In the phrase: "As we walked North on the trail," which word should not be capitalized?

In the phrase "As we walked North on the trail," the word "North" should not be capitalized because it is functioning as a directional descriptor rather than a proper noun. Capitalization rules dictate that directionals like "north," "south," "east," and "west" are generally not capitalized when they refer to a general direction rather than a specific geographic location or a recognized place (like "North America"). In this context, "north" describes the direction on the trail, so it should be written in lowercase.

The other words in the phrase serve different functions, with "As" serving as a conjunction, "walked" as a verb, and "trail" as a noun, which are appropriately written in lowercase unless they begin a sentence or are part of a title.