Without a map or compass
Shadow tip method
Many living creatures use the sun to navigate from. It’s one
of the most reliable ways to find direction. In the northern
hemisphere the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
So in the morning the eastern sky will be brighter and in
the evening the western sky will be brighter. At midday
the sun in the Southern Hemisphere is to the North,
whilst in the Northern Hemisphere it is in the South.
The ‘shadow tip method’ works in the northern
and southern hemispheres. You need sun, a stick
approximately a metre long and a flat piece of ground.
1 Place the ‘shadow stick’ vertically in the flat piece
of ground.
2 Mark the tip of its shadow with a mark or pebble.
3 Wait 10–15 minutes and mark the second shadow tip.
4 Draw as straight a line as you can through the two
marks. This is your east–west line. The first point is
the west marker. This is true in the northern and
southern hemispheres.
5 A line perpendicular to the east-west line will be the
north–south line. In the northern hemisphere the side
where the shadow stick is will be south. In the southern
hemisphere the stick will be on the north side.
6 If you plot the shadow tip in the morning and
regularly mark each shadow tip throughout the
day the shortest shadow will be at noon and due
north in the northern hemisphere.
Survival tips
I find it useful to work out how much sunlight I
have left in the day. If I know how much travel
time is left before nightfall I can plan for shelter.
Each finger represents approximately 2.5° and the
sun moves approximately 15° every hour. One
finger therefore represents ten minutes. Hold
your outstretched arm towards the sun: with your
fingers horizontal, see how many fit between
the sun and the horizon. It’s best not to use the
thumb. If six fingers fill the gap between sun and
horizon it’s approximately one hour until sunset.
The sun is one
of the best
indicators
anywhere
in the world
for direction.
Learn to
use it!
7 In Arctic and Antarctic regions above the latitudes 66.5°
south and 66.5° north, the sun may be above the horizon
all the time. In this case when the sun is at its lowest
or highest point it will be at true north in the northern
hemisphere or true south in the southern hemisphere.
Tracking time
2
Finding North
A more accurate method,
and a way to track time, is
a variation on the shadow
tip method. It requires
you to record shadow tips
from the moment when
the first shadow is cast
until the time that the
last shadow disappears.
This is a useful and quick way to determine direction
but is less accurate than the shadow tip method. It
works only with a conventional watch. Ignore any
time zones, as they don’t match real time.
Northern hemisphere
1 Place your 1m stick as above before first light.
As the first shadow is cast mark the tip. This will
be approximately 06:00 and due west.
2 Mark as accurate an arc as possible from the first shadow
and past 180° degrees on the approximate west–east line.
The shadow stick to the first shadow tip mark is the radius.
3 Regularly mark the shadow tips throughout the day.
4 When the shadow tip crosses the arc, mark this point.
This will be approximately due east and 18:00.
5 The shortest shadow tip mark will be approximately
noon and due north in the northern hemisphere.
6 Divide the arc into 12 one hour segments from 06:00
through the arc line to 18:00.
7 The season is an important factor, as sunrise and
sunset change with the seasons. But noon will
always be a reasonable constant.
Hold your watch flat and point the hour hand at
the sun. Bisect the angle between the hour hand
and the 12:00 noon mark on your watch. The
bisected angle between the hour hand and the
12.00 noon mark will point south. The opposite
direction is therefore north, and from this you
can work out west and east.
F I N D I N G Y O U R WA Y
O UT D O O R S U R V I V A L M A N U A L
2
S
Bisect the angle
between the
hour hand and
12 o'clock
Point the hour
hand towards
the sun
12
Even if you think there’s no sun to cast a shadow try
placing your knife or a small stick on a piece of paper
or a light coloured surface and you may be surprised
to see a faint shadow cast, enough to be a useful
direction indicator.
Southern hemisphere
Point the 12:00 noon mark on your watch at the
sun. Bisect the angle between the 12:00 noon
mark and the hour hand. This points north.
N
E
(S)
x
34
E
x
W
Bisect the
angle between
12 o'clock and
the hour hand
12
W
(N)
N
Point the
12 o'clock
marker
towards
the sun
If you have
a digital watch
then replicate the
time using the face
of a clock in sand,
mud or on paper and
execute the same method.
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