Do you have an "internal" compass?

For BROAD / GENERAL directions....
If I wake up in a new place (when I'm camping) I'm good.
If I spend a lot of time in a place (a few days at least) I'm good.

but if I come off a plane or something....no. No time to see how the sun moves.
 
I do pretty well outside of cities, when I get into a large city (rarely)- I have a tough time.
 
I think I have a better ability to interpret my location via a mental map than many people I meet but I don't know if I necessarily have an internal compass.
 
I also rely on a mental map and an intuitive sense of north, it works for me most of the time with the exception of big cities for some reason...never feel comfortable in cities. I lived most of my life in the northeast and never felt concerned about direction, however, I lived in Florida for one year and could never tell which way I was heading if I couldn't see a handrail (the sun or the ocean).
 
yes, but it gets absolutely jacked up when i'm on the east coast.

here in the west, no problem.
 
I once read somewhere that men can tell where North is significantly more often than can statistically be explained.
Women have this ability much less.
 
Mongo..

Strangely enough that was part of last weeks class..

I did Orienteering and part of that was the mental compass.. A few of them had it,, and a few of them just didn't get it...

When I'm in the woods I'm constantly keeping track of North... Can be difficult if you are keeping track of turns and things..

Good skill to Aquire..

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
Cougar Allen said:
I do, and occasionally mine is wrong. Then I get all confused.
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Same for me.
 
i do. right now it pointing north, if i turn around its pointing south, and if i get bored, it just points down ;)
 
During the day I always use the sun and shadows to navigate. During the night (when it's clear) I always keep a good eye on the Big Dipper that points to the North Star. No internal compass, but just use nature's "natural landmarks" to get around. I practice quite a bit at home looking at the stars to see what the big dipper and North Star do during different seasons. Completely different positions during each season!
Ron
 
I used to think I had a pretty decent internal compass too. That was, until I started doing some night SCUBA diving. After the first trip, my buddy and I bought big wrist compasses.

I feel pretty good in the woods too, but again, the real test is night time. I've been in and out of a certain patch of woods several times this summer and fall, doing some scouting for deer hunting and placing/checking trail cameras. When the hunting season opened, I headed in to the area in the pre-dawn dark with my headlamp. Within MINUTES after leaving a marked trail, I found myself going in circles (Hey... why do I need to cross this brook again?). Out comes the compass and then all is well.

If you think you're a natural, try navigating sans compass in the woods in the dark (and I mean without using the stars, if you are able to see them). You will undoubtedly find out just how much innate direction-finding ability you (and everyone else) has. :)

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I think that the internal compass is BS. I always thought I had one, and I do have a good sense of direction... As long as I am on land and have a sun to give me some info. I was out on a boat one day with some buddies and we could not see any land or the sun due to fog. I asked each of them to point north. All of us were wrong by at least 45 degs. 5 guys all with lots of outdoor experience. Give it a shot sometime. Or try putting a blindfold on and get spun around a bit, then point north and be correct within 45 degs.
 
Agree with the comments from desmobob and 762, years ago I was grouse hunting on land that I really knew like the back of my hand, then fog dropped in...we couldn't see ten feet...after a while we tried to head back to the car but ended up in a place I had no clue as to where we were. We eventually found a road as the fog lifted, but now it was a guess as to which way was "back". We walked our butts off that day... I just couldn't imagine ever getting lost in that area...but without visual references I could not get oriented. It would've been smarter to just sit and wait for the weather to change.
 
I wouldn't say so much an "internal compass", but I often have a very good sense of direction (whether in the outdoors or even in the city). Do a night jump into a forest and see if you can figure out which direction is North before the sun rises!:D I consider it more a sense of direction and I have a pretty could sense...although it's not always perfect and it's always good to grab a compass if you're not quite sure. I do always try to orient myself to North, South, East and West wherever I go or whatever I do...just force of habit.

Interesting topic though...I've often considered if other people are more tuned to their location and cardinal directions. I've seen some people (even compass/map-reading Soldiers) get quickly turned around and lose their sense of direction. For me, I either have a very good idea where I am or I have no freaking clue (such as sitting in the back of a vehicle and not getting any bearing when navigating downtown Austin, Atlanta, Seattle or DC). I never really get "lost"...just temporarily "misoriented":D

ROCK6
 
Internal compass? I'm sure the other guys can verify that most of the lost people we've found were following their internal compass.

I like internal compasses. I like to carry at least one inside my shirt on a bit of cord, another somewhere on my body, and a button compass on my keys.
 
I had one for a while, one of the small button type. I'm pretty sure that it's moved on by now (Yeah, when I was a kid I would put anything in my mouth).

Seriously though. I generally do, but I can remember two specific times where my internal compass was majorly off. I had to stop, look at the mountains, look at the compass, scratch my head, and trust my instrument cuz I was all messed up.
 
Mongo said:
Don't know why I just thought of this now, but I've always felt that I have an internal compass. I always seem to know which way was North/South/East/West. I can't remember when this has ever let me down. I will admit that I have never taken a compass with me to verify my impression, but I also have never put myself into a situation where I needed to.

So, does anybody else feel this way? Am I part homing pigeon or something? :D
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i always use the sun as my guide;)
 
Several posters have alluded to what I was trying to get at earlier. I don't think that the brain itself has a natural direction finder as much as the brain picks up on directional clues that are coming in from the senses such as sun position, direction of shadows, landmarks etc.

I did see one study in which they drove a group of college students around in a bus with blinders on (helemts IIRC). They were taken off the bus one at a time and told to point back to the college where they all lived. The men were pretty much grouped in the same quadrant and the women were all over the map pretty much evenly dispersed. So there is some evidence that the brain can keep track of direction in a general sense all on it's own and that men have this ability to a greater degree than women.

The most important thing is to know when you need to stop relying on those clues and get out the navigation gear before you get yourself into uncharted territory. The times I have gotten turned around usually involve a form of blindness, be it darkness, fog, or thick vegetation. Those subconscious visual clues were gone. I also know that when I am extremely tired, like 24 hours without sleep, that my brain stops processing those visual clues even on a clear day. Dehydration also has that same effect. Mac
 
I have a legendary sense of direction. Legendarily bad that is. My little brother on the other hand always seems to know where he is at the farm or elsewhere (good skill considering his other special needs) but while staying in the city, more than once he has tried to walk back to the hotel on the other side of the city.
 
I got turned around in the woods on a cloudy day, did not know which way to go. I knew my vehicle was east. Now I know that it is a myth that moss grows on the north sides of trees but I tried it anyhow. I studied several trees [did not want to rely on one] made a guess where north was , turned right and walked straight to my ride.
 
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