Navigation is not a topic most people think about until they’re lost in the woods. Suddenly, every step you take feels like it could be your last. But as long as you have a map and know how to use it effectively, getting lost is a thing of the past.
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about wilderness navigation so that next time you find yourself wandering around with no idea where you are or which direction is north, nothing stands between you and making it home safely because trust me when I say that being lost out there isn’t fun!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Wilderness navigation is an essential skill for outdoor enthusiasts. |
| Basic navigation tools such as maps, compasses, and GPS devices can help you stay oriented in the wild. |
| It’s important to also learn natural navigation techniques to complement your technology-based skills. |
| Always plan ahead and be prepared for the unexpected when venturing into the wilderness. |
| If you do get lost, stay calm and remember to prioritize shelter, water, and safety until you can find your way back to civilization. |
Understand The Terrain
The first step in navigating is to understand both the terrain and how it will affect your route. What type of terrain are you traveling through? Is it dense forest, open meadowland, or rocky terrain? How will this affect your speed and ability to move quickly?
Are there any dangerous obstacles along the way that could lead to injury or death if not avoided properly (i.e., large boulders, rivers)?
After assessing the surrounding area for hazards and other potentially dangerous factors that may impact navigation, it’s important to know how best to navigate around them so as not to endanger yourself unnecessarily.
If you see a river ahead of you on your path forward, what should you do? Can’t cross safely without getting wet feet/pants/etc.?
Should keep going downstream until an easier crossing point is found off-trail; look downriver if possible since most rivers flow downhill rather than uphill (the same goes for streams); otherwise try going upstream – but watch out for whirlpools!
If you’re an adventurer who loves camping, hiking, or exploring nature, then learning wilderness navigation is essential for your safety. Our guide to wilderness navigation as the ultimate survival skill provides practical tips that can help you stay on track and find your way back home.
Know Which Direction Is North
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. This is true at all times of the year, wherever you are and regardless of your location’s latitude.
So if it’s nighttime and there’s no moon out, you can use Polaris (a star called “the north star”) as a way to get your bearings.
Simply look for this star and then line up the direction it is pointing with any other landmark within sight, such as another tall tree or mountain peak. You should be able to find north easily by doing this!
If you don’t have access to a map but wish you did, don’t worry there are still ways for wilderness explorers like yourself to find their way through unfamiliar territory without maps: Trees grow towards sunlight (which means they’re growing “south”), so moss generally grows on northern sides of trees rather than southern sides.
Rocks tend not only face south due to erosion by wind or other factors (such as gravity), but also because that’s where most water collects during rainfall seasons.
Smartphones have GPS built into them already! Just open up Google Maps or another mapping app on your phone, press “navigate,” then follow its instructions until reaching somewhere familiar again!
Top Compass Brands to Help You Find North
| Brand Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Suunto | Suunto is a Finnish brand that produces high-quality and accurate compasses suitable for hiking, backpacking, and outdoor activities. Their compasses feature a clear and detailed scale, declination adjustment, and a large sighting mirror for accurate bearings. |
| Brunton | Brunton is an American brand that has been producing compasses for more than 100 years. They offer a range of reliable and durable compasses, from basic models to advanced ones, which provide features such as adjustable declination, global needle, and clinometers that calculate slope and angle. |
| Garmin | Garmin is a popular brand that offers reliable and affordable GPS devices, but also compasses suitable for outdoor adventures. Their compasses feature a durable and waterproof design, global needle, adjustable declination, and a high-visibility dial with a luminescent backlight for low-light use. |
| Silva | Silva is a Swedish brand known for producing innovative and user-friendly compasses with high accuracy and reliability. Their compasses come with features such as a bezel with a sighting window, adjustable declination, and luminous markings for improved visibility in low light conditions. |
| Coleman | Coleman is a well-known brand that produces a variety of outdoor gear, including compasses suitable for camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Their compasses are known for their simplicity and affordability, featuring a durable and lightweight design, clear dial, and a lanyard for easy carrying. |
Trust Your Instincts
When you are lost, trust your instincts. If you don’t feel like you are going the right way, you probably aren’t. You should also be prepared to stop and ask for directions if necessary.
Remember: It is better to admit that you are lost than to stay on a course that will only lead deeper into trouble!
Navigating through the wilderness with a compass, topographic maps, and other essential navigation tools can be challenging, especially for beginners. If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide, check out our post on navigating the wilderness: essential skills for any adventurer to learn more.
Estimate Your Speed
The second thing you need to know is your speed. How fast are you going? To estimate your speed, use the following formula:
distance divided by time = speed in miles per hour (mph) or kilometers per hour (km/h).
For example, if it took me 45 minutes to drive from one end of a park to another and then back again, my average speed would be 1 mile every minute or 5 mph.
This is important because it lets you know how much time you have before reaching your destination and whether you need to make adjustments such as taking a shorter route or waiting for traffic conditions to improve so that you can make better time along the way. It’s also important for safety reasons you don’t want to get lost with no idea where help might come from!
Top Pedometer Brands to Help You Measure Your Distance
| Brand Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Fitbit | Fitbit is a popular brand that offers a range of pedometers suitable for tracking your steps and measuring distance traveled. Their pedometers come with accurate sensors that monitor your steps, distance, and calories burned, and also provide real-time feedback on your activity level and goal progress. |
| Omron | Omron is a brand that produces high-quality pedometers suitable for measuring distance traveled and tracking your physical activity. Their pedometers come with advanced features such as 3D sensor technology, accurate step counting, and a large display that shows your progress. |
| Garmin | Garmin is a well-known brand that offers a range of pedometers suitable for runners, walkers, and other fitness enthusiasts. Their pedometers come with accurate sensors that track your steps and distance traveled, and also provide features such as stopwatch, timer, and lap counter. |
| Accusplit | Accusplit is a brand that produces affordable and reliable pedometers suitable for measuring distance and tracking your activity level. Their pedometers come with features such as accurate step counting, distance measuring, and a large display that shows your progress throughout the day. |
| 3D Active | 3D Active is a brand that produces pedometers with advanced 3D sensor technology that accurately measures your steps and distance traveled. Their pedometers come with a sleek and lightweight design, large LCD display, and a long-lasting battery that can last for up to 12 months. |
Don’t Be Afraid To Stop And Ask For Directions
If you are lost, never be afraid to ask for directions. Even if it seems embarrassing or humiliating, don’t be afraid to ask for help from strangers or people you know well.
A lot of people are used to giving directions and will gladly help out if they can. It’s not a big deal! Just remember that if someone offers their help, be sure to thank them and make sure that they know how grateful you are.
When you’re hiking or camping in the wilderness, getting lost can be a frustrating and potentially dangerous experience. Fortunately, with essential navigation tips, you can avoid this situation and enjoy your adventure. Check out our post on never getting lost in the wilderness again: essential navigation tips for some practical insights and techniques.
Make A Mental Note Of Where You Are At All Times
You should always make a mental note of where you are at all times, no matter how far from home you may be.
A mental note is simply using landmarks to help identify where you are. You can also use a map and compass together to help identify where you are, but if you don’t know where your starting point was, then it won’t matter how good your navigation skills are because getting back home will be impossible!
Keep An Eye On Your Watch
Another important factor in navigation is time. Knowing the time can help you plan your trip, make sure you’re on schedule and keep track of how long it takes to get from point A to point B.
If you have a watch with a stopwatch function, that can be especially helpful because it will keep track of how much time has passed since you last checked the clock (and how far along you are on your journey).
But like all equipment in the backcountry, it’s probably best to leave your fancy wristwatch at home during camping trips unless its water-resistant capabilities are absolutely essential.
It may also be wise not to rely solely on what an app says about sunrise/sunset times during high altitudes or extreme weather conditions (iPhones don’t always receive accurate GPS signals), so bring along some actual paper maps of nearby areas as well as an analog clock or two – just in case!
When you’re hiking or camping in the wilderness, getting lost can be a frustrating and potentially dangerous experience. Fortunately, with essential navigation tips, you can avoid this situation and enjoy your adventure. Check out our post on never getting lost in the wilderness again: essential navigation tips for some practical insights and techniques.
Have A Back-Up Plan (Or Two)
No matter how good a navigator you are, there will be times when you get lost. It happens to everyone, and it’s important that you know how to handle the situation in a way that won’t put your life at risk.
One of the best ways to prepare for this is by having an alternate plan for getting out of the wilderness if things go wrong.
This can mean bringing along extra supplies or even having someone waiting at a predetermined location with supplies (if they’re somewhere where they can safely wait).
Pack Like A Local
Pack for the weather. You may not be able to accurately predict what the weather will be like where you’re going, but if it’s a place with a longer-than-average growing season, pack some extra food in case things get bad and crops fail.
Pack for the environment. If you’re hiking through an area known for its abundance of certain plants or animals (mushrooms, bears), take precautions to avoid being injured by them—or worse yet; keep them out of your campsite altogether!
Pack for the terrain. Are there any major obstacles that might make navigation more difficult than usual? Are there any areas where you could easily become lost?
If so, be sure to pack extra supplies just in case–this includes water containers since water sources can vary dramatically depending on elevation changes and other factors related to terrain type and location within larger ecosystems along with seasons when rainfall is low due to drought conditions affecting plant growth cycles which affects animal migration patterns which affects hunting practices among indigenous populations living nearby who rely on these resources as part of their traditional lifestyles…etcetera
Reading topographic maps, GPS, compass, and other navigation tools not only requires practice, but also an understanding of the basics. If you’re looking to improve your navigation and orientation skills, our guide on from beginner to expert: a comprehensive guide to wilderness navigation provides tips on everything you need to know.
Use Landmarks To Follow The Right Path
Now that you have a basic understanding of how to navigate using the sun, moon, and stars, let’s talk about how to use landmarks.
As you travel through the wilderness and make your way across the country, it can be tempting to rely on your GPS or compass.
But remember: these tools will give you only a general idea of where you are in relation to the rest of the world. They won’t tell you what direction is north or south they just provide coordinates!
So don’t rely on these tools exclusively when traveling through unknown territory instead, use them as one of several sources for navigation (including landmarks).
Landmarks are objects that are easy to recognize even when they’re far away; they include mountains, rivers and lakes, roads (if no longer traveled), buildings like barns and sheds… basically anything big enough not easily missed! With these features in mind as reference points along your route, always remember that there is more than one way home.
Double Check Your Route Options Often
The most important thing is to double-check your route options often. You should use a map and compass to confirm you are on the right path.
If you get lost, don’t panic! Stop and take a few minutes to think about where you are. Then turn around and make your way back to where you started.
This section will teach you the basics of how to navigate using a map and compass for navigation in areas that have no cell phone connection or GPS devices.
If it is not possible for someone else to come pick up our group from their location (for example, if they have gotten lost), then we must be able . . .
If you’re planning a camping or hiking trip in the wilderness, having a solid plan and practicing essential navigation skills can help you stay safe and be prepared. Our post on the ultimate wilderness navigation guide: how to find your way in the wild provides insights and techniques to keep you on track and avoid getting lost.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped you understand the basics of wilderness navigation. As with all skills, practice makes perfect. So get out there and start exploring!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources that may help you improve your navigation skills:
How to Not Get Lost While Hiking: A Beginner’s Guide: This guide offers great insights into how to stay on track when hiking, including tips for identifying trail markers, using a compass, and planning routes ahead of time.
What to Do if You Get Lost in the Woods: This informative article provides some practical steps to take if you’re ever lost in the wild, such as staying calm, finding shelter and water, and navigating your way out using basic survival skills.
Natural Navigation Techniques: This page has detailed information about natural navigation techniques that can help you find your way without a compass or GPS, including using the stars, sun, wind, and plants for direction.
FAQs
What is wilderness navigation?
Wilderness navigation refers to the practical skills and knowledge necessary to travel safely and effectively in natural environments such as forests, mountains, and deserts.
What are some essential navigation tools?
Some essential navigation tools include maps, compasses, GPS devices, and personal locator beacons. However, it’s important to remember that technology can fail, and it’s wise to also learn basic orienteering skills such as using natural landmarks, the position of the sun, and the stars for direction.
How can I improve my wilderness navigation skills?
There are many ways to improve your wilderness navigation skills, including attending classes or workshops, reading books or guides, practicing orienteering or geocaching, and going on regular hikes with a group or experienced mentor.
What should I do if I get lost in the wilderness?
If you get lost in the wilderness, the first thing to do is stay calm and assess your situation. Look for shelter, water, and food if possible, and use basic survival skills to stay safe until you can find your way back to safety or get help.
Can I learn wilderness navigation on my own?
Yes, it’s possible to learn wilderness navigation on your own through online resources, books, and practice. However, it’s also highly recommended to take classes or seek guidance from experienced mentors to gain more confidence and accuracy in your skills.
Hi! I’m Hellen James, and I am the founder of Unified Survival. I have a deep passion for the wilderness and everything that goes along with it. I’ve been hiking since I was a child, and I grew up camping in state parks all over the country. But it wasn’t until recently that I learned how to survive in the wilderness.