During midday it can be more difficult to determine which way the sun is moving, so you may need to work a little harder.
If you can find a patch of dirt, use that area instead of grass. The grass may make it more difficult to see the shadow accurately and mark it.
You can also place your left foot on the location of the first marker, and place your right foot on the second marker. The direction your body will be facing is north.
At night, you can find the North Star using the Big Dipper as well. The Big Dipper is shaped like a ladle with a handle and a cup. The two stars that make up the side farthest from the handle, or the outside edge of the cup, are called pointer stars. Note the distance between these two stars. Draw a line away from the bottom of the cup through the star at the lip as indicated by the pointer stars for an additional length of five of these pointer distances. If you see a star nearby, that is the North Star. If the area is clouded over, you are still within three degrees of true north. Another way to find the North Star is to learn to identify the five stars that make the “W” shape in Cassiopeia. It is located directly opposite the North Star from the Big Dipper. [6] X Research source In the southern hemisphere, you can find the Southern Cross constellation in the night sky to find south.
Push the shorter stick in the ground first. Line up a star in the sky. Place the taller stick in the ground so the tip lines up in a straight line with the first stick and the star in the sky.
If the star moved left, you are looking north. If the star shifted to the right, you are facing south. If the star is higher, you are looking east. If the star moved down, you are facing west. [8] X Research source The star will likely have moved in a combination of directions, like up and to the right. So, you will need to estimate your southeast direction by how much the star moved in each direction.
Note: You should only use this method between 40 and 60 degrees north or south of the equator. The closer you are in proximity to the equator, the less accurate this method will be. If you have a digital watch, you can simply draw a circle on the ground with a stick. You can use this to represent the watch. [9] X Research source
If you are in the southern hemisphere, point the twelve on your watch in the direction of the sun. If you are drawing the “watch” on the ground, draw a line in the direction of the sun. In the northern hemisphere this will represent the hour hand; it will represent the twelve on the watch in the southern hemisphere. Ignore the minute hand; it is not used in this method. In the northern hemisphere, you would draw a line to the 12. In the southern hemisphere, you would draw the second line toward the current hour.
You can also try to line up a landmark with another landmark further away. Keep the landmark in line with the more distant landmark as you travel to be sure you are going straight. If you have a map, orient the map in the direction you are facing. North is usually up at the top of a map. Walking straight may seem easy, but without a means of getting their bearings people tend to walk in circles while thinking they are traveling in a straight line. [11] X Research source
