One who finds paths. A ranger. A scout or explorer. The harbinger of civilization.
See Daniel Boone, Davey Crocket.

An annotated bibliography prepared for a library patron who is preparing to do some extensive research,

Or, an annotated bibliography prepared for a reference class by a library student to better understand the needs of library patrons and how to find and organize materials to meet those needs.

Pathfinder was a spacecraft assembled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) under the auspices of NASA. The first spacecraft to land on Mars in over 20 years, it set down rather roughly on July 4, 1997. Basically, Pathfinder landed by inflating a series of parachutes to slow its descent somewhat and then inflating airbags. In Mars' low gravity, Pathfinder must have bounced numerous times over quite a distance before coming to a halt. This saved considerable mass and complexity over thruster-based landing systems, but was a chancy and untested proposition. Pathfinder was largely a platform to test new technologies, although planetary scientists were intrigued by those results obtained.

STV Pathfinder is a 72' brigantine-rigged sailing vessel owned and operated by Toronto Brigantine Inc. She weights 32 tons, displaces 50, and cruises at up to 8 knots flying 250m² of sails. Pathfinder is based (surprisingly enough) in Toronto; it serves as a sail training vessel for young people and operates almost exclusively on the Great Lakes.

Path"find`er (?), n.

One who discovers a way or path; one who explores untraversed regions.

The cow is the true pathfinder and pathmaker. J. Burroughs.

 

© Webster 1913.