Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered how the explorers used to navigate with the stars? This is an excellent skill to learn for when a prepper is bugging out and later having to deal with a SHTF situation. Check out the information below for a crash course.

Find North
First, find Polaris, or the North Star, which lies almost directly above the north celestial pole. You’ll locate Polaris straight out from the tip of the Big Dipper’s bowl, almost as if it were being poured from the giant ladle.
Tip: Polaris should be the number of degrees of your current latitude above the horizon.
Find South
If Orion is high in the sky and his sword is close to vertical, the point where the line made by the sword would hit the horizon also points you south. (Note: Both of these methods yield rough estimates compared to finding north with Polaris, which is highly accurate.)
Save your Direction
If you’re using one of these methods to orient yourself but will wait for daylight to hike, draw an arrow in the dirt (or use rocks or sticks) so you don’t go astray come morning.

This, of course, is just a basic crash course in how to find North and South. With it, you can then navigate yourself to whichever direction you choose. Of course, you will have to know from which direction you came from to make much use of this information, but if you have a general idea, these instructions could be just enough for you to find your way home.

Of course, star navigation requires a clear night. You can't always rely on that being the case. To guarantee you get out of the woods safely, make sure you bring a compass and a map.

For more on this subject, such as how to use the stars to tell time, check out Backpacker.