Let’s face it…we’ve all forgotten to bring one or more essential items on a hiking or backpacking trip. I, for one, pretty much always forget my compass. Call it overconfidence, forgetfulness, (extremely) early-onset Alzheimer’s…whatever you want. The fact is, I know I’m not the only one. So, what do you do if you find yourself lost on the trail without your compass?

Unless you forgot to bring your watch, too, you can use it to help you figure out which direction is which.  Here’s how:

Turn your watch into a compass

If you’re in the northern hemisphere, simply point the hour hand of your watch at the sun. The point midway between the hour hand and the “12″ on your watch is roughly South. Simply turn around to identify North, right for West, left for South…you get gist. Reverse the technique if you’re hiking in the southern hemisphere.

Ok, let’s say you’re wearing a digital watch, or no watch at all…what do you do?

Make a dirt compass

Here’s a good tip I saw on Man Vs. Wild. It’s not the quickest method, but it’s accurate (note — start this technique in the AM):

• Find a level piece of ground with good sun exposure, like a meadow or flat ridge top.
• Drive a 3-4 foot stick straight into the ground.
• Mark the tip of the stick’s shadow with a pebble.
• Using this marker, draw an arc around the stick, making sure to keep your original marker in place.
• As the sun moves across the sky the shadow will shorten and pivot to the other side of the stick. When the shadow meets the other side of the arc, mark this spot with another pebble.
• Draw a straight line between your two markers. This line represents West (1st marker) to East (2nd marker).
• Draw a perpendicular line across the E/W line to complete your “dirt compass”.

Do as the Wise Men did

If you’re lost at night, stay put. Seriously. Make camp and wait ’til morning. If the sky’s clear and you MUST try to navigate at night, the best bet is to use the North star (it’s named that for a reason).  Contrary to popular belief, the North star — called Polaris — is not the brightest in the sky (which is Sirius, btw). Here’s how to find it:

• Locate the Big Dipper
• Draw an imaginary line between the bottom-outside star in the cup through the top-outside star and beyond. The medium-bright star in the line’s path is Polaris.

These are the most popular tried-and-true methods to find North without a compass, but there’s bound to be others. Please comment if you know a different and/or better way!

A benefit of paid membership sites like BackpackingLight.com is they keep most of the spammy riff raff away, leaving room for only highly-enthusiastic, and (mostly) intelligent discourse.

Fortunately for us, there’s portion of BPL that’s both FREE of charge AND riff raff: The Community Section.

There you will find over 100 PDF-downloadable ultalight backpacking lists compiled by members of the community. Then, through the magic of crowdsourcing, the lists are ranked and discussed on the forums so that you can easily identify which lists are credible enough to assist in your own pack planning.

Head on over to BackpackingLight to check them out!

Dehydrating food for the trail opens up many possibilities for the picky hiker. Cook it, dehydrate it, pack it, add water on the trail and…voila. It’s hard to beat a quickly-prepared, hot, tasty meal at the end of a long hiking day.

The problem: Food dehydrators can be expensive.

The solution: You can make your own!

Grab some duct tape, mosquito netting and a concrete form cylinder (5 bucks at your local hardware store) and head over to instructables.com for easy-to-follow instructions.

Nothing can ruin an otherwise great hike like chafing (aka “Monkey Butt”). It’s caused by constant rubbing (most often in the upper thigh/nether regions) coupled with moisture and bacteria build-up. Hikers with chafing issues are often identified by their requisite “duck walk”. While heavier hikers are more prone to chafing, it can happen to anyone at any time. To keep it from happening to you, follow the advice below.

Put simply, prevent chafing by lubricating during the day and keeping dry at night.

Pre-hike prep:

Clean area throughly before heading out. Much of chafing is due to bacteria build-up, so it’s best to start from a sterile base.

Just before hitting the ol’ dusty trail, apply BodyGlide. It’s the most recommended anti-chafing solution on the market, and smoothing some on will eliminate friction for the entire day. As a bonus, you can also put on feet to help prevent blisters.

During hike:

Wipe area with baby wipes or alcohol swaps to keep area clean and rash-free. Remember to reapply the BodyGlide.

Post-hike or in camp:

Wash area thoroughly, dry, then apply Gold Bond Triple Medicated Powder or plain ol’ corn starch. Keeping the area dry while sleeping is absolutely essential for quick healing and chafing prevention.

* Go commando. If wearing a skirt’s not your thing, simply try a hike without underwear (only try this in summer) under your shorts or pants. As long as you follow the above-mentioned essential steps pre- and post-hike, you shouldn’t experience any rubbing down yonder.

Any chafers out there have any better ideas for prevention or treatment? Please add them in the comments section below!