Try This Toothpick Trick To Help You Find Your Way When You Are Lost In The Wilderness

Although most experienced hikers and campers know organization is the key to a safe outdoor experience, not everyone who adventures is fully prepared for unexpected situations. While carrying the 10 hiking essentials will keep you safe in most emergency situations, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for someone to find themselves without one or more of these crucial items. Whether it is a novice who's unaware of what to bring or an experienced outdoors person who simply forgot something, not having essential gear, including navigational equipment, is a huge hiking mistake, but one that happens nonetheless.

Being stranded without the appropriate gear can be stressful and dangerous. Such is the case with one of the most common and dreaded emergency situations — being lost. In this modern day, most who trek into the outdoors feel comfortable using their phone or smartwatch to direct them if they ever lose their way and are without a compass. However, there are times when the signal is weak or batteries die. Knowing what steps to take if you get lost and how to improvise with common items can often save the day. In those situations, something as basic as a toothpick can help you find your way when you are lost in the wilderness.

Most outdoor adventures wear a watch when they are hiking or camping. However, today the vast majority of those watches are digital. If you do happen to have an analog watch –- one with moving hands -– or a combo digital/analog display, you are halfway to finding the directions you need. The only other thing you need is a toothpick. If you don't have a toothpick, any small, straight object such as a stick pin, small twig, or stalk of grass will work.

Once you have the necessary items, follow these steps to get compass directions. First, hold the watch flat just as you would a compass. Next, hold the toothpick (or other object) against the side of the watch. Be sure it is positioned between the sun and the watch so that it casts a shadow towards the center of the watch. Then, spin the watch so that the shadow falls halfway between the hour hand and 12. For example, if the hour hand is on four, the shadow should make a line from two to the center of the watch. With the watch in this position, 12 is south and six is north.

According to Compass Dude, another way you can use the sun if you get lost is to make a rudimentary sun shadow circle. To do this, you will need a timepiece, but it does not have to be analog. Digital watches will work just fine. In order to find directions using the sun angle, locate a small, flat area of dirt and grass. Push the toothpick or stick into the ground so it stands upright. Place a small rock or draw a mark in the ground where the shadow ends. From there, you simply have to wait half an hour. 

After enough time has passed, place another mark at the end of the new shadow line. When you've done that, draw a line between the two marks. That line runs east to west. You can then mark a line that intersects the east-west line at a 90 degree angle. The section of that line pointing away from the sun will be north, towards the sun will be south. From this rough compass rose you can estimate directions for your line of travel.