The method differs depending on whether you’re in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. I use it all the time because it’s so quick and easy. Here’s a convenient way to locate the cardinal directions: North, South, East, and West. If you can’t see the horizon you will need to estimate where it is. And I often use it to estimate how much light is left at the end of the day. The number of fingers between the Sun and horizon, multiplied by 15 minutes, tells you the time remaining until sunset. If you are an adult, each of your fingers represents about 15 minutes of daylight. If you can’t see the horizon, you will need to estimate. Don’t look at the Sun!Ĭount the number of fingers between the Sun and the horizon. Now place the center of the sun just above the top edge of your pointer finger. Turn your hand so your fingers run parallel to the horizon. To estimate how much sunlight is left in the day, hold up your hand, fingers together, palm toward your face. I like this technique because you use a part of your body to make the approximation. It can help you choose between trails, or let you know it’s time to turn back. Knowing how much daylight remains is helpful when weighing different options on the trail. But you can use them to navigate safely to camp, or more importantly, to impress your hiking buddies! So they likely differ from the techniques used by our ancestors. They’re based on modern geometry and astronomy. And it’s the Sun that helps us find our way.īelow are three simple tricks you can use to quickly orient yourself and judge daylight using the Sun. Its familiar face tells me if I’m facing north, south, east or west. If you can use the sky to do this, you have a valuable outdoor tool in your bag of tricks. But orienting yourself and judging distance against daylight is still a vital skill. Today we have reliable compasses and fancy GPS units. Our ancient ancestors did it using just the earth and sky. I’ve found our camp.įinding your way is an important skill in the backcountry. So onward it is.Īfter ten minutes of hiking the smell of a slow burning fire tells me I’ve arrived.
There’s nothing to be gained by dawdling. I need to reach camp before I lose the patches of cobalt sky peeking through the canopy. The terrain seems familiar, but I can’t be certain. As evening falls, their shadows dance like ghosts across the trail. I drift through the forest in the fading light.
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