preparedness

6 Ways To Find Your Way In The Wilderness Without A Compass

Getting Lost Without a Compass Can Happen to the Best of Us. Here’s What to Do.

No one heads into the wilderness with the intention of getting lost. But it happens all the time, even during the most innocent, daytime hike, fishing or hunting trip, and especially to the serious and sometimes over-confident backpacker.

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A backpacker would have little to fear because they have the necessary equipment to get through the night and figure out where they took that wrong turn. But most of us may not be quite as prepared, and knowing how to find our way can make a big difference.

The Compass Irony

The original invention of the compass in China was to allow mariners to navigate when the sun and stars were blocked by clouds. It’s ironic that the alternative orienteering concepts we’re about to cover were the most widely used navigational approaches before the invention of the compass.

Somehow, like many things, we’ve forgotten these ancient skills and surrendered to the technology of modern compasses. But even with a compass, there’s a catch.

True North Versus Magnetic North

This will come as a surprise to some, but a compass does not point to true north. Magnetic north and magnetic south are a constantly changing point in a northerly and southerly direction. According to The National Geographic Society, the magnetic poles move and shift in direction an average of 40 miles a year.

If you’re close to the equator, you get the most accurate readings for North and South. But as you approach the poles from either direction, you need to understand variation or magnetic declination. This is a way to compensate for a reading caused by your location relative to the location of the magnetic poles.

Do this before you set out with your compass because the variables are widespread.

Types of Compasses

We’re covering this because some of the techniques we’ll explore mimic these compass types. The earliest compasses were a magnetic strip of loadstone suspended on a string that would align with the North and South magnetic poles. This was commonly referred to as a dry compass.

Mariners preferred a compass not subject to the wind like the suspended lodestone, so they used a wet compass consisting of a magnetized needle floating in a liquid. This helped with rolling waves.

Wet Compass Dry Compass

Modern compasses come in wet compass and dry compass variations to compensate for a variety of factors like the motion of lakes and oceans and both are typically enclosed to protect the compass movement from the wind.

Fortunately, the alternative methods we’re about to cover aren’t as subject to wind and waves.

The 6 Alternative Methods

The North Star
Sunrise and Sunset
Shadows
The Shadow Stick
The Floating Needle
Yes, Moss on a Tree

1. The North Star

Much like the magnetic poles, the location of the North star shifts with time. Fortunately, this star-shift takes thousands of years. Right now, the North star is identified as “Polaris.” 5000 years ago, the North star was “Thuban” and was used by the ancient Egyptians to align the pyramids.

To find the North, star you’ll need a clear night (cloudy nights were one of the reasons for the invention of the compass). You’ll also need to find the big dipper. The big dipper is easier to see than the little dipper which is fairly faint approaching a full moon.

Use the two stars on the front of the dipper part of the big dipper and imagine a line from those two stars continuing up from the dipper. This line will take you to the North star.

Once you’ve located the North star, you need to remember its location the next morning. Find a long, straight branch or deadfall and lay it on the ground in alignment with the North star and place a rock or something at the North end so you have your directions right at sunrise.

But then, sunrise is telling you something as well.

2. Sunrise and Sunset

We’ve all heard the saying, “The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.” That may be true, but like the magnetic poles, these directions are in the category of “suggestions.” The sun usually rises in the general direction of East and sets in the general direction of West.

The only time it sets in “true West” is on the days of the summer and winter equinox. The same is true for the sun rising in the East. Before and after those days, it wanders a bit in the Western and Eastern sky as it rises and sets.

However, a lot of this is based on your location. Suffice it to say that the sun will be close enough to the East at sunrise and close enough to the West at sunset to allow you to get your bearings.

Use the stick or deadfall on the ground trick at sunset to remember your location, and also remember that a second stick set at 90° to the first branch will give you a North/South line. With the setting sun to your left, North will be directly in front of you.

3. Shadows

Tree Shadows

After the sun has risen and before it sets, we have the challenge of midday. You sure can’t see the North star and it may seem like you’re at loss for finding your bearings, but there are a couple of ways to determine directions. The first is a general rule that applies to the sun’s track across the daytime sky.

The sun travels across the sky in an arc that favors the southern sky. This is more pronounced in winter, but the same is true for summer except the summer sun travels across a higher arc. The result is that shadows cast by trees favor North.

This is particularly true around noon when the sun is at its highest position in the southern sky. If you’re in doubt about your direction of travel at midday, the shadows can give you a good clue about which way is North.

4. The Shadow Stick Method

This is a little complicated and takes some time, but the results are remarkable. It involves pushing a stick into the ground about two feet high and placing a rock at the tip of the cast shadow.

After 20 minutes to an hour or two, the shadow will move as the sun tracks across the sky. That’s the time to place a second or a third stone at the tip of the shadows.

Once you have your stones in place scratch a line in the ground through the stones. You now have an East/West line.

Scratch another line in the ground at a 90° angle and you will have a North/South line.

To determine North, remember the shadow rule.

The shadow of your stick is pointing in a Northerly direction and the end of your 90° stick is North.

You now have the cardinal points of the compass well after sunrise and before sunset or the appearance of the North Star.

5. The Floating Needle

Welcome to the first incarnation of the compass. This was actually a method used by the Chinese more than a thousand years ago to locate magnetic North and South. They used to scratch a needle across a lodestone (a naturally magnetic rock) to magnetize the needle.

It’s unlikely that you’ll have a lodestone on you, let alone find one, but there’s another way to magnetize a needle. Rub the needle through your hair about 30 to 50 times. If your hair is sufficiently dry, the static electricity will temporarily magnetize the needle.

Float the needle on a leaf in a pool of water and it will move to a North/South line. Look at the shadow you cast or from trees and remember that shadows favor North. You’ll now know your direction.

6. Yes, Moss on a Tree

Like many old wives tales borne of folklore, you have to take moss on the North side of a tree with a grain of salt. But there is an exception.

A tree growing in isolation in a field may show moss growing only on the North side of the trunk. Moss doesn’t like direct sunlight and the moss growing in the shade points again to the sun favoring the Southern sky. Tree trunks in a dense forest are often shaded throughout the day and moss has the potential to grow on any side.

A Word About Basic Orienteering

Knowing which way you want to travel is one thing, but maintaining that direction over time is another. The standard advice is to identify a landmark in the direction you want to go and to identify a new one when you reach your original landmark. This should keep you traveling in a relatively straight line throughout the day, even when you don’t have a compass.

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preparedness

4 No Cook Meals For Surviving The Pandemic And Food Supply Shortages

When it comes to your food supply, you just can’t risk not having enough. These no cook meals will be a great addition to your food supply planning. Check out the recipes below!

No Cook Meals to Help You Through the Pandemic

As of the writing of this article, there are 20 meat processing plants that have been shut down due to COVID-19 infections. We have been worrying about these types of effects on our food supply for months now, and this is the first real sign of how infections can affect the food supply.

When you walk into a supermarket, you might not see all the choices you had in the past. An empty meat case is a humbling thing for your eyes to fall upon. It’s the shocking realization that the seemingly infinite supply of chickens, pigs, and cows that are butchered for us has begun to run dry!

To deal with this issue, we are going to present four no cook meals that will help you create dinners at home that will feed your family without worrying so much about what’s available, or unavailable, in the meat case.

1. Smashed White Bean, Avocado and Salted Pork Sandwiches

Smashed White Bean, Avocado and Salted Pork Sandwiches | No Cook Meals for Surviving the Pandemic and Food Supply Shortages

As preppers we get beans. There are a bunch of ways to use beans and this a great example of how you can pack a sandwich with great nutrition and protein.

Serving: Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

Can of White Beans
Olive Oil
1 Avocado
8 Slices of Whole Grain Bread
8 Slices of Salted Pork (Prosciutto, Ham, Virginia Ham)

Instructions:

Begin by draining your beans in a colander then smashing them up in a bowl add a few glugs of olive oil, salt, pepper. This little mix is delicious. If you add some minced rosemary, you can even turn this into a delicious dip.
Pit your avocado and cut it in half and then quarters lengthwise. Leave the skin on.
Lay the bread out on a clean work surface for assembling the sandwiches.
Spread your mashed bean mix onto one side of the bread.
Peel your avocados and slice 1 quarter for each sandwich. Spread slices over the bean spread.
Add a few slices of your pork to over the top of the avocado.
You can finish this sandwich with some lettuces, fresh sprouts, or just eat it as is.

2. Delicious Crab Salad

Canned crab is a protein option that will likely be around through much of this meat crisis. It does have to be kept in refrigeration, but it’s delicious and this chipotle mayo salad is great in the spring and summer.

Ingredients:

1 Can of Crab Meat
1 Bunch of Asparagus
Chipotle Mayo
1 Bunch of Green Onions
1 Bunch of Cilantro

Instructions:

Drain your crab in a colander and set it in the sink.
Slice your asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Throw them into a bowl.
Thinly slice your onions and your cilantro and throw that into the bowl, as well.
Gently toss in the crab meat.
Squirt on enough Chipotle mayo to coat everything and toss gently not to break up the crab meat.
Chill in the fridge and serve.

3. Simple Greek Salad

Simple Greek Salad | No Cook Meals for Surviving the Pandemic and Food Supply Shortages

The combination of simple summer ingredients makes for an incredible quick salad that you could add other proteins, too, if you wanted. These could be canned meats.

Ingredients:

2 Large Tomatoes
1 Cucumber
1 Red Onion
¼ Cup of Feta Cheese
A Few Sprigs of Fresh Mint
½ Cup of Kalamata Olives
Balsamic Dressing

Instructions:

I like to cut the tomatoes in large chunks and have them kind of be the main course in this salad. Peel and slice your cucumber in half. Remove the seeds and either dice or slice in half-moons.
Peel and slice your red onion in half. Julienne your, or thinly slice, your half onion.
Add all these ingredients to a bowl. Finely slice your mint.
Add your olives, crumbled feta, and mint to the bowl and add enough dressing to coat everything.
Stir it up and allow this to chill for at least an hour for the flavors to really blend.

4. Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps

Mediterranean Tuna Lettuce Wraps | No Cook Meals for Surviving the Pandemic and Food Supply Shortages

Using some similar ingredients and adding a protein like tuna, you can create some delicious lettuce wraps. The key to a good lettuce wrap is to have most of the items around the same size. So, consider that when you are preparing this dish.

Ingredients:

Iceberg or Butter Lettuce
Canned Artichokes
Canned roasted Red peppers
Fresh Cucumber
Feta Cheese
Minced Olives ¼ Cup
2 Cans of Tuna
Green Onions
Basil

Instructions:

Start by peeling all the full leaves from your lettuce. Set them on a plate either cover them with a wet paper towel or put them back into the fridge.
Dice the peppers, artichokes, and cucumbers into cubes. Go no larger than ½ an inch.
Thinly slice your green onions and basil and add them to a bowl with your diced vegetables. Add your loves to this bowl and mix them thoroughly.
Crumble your feta cheese over the mixture.
Drain your tuna thoroughly and then add that to the bowl, as well.
Gently toss this mixture. Try not to break up the tuna and the cheese too much but incorporate it thoroughly.
If you want, you can add some olive oil to the mix or a few glugs of balsamic vinegar. It’s also delicious just how it is.
Scoop a few tablespoons into a lettuce leaf, wrap it up and eat up!

These no cook meals should help lessen the stress you feel when thinking of what to feed your family. If you don’t have the specific ingredients, use your creativity, and use what you have. You might discover a new recipe while you’re at it!

What’s your favorite no cook meal recipe? Please share it with us in the comments section!

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This Article Was First Found at survivallife.com Read The Original Article Here

preparedness

Billionaire Whistle Blower: Wuhan Coronavirus Death Toll Is Over 50,000

Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui recently revealed leaks from Wuhan crematoriums. He claims based on the number of bodies their furnaces are burning, the death toll could be as high as 50,000.

A Chinese billionaire and whistleblower who lives in U.S. exile says Wuhan crematoriums have burned 50,000 coronavirus victims. | Credit: Chinatopix via AP

The official coronavirus death toll in China is a little over 800. But an exiled Chinese businessman says crematoriums are leaking the real figure.
A billionaire whistleblower alleges Wuhan has crematoriums working 24/7. He claims they’ve cremated some 50,000 coronavirus victims.
Guo Wengui is a Chinese billionaire living in exile in the United States.

The official coronavirus death toll is some 800 people in China. The current official death toll worldwide, outside of China, is 774. But a Chinese billionaire with a history of blowing the whistle on his former government says the real figure is much higher.

Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui recently revealed leaks from Wuhan crematoriums. He claims based on the number of bodies their furnaces are burning, the death toll could be as high as 50,000. Wengui made the bombshell allegations in an interview with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Whistleblower: 1.5 Million Coronavirus Cases In China, 50,000 Coronavirus Deaths In Wuhan

He also claims to have inside information that there are 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in China. Wengui is emphatic that these are not merely quarantined or “under observation” but confirmed cases of coronavirus infection:

China has struggled to contain the coronavirus. But it has also struggled to contain public outcry against censorship and tight control of information. Dr. Li Wenliang, who sounded the alarm about the disease, succumbed to an infection and died this week. The Chinese government arrested him for blowing the whistle.

Then officials tried to suppress news of his death. Afterwards, millions of Chinese citizens saw the hashtag #IWantFreedomOfSpeech on Mandarin language social media. But the Chinese government censored that too.

Are Wengui’s Crematorium Claims Credible?

Watch VICE’s 2017 profile on Guo Wengui. At the time, he published bombshell documents alleging corruption in the Chinese government. He got the attention of the media and reportedly the U.S. State Department.

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