[jfoutz]

100% yup, it's surprisingly easy to not know where you are.

I was never much of a scout, but the best advice I ever got was go downhill. If you find water, follow the water down. People live downhill. people use water. Finding somebody, anybody, means food and shelter. There are a handful of box canons in the world where this doesn't work, but like, you should know that there is one nearby before the outset. And even if you fall into the box canyon trap, you know where you are.

Yeah, for any casual hiker that goes way off into the woods, first, you're and idiot. Second, why are you wearing cotton? Third, go downhill.

[s0rce]

Usually yes but one exception is very rugged mountains with steep valleys like the coast range in north Vancouver or big sur. You'll end up trapped.

[jfoutz]

That's a great point. I was working on the assumption that you had a map and a compass. When you get to dangerous terrain, hopefully you can pin down that you're on one of two or three possible spots - so maybe you can figure out where you are.

Regardless, yeah, wandering off in the woods unprepared is dangerous. and it's easy to get hurt and have worse things happen.

[bmacho]

Erm, no. Better to go up on a mountain so you can see where you are.

[reportingsjr]

A simple scenario to test your idea out: you're hiking lower on a mountain and not 100% confident exactly where you are on a trail. An unexpected thunderstorm appears and you want to bail ASAP.

Do you climb up to an exposed area in the mountains to figure out where you are? While a storm rolls in?

Or, do you stay roughly where you are, lower down, and try to use map to locate yourself?