SRL THE SELF-RELIANCE LIBRARY
NAVIGATION
STEP 1 OF 7 · SRL-NAV-001
1-PAGE FIELD SHEET
How to Find North Without a Compass
Purpose — Establish a reliable direction using two independent data points, day or night.
FIELD CHECKLIST
- Straight ~30cm stick and flat open ground for shadow-stick method
- First shadow-tip mark placed, second mark placed 15–20 minutes later
- East-west line drawn between marks, first mark = west
- At night: Big Dipper or Cassiopeia used to locate Polaris
- Vegetation/terrain cues used only to sanity-check, not as primary
RED FLAGS — STOP AND RECHECK
- Relying on a single shadow mark or a single leaning tree
- Using the moss-on-north-side rule as a primary method
DECISION RULE
Daytime: shadow-stick. Clear night: star location. Always prefer two data points over one.
- Trusting one data point instead of two
- Using the Northern Hemisphere star method south of the equator
SAFETY NOTE
BEFORE YOU ACT ON THIS SHEETThese are approximate bearings for holding a general direction of travel, not precision navigation tools.
EMERGENCY REMINDERIf disoriented, stop moving, mark your position, and establish direction with two independent methods before choosing a travel direction.