"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." – Samuel Johnson

In part one we looked at navigating by what we can see in the sky. What if we are presented with a situation where there is no sun during the day and the moon and stars are not visible at night. There are still aids to navigation all around us. These aids require us to pay attention to our surroundings.

In the U.S. the prevailing wind is Westerly (meaning the wind blows from West to East). Knowing this can help provide a general direction on a day the sun isn't visible and the wind is blowing.

Other indicators i.e. the bend in trees help determine the prevailing wind direction on days when it isn't blowing. Next time you're out and about in your local area, try it and see what results you get.

When it rains take a look to see which side of the tree gets wet. If there's a definitive dry and wet side, you'll know the prevailing wind direction.

During winter we can observe the snow to determine wind direction. We can observe snow drifts and cornices.

In this picture, by observing the cornice, we can see that the wind blows from left to right.

Even something as small as these plants provide us with useful information.

Close observation of these shows snow build up on one side but not the other indicating wind direction

A Northern facing slope will often be cooler and damper than a Southern facing one. It may still contain pockets of snow that haven't melted when it's disappeared everywhere else.

A tree in winter will show its Southern side by observing the trunk and looking for the side showing refrozen snowmelt.

Plants can be useful indicators of direction too. They will demonstrate more growth on the Southern side than the Northern.

If you can observe a fallen tree, the growth rings will be closer together on the Northern and Southern facing sides of the tree and further apart on the Eastern and Western facing sides.

Moss prefers moisture and shade and can be an indicator of direction.

An exposed rock may be bleached by the sun and appear lighter on its Southern face.

Or have its Southern face melted while the snow on its Northern face remains.

Every time you leave your home and go outside there are opportunities for learning. These things are all around us. There are many aids to natural navigation. The time to learn them is now, before you ever need them. Do some research, learn by reading about a chosen topic then go out and spend a little time practicing. Once you feel confident in applying that skill, choose another. Keep going until you feel like you've filled your toolbox with enough tools to help you get the job done, should you be unfortunate enough to need to.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." — T.S. Eliot