In the wilderness, it is sometimes useful to be able to calculate the distance to a faraway object. Using a compass and basic trigonometry (don’t worry, we’ll show you how), you can easily estimate the distance to a faraway object. This is possible using principles of geometry and triangulation – if we know any three of the sides or angles of a triangle, we can calculate the remaining angles and sides. In the examples below, we’ll demonstrate two different methods to calculate the distance to an object.