Un-natural directional aids

[DavidEnoch]

When I look at survival articles or articles on navigation most of them talk about natural directional aids such as the north star, moss on trees, prevailing winds, etc. Then they skip to compasses.

In the world we live in today, in most parts of the world we are close enough to civilization to see aircraft contrails and to hear the sounds of distant roads. If you pay attention to the normal air traffic and listen for the sounds of roads, trains, etc. you will have another set of navigational aids, un-natural directional aids. This has helped me more than once when I have been turned around. I don't think I have ever been far enough from civilization not to hear or see un-natural directional aids.

David Encoh

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

good point,
but the point of the Natures Direction finding info is Probably initially from military teaching when they had no other means of direction finding (having escaped a jail in nothing but their clothes).

Are you taking into account disaster possibilities? Like fuel stocks diminishing, yes it's far off but in 100 years or so there won't be:

aircraft contrails and to hear the sounds of distant roads

If you take the BBC drama Survivors as a possible scenario(however unrealistic it is), there wouldn't be much traffic.

also if you go to some of the further reaches of the earth like northern Canada/Russia/China also there will be little traffic or aircraft.

The thing to remember is..."You can use Nature to help you navigate"(but you don't have to).

It's the same ethic as "I could light my cooker by bow drill"(but i don't have to).

but you never know ....one day you might just be glad you learned that bit!

by the way I've looked into some of the techniques and you have to be very careful!
Moss growing the south side of things? in some cases moss grows right around trees!
Tree rings? well to start with you need to find a very flat cut tree trunk! even then they might not be clear.
Trees growing more towards the south? again plants grow towards the best sunlight, which in some cases will be away from the south if they are in the shade of other trees, also high winds are a complication!

in general to find trees leaning towards the south they need to be something slow growing like an Oak on it's own.

stars work unless it's cloudy!

and the best way I've found to find North/south is the Stick/shadow method(but you need the sun!)

 

[Stanleythecat]

I would be dubious about using tree rings as a navigational aid. In my experience the gradient has a stronger influence on the nature of annual rings and the tree trying to stabilise its own structure. Arborists call this reaction wood and depending on whether hard or soft wood will depend on where this wood accumulates.

Just an add in!

 

[sam_acw]

I think satellite dishes all point the same way

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Every aid to navigating is helpful, we all practice lots of skills your sense of direction should be one of them - imo

 

[bothyman]

Try this book

I've just finished reading it and seems to cover what you are looking for.

MickT

 

[Humpback]

David
When I'm far enough from signs of civilisation a manmade item like the GB OS map (or printoff from the likes of Anquet) helps me no end. But then my stamping grounds are on a British scale and I have little legs!
Alan

 

[Surrey Yeoman]

I think satellite dishes all point the same way

Not exactly the same way, but most of them face pretty much South, or just a shade to the East of South.

I use them quite often to get my bearings in towns!

And, if you keep your eyes open and look above the shop fronts and roof lines, you'll still often see old weather vanes which will give you NSEW and the direction of the wind.

Also, the convention in church graveyards (in the UK anyway) is that bodies are burried on their backs with their feet towards the East, so that when the Day of Resurrection comes (fingers crossed), our dearly departed need only sit upright to be facing the rising sun!

 

[gzornenplat]

Also, the convention in church graveyards (in the UK
anyway) is that bodies are burried on their backs with their feet towards the East, so that
when the Day of Resurrection comes (fingers crossed), our dearly departed need only sit
upright to be facing the rising sun!

The altar is always at the east end of a church, too.

The gnomen (stick) on a sundial points away from the equator (you can work out which
hemisphere you are in by the way the water goes down a plughole )

Solar-powered equipment (motorway phones etc) will generally point south (you might also
want to look out for signs saying 'The North' or 'The South'.)

 

[wicca]

I appreciate that in mountainous areas and the like, where winds get funnelled by valleys and seem come from all directions, that it's unwise to rely too much on tree shape etc: but down here up on the high Downland you can almost set your compass by the way the trees and even the gorse bushes lean away from the prevailing South West wind. Handy when the sea mists roll in and the viz goes down to a few yards.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Quote:

I think satellite dishes all point the same way
Not exactly the same way, but most of them face pretty much South, or just a shade to the East of South.

wow you learn something everyday!

 

[bob_the_bomb]

It may be a "suck eggs" thing but powerlines can help. When you look at a map the pylons are represented 'conventionally' (i.e. the little symbol for the pylons doesnt exactly mean thats where each pylon is built) EXCEPT on the corners, where there is always a pylon of course.

And, on powerlines the construction of the pylons where there is a change of direction tends to be different as there is a lateral stress on the cables. This means you can always use a change of direction in a pylon line to get a fix.

Just dont try to take a compass bearing standing under a pylon line of course

 

[scanker]

Thanks for the graveyard/church information Surrey Yeoman and gzornenplat. I knew about the satellite dish thing and use it quite often - I can't remember who it was, but I defintely found out about it on here.

 

[Pict]

I do alot of my bush crafting 1.5 hours away from a city of 5.3 million people. At night there is a solid glow over the horizon in the direction of the city, Belo Horizonte, in the north. South of the same place about 15 km away is the town of Ouro Preto, smaller glow. Often I find myself orienting on these two as if they were my sun and moon. Mac