Pop quiz. Which way are we going? North East, or West. Oh, jeez.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife Aubrey and I took a trip out west.

We were hiking.

Are you recording me?

I don't know.

Yes, you are.

Well...

Both of us are New Englanders and have spent very little time in Western landscapes.

And to make things worse, on this day, we were totally

socked in. It was snowing and cloudy and you couldn't see the sun.

So how's it that way? That way?

What makes you say that?

Because I looked at the map.

Okay, so I don't normally ambush Aubrey mid hike,

but I have been thinking about navigating.

How did people used to know their way before maps and compasses?

Well, point around, give me some evidence.

Well, there's a lot of snow here, which means it might be the north side of the mountain,

which means that south would be that way.

This is a good thought, except that only works when the sun has been out for long enough to melt the snow a little bit on its south-facing slopes.

And right then, the snow was still falling.

So that's not how it works.

...