Time measurement in wilderness

[1stimestar]

I'm new to the forum, so forgive any assumptions....


What I'm thinking is a typical sundial...stick in the ground and track the shadow as it changes position over the day....With the horizontal motion, you should have a tighter arc than the typical half-circle, but I'm thinking you can still use it to gauge number of hours that pass. You'd get tricked up by the shadow going back in reverse quicker than normal, but you'd have to account for what little "sunset" there was. I don't live in the area, but those "sunsets" change the sky color to a red due to the angle of rays as they hit the Earth. You could measure each red sky as midnight and start counting hours from there.

Another thought would be if you know your typical pace and could determine your general distance traveled. Most hikers can cover about a mile of fairly easy terrain at a light pace in about 20 minutes. Just a thought.

But the "red sky" lasts for several hours.

https://youtu.be/HO91qdyqtj8

[1stimestar]

Also, in the winter, noon is not at 12 o'clock if noon is the highest point the sun gets in a day. That would be closer to 1pm.

https://youtu.be/MXxRcXHI_tI

[kyratshooter]

That seems very strange to me since the astronomical definition of noon is the highest point of the sun on the horizon.

We monkey around with "time zones" based on political definitions and preferences. Right now I am on Daylight Savings Time and have been messed up for a month.

[Roel]

No you are not messed up. Why..? The only thing you have to know is the right time... and you can act like it was in the old days.. when everything was easyer... and so on...and so on....