Learning to use navigational and directional aspects of nature is all one needs to navigate in the wild. The use of a compass and map only complement skills that should have already been learned from our elders.

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So, let's list and briefly describe some of these navigational and directional parts of nature and divide them into daytime and nighttime aspects. Let it be said that the wind is not a reliable source for singularizing direction.

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DAYTIME:

1. The Sun obviously "moves" in a westerly direction; rising in the East and setting in the West. This simplest form of navigation is useful throughout the year; keeping in mind that if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun's rays are cast in a northerly direction - more so, during the winter months. The opposite is true if you live in the Southern Hemisphere.

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2. Migratory birds (dawn and dusk), and even butterflies (midday), during the autumn months have a tendency to fly southward.

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3. Moss, lichen and mushrooms have a tendency to grow more prolifically on the northern side of trees as they prefer less direct sunlight.

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4. Trees have a tendency to lean in an eastward and southward direction due to constant weather fronts and winds having a propensity to blow from the west towards the east, and the Sun's position; more often than not; towards the south.

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NIGHTTIME:

1. The Moon, as with the Sun, rises in the East and sets in the West. The phases of the moon indicate time within a month.

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2. Polaris, the North Star, never "moves" in the night sky. It serves as an axis to every constellation and a fixed-point due North.

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3. As with the moon, all stars "move" in a westerly direction.

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Journaling is an excellent means of remembering natural phenomenon as they occur. For more information regarding self-navigation, please refer to Module 3 in Bushcrafting @ the Wilderness Academy.