you are afraid that if you begin walking hard one way, it might turn out to be the wrong way. Never fear. You need only two things to indicate proper direction no matter where you are: the sun and a stick. Since the odds are stacked mightily in your favor that those two things are available to you, you are as good as saved.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Straight stick
• 2 small stones

1. FInd a brush-free area (or clear an area of brush) that is also somewhat level. This area is your ground compass.
2. Drive a straight stick into the middle of your ground compass. It need not be exactly vertical, but the straighter up, the better.
3. Look at the shadow cast by the stick. Use your finger or a small stone to mark the tip--just the tip--of the stick's shadow.
4. Wait 15 minutes, then look at the stick's shadow again. Its tip should have moved almost 2 inches from its previous spot.
5. Use your finger or another small stone and mark the tip of this second shadow. You should now have two markers on the ground, about 2 inches apart.
6. Use your finger or another stick to draw a straight line on the ground, from the first marker, through the second marker, and on for about 1 foot more. Again, this line should be as perfectly straight as possible.
7. Stand with your left foot on the first marker and your right foot on the end of the line that you just finished drawing on the ground. If you are in the northern hemisphere, you'll be looking north. Directly behind you is south, to your right is east and to your left is west. If you are in the southern hemisphere, you'll be looking south. Directly behind you is north, to your right is west and to your left is east.

Tips & Warnings

• This method works most accurately in the temperate zones of the world.