• flicker@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    1 month ago

    If you are confused, check with the sun. Carry a compass to help you along. Your feet are going to be on the ground. Your head is there to move you around.

    Stand in the place where you live. Now face north.

    • ouRKaoS@lemmy.today
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 month ago

      Think about direction, wonder where you are because you remember dumb song lyrics and not navigation skills.

      • gnu@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 month ago

        Listen to reason, reason is calling on the same handy device every man and his dog has which will provide a north oriented aerial view of the area in question and even a compass display if the map isn’t enough to orient yourself.

  • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    1 month ago

    One time I called 911 because I was following a drunk driver that had collided with multiple vehicles and kept driving. The operator asked me what direction so I looked at my maps app and it said I was going west so I told them west and they said “Sir that street doesn’t run west.” I was speechless after that.

    • Emerald@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      1 month ago

      So you might’ve been going west, but not westbound. Roads curve often in the USA (i’m guessing you are from the USA because 911)

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 month ago

    Worst case scenario, download a compass app for your phone, but watch out for scams that will require heavy network traffic

    iPhone/appleWatch may have one already, but I don’t know about android

      • potpotato@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 month ago

        No data, no map.

        GPS can give your coordinates, but that’s pointless unless you walk a bit and translate the direction.

        Compass uses most of its power for the screen.

        • superkret@feddit.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 month ago

          Do you have a minute to talk about Openstreetmap? You can download the map before you head out, then navigate without data connection.

            • superkret@feddit.org
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 month ago

              I just use the app for navigation so I always download the map for the area I travel to before I go.

              • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                1 month ago

                I used to do the same when i was too poor to afford data on my phone or when i go through areas with poor service.

          • Omgpwnies@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 month ago

            google also allows offline caching, but also needs to be set up ahead of time. AFAIK once you set a region to download, it will update that cache regularly.

            I would expect this is a feature that most map apps would offer

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 month ago

              Following the gps map- is great when you’re trying to get somewhere, but if the goal is walking, I usually want to leave the tech in my pocket. Compass is a nice compromise to help navigate while still taking a break from behind slave to the machine

    • Cracks_InTheWalls@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 month ago

      Quick shoutout for Trail Sense for Android. Designed to function offline, lots of cool navigation/basic tools I haven’t used outside of the GPS and compass, reasonable permissions, etc. One of those “You don’t know how useful it is until you don’t have connectivity” things.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 month ago

        Excellent! I tried a couple trail apps for iPhone without any luck - they didn’t have local trails or cost too much for how occasionally I’d use it. Lately I have been doing short local hikes on well marked trails, so it’s not really a need

  • ShaunaTheDead@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    24
    ·
    1 month ago

    East is sunrise. West is sunset. The sun will also always be slightly south and even more so in the winter (unless you’re in the southern hemisphere then it’s slightly north).

    If your local area has some kind of landmark like a big tower, or a big lake, learn where that is relative to you and use it as a reference point. For me, I live near a big lake and it’s always south of me. It might be easier for you to ask yourself “which way is the lake?” instead of “which way is south?” or whatever your landmark and direction happen to be.

    • gnu@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 month ago

      If it’s night and you can see both the Southern Cross and the Pointers it’s pretty trivial to determine south; if you’re in the northern hemisphere you get it even easier with Polaris to mark north.

    • chrizzly@feddit.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 month ago

      My initial thought when reading your comment was a response about differentiation of both hemispheres, but the way you wrote it was actually quite clever, so kudos for that! :D

        • Routhinator@startrek.website
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 month ago

          Haha, yes there’s that extreme. However that effect is a gradient. You start to notice it north of the 60th parallel (Canada where the bulk of the population lives) but it’s only slight. In winter the sun is just slightly south of the middle of the sky.

          Here in Campbell River BC we are at the 50th parallel, and on Saturday at Noon (we are out of DST now so we are talking true noon) the sun was to the direct south, 45 degrees to the horizon. It rises and sets… but to the SE, S and SW.