Originally Posted By: Glock-A-Roo
most people (including 'outdoorsy' ones) really don't have serious landnav skills. Most have never had to cover distance off-trail in challenging terrain using baselines, catching features, pacecount, and ded reckoning. Most have been served quite well with trails and simple terrain association


LOL -- for the most part, that's me! I relearn the complex landnav stuff every five years or so, then promptly forget much of it because I'm not applying it. (I should really do more orienteering etc., but who has time?)

I get creatively turned around a fair bit, so I usually carry a simple, skinny compass in my pockets when hiking. This compass gets used frequently to give me a mental map of obvious landmarks and general trends of trail and terrain.

On a longer or more complex trip, I would not hesitate to add a second, proper compass and map (topo or forestry) if needed.