"Drop me off in a city without a compass and a destination, and I will eventually find my way. For whatever reason, I've always had an intuitive sense of how to navigate urban environments. Maybe it has to do with being my father's shotgun-seat navigator on road trips, but honestly, it probably has more to do with my spending too much of my youth navigating the video game environments of Hyrule and Vice City."
"My path was atypical. I was not that kid crawling around with a magnifying glass at age 10, looking for butterflies and creepy crawlies. There was a period where I would say I had very little interest, and if I'm being blunt, nature was the green stuff that got in my way. [But] as I grew up, I decided I wanted to hone that skill. Most of us work out"
A narrator reports strong instinct for urban wayfinding but frequent disorientation in forests, even with a compass. A false sense of confidence from instruments often leads to getting lost. Motivation to become more capable outdoors prompted study of Tristan Gooley, a practitioner who reads natural signs. Gooley's books teach interpreting trees, weather, plants, and other environmental clues to navigate and strengthen connection with nature. The material highlights Gooley's background, the contemporary relevance of natural navigation, and practical starting points for novices to learn to find their way in wild settings.
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