Shadow-Tip Method.
Step 1. Place a stick or branch into the ground at a level spot where a
distinctive shadow will be cast. Mark the shadow tip with a stone, twig, or
other means. This first shadow mark is always the west direction.
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How the heck is that shadow tip always going to be the west direction?
If I stand on my patio facing North according to a compass, at 7:00 pm, with the sun low on the Western horizon to my left, and put a stick in the ground… the shadow is somehow going to point to my left, the West, towards the setting sun?
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I’m assuming you’re referring to something like: https://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/land_navigation_map_reading/field-expedient-methods-of-determining-direction.shtml
If so, you’re omitting the next steps:
> Step 2. Wait 10 to 15 minutes until the shadow tip moves a few inches. Mark
the new position of the shadow tip in the same way as the first.
>
> Step 3. Draw a straight line through the two marks to obtain an approximate
eastwest line.
Step 1 isn’t saying the shadow will always be to the west of the stick. It’s saying it’ll be to the west of a second shadow that you make a few minutes later.
I suspect we’ll need the rest of the steps to understand what this is trying to accomplish.
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