Land navigation tips from readers

Your topographic map is your most important land navigation tool. If you ever find yourself without a map in the unknown wilderness, one of your first priorities is simple to make your own map.


Homemade map

Find the best vantage point and look out over the terrain. Climbing a tree may give a better view. Note the direction of the ridges, count how many you can see. Make a general map with blank patches and then fill them in as you gain more information from other vantage points and from your explorations on the ground.

Ready to share your wilderness navigation skills? Before your navigation tip page is published I will review it and make sure it applies to the submission guidelines for the Wilderness Survival Skills website.

Thank you in advance for sharing.

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

The right direction 
Use your survival gear enough to trust it with your life before you have to.

Survival situations can be stressful and stress affects your thinking. If ...

When is the Sun due East or West, at what angle does it rise and set? 
Al-Biruni,(973-1048) a polymath who lived in Afghanistan, came up with these simple methods of determining direction by the sun:

The Amplitude, or ...

Navigation by the moon 
I always study in advance the times of the rise and set for the sun and moon. In the northern hemisphere when the moon is at its transit (mid point between ...

Walking straight  
In heavy Forrest, all things being equal, right handed people tend to make right handed turns and therefore if each side of the tree is equal they will ...

Land Navigation with Map and Lensatic Compass 
The fact is many people every year get lost in the wilderness, due to their lack of knowledge in LAND NAVIGATION skills. BUT, how does one improve on ...

Look for landmarks 
Keep aware of your surroundings, always mark a tree every few km or so to remember where you have been. Look for landmarks that stand out, just in case ...

Memorize the terrain 
When moving cross country on foot stop every few minutes and take a long look at your back trail. Try to memorize the terrain. Wild country always looks ...

Using the Moon to find the Meridian 
By the meridian, I mean the North-South line of the observer. Take a length of cord (even if you have to make it, or a straight stick) in your fingers,...

Know your distance 
Some sound advice before venturing out in the bush is to know how many paces it takes for you to walk a hundred meters. That way when you are navigating ...

Shadow stick method 
To determine a true East-West Line on a sunny day, place a stick upright in the ground. Mark the end of the shadow with a stone. Wait 15 minutes or so,...

Field expedient direction finding 
If lost in a wooded area, look for a stump from a logged tree. Observe the growth rings. The southerly direction can be determined by the width of the ...

Stick compass 
Take a straight stick or branch with few defects. It needs to make a straight shadow. Then place it in the ground so it stands up straight. When the sun ...

Finding Direction by the stars  Not rated yet
Capricorn looks like an arrow head, it points due South: Orion always rise in the east & sets in the West, the third star down, opposite the handle on ...