Hiking 411 | Navigating By The Sun and Stars

Periodically, while on a hiking trip, it's invaluable to be able to go back to 'old-school' navigation practices.

Present-day maps, compasses and particularly GPS devices are great. But there can always be a worst-case scenario - you can lose your map, your compass can break, or your batteries can go dead. Moreover, GPS devices won't always get a signal - often it will get blocked by, of all things, trees. Unfortunately, there are usually a lot of trees in a hiking area :)

The best thing is merely to have some simple navigational skill that does not depend on anything except your eyes and intelligence. Luckily, that wisdom is easy to learn and use.

Most people early in life learn that the sun sets in the West and rises in the East. And that's nearly accurate. However, being away from the equator, or sometime near midday, can make it a little more difficult to ascertain.

The sun will be south of you at noon in the Northern Hemisphere. If you check again an hour later, it will have moved a sufficient distance to be able to determine it's general direction clearly. It is always more useful to take several calculations when attempting to assess direction.

Recognize landmarks around you and note the time on your watch. Take notice of the sun's attitude at 1/2 hour periods and keep a mental diagram of the line along which it is moving. That'll provide you with a natural East-West line.

Once you have that, discovering North and South is simple. North is 90 degrees 'to the right' of West, South is 90 degrees 'to the left'.

You'll have possible trouble in the evening. Clearly the sun isn't in the sky to direct you. Nevertheless, you'll still be able to navigate by the stars. Human beings have done so for many millennia. Extreme rain or fog, or even trees, make that arduous, however. Sometimes you'll have to wait until you get a clearer viewpoint.

Stars are sometimes very bright. Most hiking trails are far away from city lights. It should be pretty simple to pick out major constellations to use for guidance.

Around 8 pm, look up at the sky, then around in a small circle. You should fairly quickly be able to find the Big Dipper, the group of stars that resembles a cooking pot. The 2 stars at the end of the 'scoop' form a line that bears toward the North Star.

Another constellation that is simple to locate is Orion's Belt, a sequence of three stars that form part of the Orion formation. They're nearly straight across west to east looking generally south about 9 pm in the evening.

Obviously, the constellations will be in differing positions at different points of the night. But the Big Dipper's scoop stars will still bear toward the North Star, and Orion's belt - as long as it's still visible - and will still be in generally the same orientation and direction.

When you arrange any hike, become familiar with the locations of some of the main constellations. Even day hiking can evolve into an overnight stopover without warning. You'll be very happy to have that wisdom if it does.

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Navigating By The Sun and Stars