Up here in Wisconsin the trick of using moss on trees can help get your bearings, but of course it's not absolutely reliable and honestly, in a swamping constantly damp area there is going to be moss everywhere on the trees! But, still, the north side will still have more moss on it due to the sun not directly hitting it, allowing the beautiful moss to flourish. Anything thing is of course the north star, the way I remember it is that the north start will always be off the end of the big dipper. So regardless of which way the big dipper is pointing as the earth spins, you can tell which way is north. Follow the drinking gourd.