Stay on course

Never get lost again: 10 survival and navigation hacks

Credit: Denise Jans

Who hasn’t lost their bearings, at least momentarily, during a hike through unfamiliar terrain? Whether in the wilderness or the urban jungle, even seasoned explorers can sometimes get turned around. With the right tips, though, you can confidently stay on course. Here we’ve gathered some of the most practical advice, from natural navigation techniques to modern tech tools, to ensure you avoid walking in circles on your next adventure. Stay calm, stay prepared, and enjoy the journey!

Credit: Denise Jans

You can use the sun's position to easily determine your general direction. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and, in the Northern Hemisphere, travels slightly southward throughout the day.

Observing its position can give you a rough sense of cardinal directions. At midday, the sun is due south. You can also use a watch as an improvised compass: point the hour hand at the sun and halfway between that and 12 o'clock gives you south.

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Lost after dark? Let the night sky guide you! In the Northern Hemisphere, find Polaris (North Star) by locating the Big Dipper; the two stars at the end of its "bowl" point directly to Polaris.

In the Southern Hemisphere, use the Southern Cross constellation to locate the south. This method has been trusted by travelers for centuries, especially among sailors and desert nomads, when maps weren’t an option.

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Always plan ahead. This advice goes beyond just avoiding getting lost —it can help you navigate and stay out of trouble in many situations. Always carry a physical map when traveling, especially in remote areas. Familiarize yourself with key landmarks and, if possible, mark your path as you go.

By plotting points and taking note of terrain features, you'll improve your chances of retracing your steps or finding alternative routes if needed. Digital maps are also great but remember that they can often fail without service, and you won’t be able to access them if your battery dies.

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Learn to recognize your surroundings. During a challenging hike, it can be tempting to focus solely on the ground beneath your feet, but looking up and taking in your environment can be lifesaving. Pay attention to prominent features such as mountains, rivers, or unique buildings.

Of course, cities are easier to navigate with distinct landmarks like skyscrapers or monuments, while in the wilderness, a unique tree or ridge line can anchor your route. These can serve as reliable waypoints for orientation, so always note their relative position as you travel. As a bonus, you’ll get to enjoy the scenery more!

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Compasses are timeless tools for finding your way, reliable even in the thickest of fogs. Learn to read one properly, aligning the needle to the north and following your desired bearing. When paired with a map, you’ll find that it’s quite hard to get lost!

Modern versions often include features like altimeters or GPS connectivity, but even the most basic model will help you stay on track and find your way with confidence.

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Obviously, if you have access to more modern technology than a humble compass, make the most of it! Today, anyone can have a reasonably reliable GPS system on their phone, helping pinpoint your location with precision within seconds.

Before heading out, familiarize yourself with the features of these systems and test them in familiar areas. Most of these services also allow downloading offline maps for areas with no signal. However, if you are going to rely on electronic devices, remember to keep them charged and carry a backup battery or solar charger for extended trips.

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Remember Hansel and Gretel? They were onto something—though, as the story shows, literal breadcrumbs aren’t the best choice. When navigating forests, deserts, or areas with few landmarks, leaving your own markers is a smart idea.

Use stacked rocks, tied ribbons, or scratched arrows to mark your path. This technique is especially helpful for retracing your steps or guiding search parties to your location. However, try to remove these markers when you return. Leaving them behind can confuse future hikers and may harm the environment by disturbing the soil and increasing erosion.

Credit: Kalen Emsley

Let the land guide you. Although this might sound a bit like a New Age slogan, it couldn’t be more true. Landscapes naturally funnel movement—valleys lead to rivers, and trails often follow ridges.

Learn to spot the patterns, like streams flowing downhill or human paths converging at logical points. This skill reduces wandering and ensures you're headed toward areas of interest or civilization.

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When in doubt, follow your nose! Meaning, of course, that your instincts are often more reliable than you might think. Also, try to remain calm—panic almost always leads to poor decisions.

If disoriented, stop, take deep breaths, and assess. Use tools like maps, compasses, or apps to determine your next move logically. Being mindful of your surroundings improves focus, allowing you to correct mistakes before they escalate.

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If all else fails, and you are utterly and completely lost, your best course of action is to stay in place and signal for help. You can use mirrors, whistles, or bright clothing to attract attention.

Three of any signal—three blasts, flashes, or fires—is the universal distress signal. Helicopters or rescue teams often spot reflected light or vibrant colors from far distances, boosting your chances of being found.

A testament of human ingenuity

Discover 12 really ancient inventions you probably think are modern

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Surely many of the tools and devices you have in your home seem so common that you never stop to think about their origin. However, despite being somewhat basic, some of the items included in this article are the cornerstone of many other inventions that sustain life as we know it today. And even more interesting, they were developed by ancient civilizations thousands of years ago! Can you think of 12 ancient inventions that survived to modern times? Find out now!

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The wheel is one of the most important technological advances of mankind, however, the details surrounding its origin are still a matter of debate. One of the most widely accepted theories establishes its roots in Mesopotamia around 4000 BC. Others suggest the Pontic coast, in northern Turkey, around 3800 BC, while a more recent theory places its invention in the Carpathian Mountains between 4000 and 3500 BC.

Whatever the exact origin of the wheel, what is certain is that ancient civilizations already knew that the easiest way to move a heavy object was to roll it. The advent of the wheel opened up new possibilities and allowed people and goods to be transported more easily. Since its invention, the wheel has undergone successive improvements and had more and more uses.

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Nowadays, waking up at a specific time is very simple, you only need to set the alarm on your cell phone. But how did the Ancients do it? The first alarm clock is attributed to Ctesibius, a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt.

This device used water to measure time and was designed to sound a whistle at a predetermined time. Ctesibius' invention represented a significant advance in time measurement technology, illustrating the Ancients' ability to develop practical solutions to everyday problems.

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Just like today, the Ancients also sought ways to keep themselves clean. The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soaplike materials can be traced back to ancient Babylon. A formula for soap consisting of water, alkali, and cassia oil was found written on a clay tablet from around 2200 BC.

Furthermore, an important medical document dating to 1550 BC, indicates that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soaplike substance. The first record of soap used as a detergent is described by the Greek physician Galen who made a cleaning substance using lye, and prescribed it to wash the body and clothes.

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Inclement weather has existed forever, so it is not surprising that the Ancients invented devices that allowed them to protect themselves from the rain or the sun. It is believed that the first umbrellas come from China and date back as far as 3500 BC. However, there are records of the use of these artifacts in other cultures.

In the sculptures at Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, the parasol appears frequently. In Egypt, the parasol is found in various shapes, sometimes depicted as a fan of palm leaves or colored feathers fixed on a long handle. Its use declined after the fall of the Roman Empire and did not resurface until the 15th century when it was popularized again by the French nobility.

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Soap was not the only resource used by ancient civilizations to maintain good personal hygiene. People used different forms of toothbrushes since before recorded history. Excavations all over the world have found chewsticks, tree twigs, bird feathers, animal bones, and porcupine quills used for these purposes.

For example, Indian medicine has used the neem tree and its products to create toothbrushes and similar products for millennia. In the Muslim world, a device made from a twig or root with antiseptic properties has been widely used since the Islamic Golden Age. The Greeks and Romans, on the other hand, used toothpicks to clean their teeth.

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If there were toothbrushes, how could there not be toothpaste? Although toothpaste or powders did not come into general use until the 19th century, the earliest known reference of a product used for teeth cleaning appears in an Egyptian manuscript from the 4th century AD that describes a mixture of iris flowers. Other ancient formulations were based on urine.

The Greeks and the Romans, in turn, improved the recipes for toothpaste by adding abrasives like crushed bones and oyster shells. Later, in the 9th century, the Persians invented a type of toothpaste popularized throughout Islamic Spain.

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If the wheel helped different civilizations to move and communicate with each other, paper served to leave a testament to these relationships. Historians attribute the invention of paper to Ts'ai Lun, a Chinese dignitary who in the 2nd century A.D. began producing sheets of paper using tree bark, scraps of used cloth, and fishing nets.

Paper was introduced to the West in the 13th century through the city of Baghdad where the Arab world had abundant crops of hemp and flax, two high-quality raw materials ideal for making this material. From the end of the 15th century, with the invention of movable type printing, paper production experienced remarkable growth.

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Scissors are common tools that we tend to take for granted. You've probably never wondered how long they've been around, they've always been there to help you complete the simplest household and gardening tasks. Well, the first known scissors were invented in Mesopotamia nearly 4,000 years ago.

While these scissors were a bit different than the ones we know today, the principle is similar. They had two bronze blades connected at the handles by a thin, flexible, curved strip that served to keep the blades aligned. This type of scissors was in use in Europe at least until the 16th century.

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The discovery of gunpowder was a milestone in the history of mankind. This formula allowed men to marvel with pyrotechnics but also opened the door to other forms of defense and attack.

Gunpowder originated in the 9th century in China. According to Taoist notes, Chinese alchemists came up with this formula in search of a treatment for eternity. For many years gunpowder was used exclusively for fireworks. It would be some centuries before it was applied in warfare. It is presumed that the formula was taken from China to India and from there to the Middle East. Finally, around 1,200, it arrived in Europe.

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Believe it or not, physicians have used sutures to close wounds for at least 4,000 years, and the fundamental principles of suturing have changed little over time. Archaeological records from ancient Egypt mention methods for closing wounds and preventing infections that go back to between 3,000 and 2,500 B.C.

Ancient societies of different cultures used materials such as horsehair, intestines, dried tendons or hair, as well as gold and silver threads as suture material. The oldest well-preserved sutures in a human body were found in a mummy of the 21st Egyptian dynasty (around 1100 BC).

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In an age where we can access a map with a single click and find the route to where we need to go within seconds, it may sound strange that maps have been around for thousands of years. The earliest-known map is a Babylonian clay tablet small enough to fit in the palm of your hand —just like the modern smartphone!

This map-tablet is dated from the dynasty of Sargon of Akkad (2300-2500 BC). The surface is drawn with cuneiform characters and stylized symbols impressed, or scratched, on the clay. These inscriptions allow us to identify some features and places, like two ranges of hills bisected by a water course.

Credit: Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Did you know the name Olmec means "rubber people" in the Aztec language? Ancient Mesoamericans extracted latex from Castilla elastica, a type of rubber tree found in the area. The juice of another local vine, Ipomoea alba, was then mixed with this latex to create an ancient processed rubber as early as 1600 BC.

This rubber had many uses, but rubber balls, both for offerings and for ritual ballgames, were the primary products made by Olmecs and Aztecs way before the Spanish Conquest.