Miles Tanner - Navigating With or Without a Compass: Using Bearings and Nature to Find Your Way

S tudies have shown that you can actually improve your ability to find your way by practicing navigation skills. The part of the brain that determines location and interprets directions is located in the hippocampus, a region that, with exercise and stimuli, can be strengthened over time. With disuse, this part of the brain can weaken. Overuse or over-reliance on smartphone mapping can also compromise the hippocampus. Conversely, one study showed that the hippocampi of cab drivers in London were larger and thicker than the average persons.

These days, technology has advanced enough that devices can essentially do the work of navigation for us. But devices can run out of battery or lose a charge. Unpredictable changes in weather can obscure landmarks. Strong currents can push watercraft off course. These common scenarios often result in veering off route. To correct the situation and stay safe, more sophisticated navigation skills are needed.

Before participating in activities where getting lost could have dangerous repercussions, its a good idea to learn the basics of navigating using simpleand essentialtools like a compass and a map. Even the most experienced outdoorspeople get lost, and it is often because they left these tools behind. Thats why this book will cover not only the basics, but also more technical navigation techniques like calculating bearings, noting the positions of celestial bodies, and creating your own solar compass.

Even non-outdoorsy people can benefit from learning the art of navigation. Some people may rarely think about north versus south, the divisions of time, or how to use a printed map to plan a route, because we let our technological tools do this work for us. As an unintended consequence, weve grown increasingly unaware and ignorant of our surroundings. Not only is there a practicality in knowing how to find your way, but there is beauty in the art of reading the signs that nature provides. In a sense, learning how to navigate is like learning a new language. Knowing how to read natures language allows us to understand new information about our surroundings, helping us to not only avoid getting lost, but also deepen our appreciation for all that the natural world has to teach us. Learning how to find north from the location of the stars, determine east from the position of the sun, and use your natural awareness to guide you may awaken an excitement that comes from understanding the natural world.

This book is an excellent first step toward developing those skills, which will lead to a clearer sense of directionin the city or the woods.

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

Henry David Thoreau

N avigation is the means by which a person can pinpoint their geographic location and then accurately determine where they need to travel to reach their intended destination. Although this can seem simple, theres an art to the science.

The first sailors followed the coastline, keeping land in sight, as this was the safest way to avoid getting lost at sea. The Greeks may have also used clouds and smell as navigational clues, since weather tends to form over landmasses, and odors can drift far across the ocean. Polynesians would watch the pattern and color of the waves, which when observed with expert eyes can indicate the direction of land. Sailors in ancient cultures also used the reliable nature of trade winds and currents to push them in the right direction.

On land, physical features are good points of reference for determining distance and position. Natural landmarks like mountains, rivers, and lakes can be used as geographic coordinates. But when civilizations began to cross long distances over deserts and oceans, a more precise method for calculating fixed positions became necessary. Eventually, a grid system was developed, which marked latitudinal and longitudinal lines across a global map.