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TIL that moss on the north side of a tree is mostly a myth, and my dad taught me wrong for 20 years
I was out hiking in Shenandoah last weekend and kept noticing moss growing all over the south side of several oaks. That did not match what my dad drilled into me as a kid, so I started checking maybe 30 trunks along the trail. Turns out moss grows where it stays damp, which has way more to do with shade, wind, and how the trunk leans than with north being north. My dad grew up in western Washington where it rains all the time, so his rule sort of worked there and he just passed it down like it was nature law. The real giveaway for direction is usually which side has more branches or a lean toward the sun, not the green stuff. Anyone else grow up with the moss rule and get weirdly annoyed when it turns out to be wrong?
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phoenix_bailey19d ago
My scout leader taught us the moss thing too and I remember being so smug about it on hikes. Then I moved to Utah where everything is dry and shady in totally different ways and the rule just fell apart on me. What finally worked was just picking a landmark at the trailhead and checking my compass every so often, way less romantic but my sense of direction actually got better.
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