• conservation of energy [foxwalking; plainsman 's stride / lockstep ]
• resting [3-5 v. 20 min breaks ]
• mobile decision-making
• planning [ routes ; rally points ; contingency plans ; evacuation ]
• group movement
• listening breaks
• difficult terrain [ slopes ; dark / low-light; waterways ; swamps ; snow ; briar ]
• bicycles [ safety ; maintenance; repair ; trailers ]
• primitive vehicles [ coracles , rafts , canoes ; safety ; making ; steering; maintenance]
• footcare [ rubbing ; powders ; absorbing friction ]
• blousing pants
• wind direction [ dropping dirt ]
• snowshoes [ making & using]
• dominant eye & foot tests
• natural lateral drift [know whether you naturally drift left or right]
• navigation 101 [looking back; predominant object marking ; placing standing sticks atturning points ( clearing or not on reverse ); handrails (following beside long , prominentfeatures to a destination ); backstops ( prominent feature showing you've passed yourdestination); baselines (marker showing which direction to return to camp ); aiming off(taking a bearing to a prominant landmark w/ a predictable route to destination ); blazing( marking turning points w/ bright color )
• estimating remaining daylight [horizon rule of thumb & horizon rule of fists: eachhand width between sun & horizon ~ 1 hour]
• maps [ making & reading ]
• patrol map [ mark walk time between landmarks as you go, naming landmarks ]
• compasses [ making & using]
• natural navigation [e.g. moss, birds , winds , trees , snowmelt ]
• sun compasses [ sun rises in the East , sets in the West , travels in southern arc ; phases ; shadow-tip compass ; shadowless-tip compass ; watch compass ; Ottomanihanging sun compass ]
• moon compasses [ phases ; crescent moon line to horizon south ; moonrise beforesunset shines west , moonrise after midnight shines east ]
• star compasses [ polaris ; southern cross ; celestial north accurizing shadow tip forlatitude, finding magnetic deviation ; two-stick at night method up= east , left= north ]
• telestick [ trekking staff used for estimating distances ]
• weather forecasting [ clouds ; waterbodies ; winds ; barometric pressure ; humidity ; plant / animal behavior ]
• cloud types [ cirrocumulus ; altocumulus ; cumulonimbus ; cumulus; cirrus ; cirrostratus ; altostratus ; nimbostratus ; stratocumulus ; stratus ]
• weather forecasting via clouds [ clouds moving lower, darker , tighter, differingdirections signal storms; cumulus towers indicate possible rain later in the day , cumulustowers can become cumulonimbus clouds ; cumulonimbus developments signal storms; cirrus & altocumulus clouds indicate possible rain within 36 hours ; nimbostratus cloudsmean imminent rain ; " Red sky at night , sailor 's delight , red sky in the morning, sailorstake warning "; Grey morning = dry day, grey evening = wet night ; " Rainbow in themorning, need for a warning "; rainbow in the west indicates possible storm approaching; cloudy night reflects more heat ; “ When clouds look like black smoke , the wise one putson a cloak ”]
• weather forecasting via sun & moon [shrinking corona around sun or moon meansrain within 72 hours; “ Circle around the moon , rain or snow soon”; reddish or pale moonmeans dust ]
• weather forecasting via wind [Northern hemisphere : Easterly winds usually indicateapproaching storm, Westerly winds usually do not; smoke swirls & sinks in low pressurewhen rain approaches; wind changing direction can signal a front 's passage ]
• weather forecasting via flora [oak & maple leaves curl in high humidity , usuallypreceding rain ; pine cone scales stay closed in high humidity , open in dry air; manyplants release compost-smell when rain approaches; dry grass at morning means highwind & possible rain , dewy grass at morning means probably won't rain (unreliable if itrained the last night ); deciduous tress show their leaf undersides in unsual winds ; underhumid conditions wood swells & salt clumps]
• weather forecasting via fauna [ birds fly low when pressure falls before rain ; birdsbecome quiet right before rain ; ants sometimes build hills w/ steeper sides before rain & cover the mound hole ; bees hover around hives during low pressure ; turtles head tohigher ground 1-2 days before heavy rain ; herd animals usually cluster prior to a storm;if birds feed during a storm it will last awhile]
• weather forecasting via bodies [ hair can curl & become frizzy; feeling air pressuredifference; feeling pain in bones & joints ]
• natural temperature reading [if temp . over 40*F: cricket chirps per 14 seconds 40= temp . in *F /- 2]