kc2ixe,

Question: If you come out at a point that is unexpected, how do you know where you are?

Do you know the area enough to know your location?
Do you carry a map that has sufficient points of reference that you can spot your location relatively quickly?
Do you carry a GPS?

I'm a big fan of using GPS to determine your current location. If you've pre-entered the location of your car/camp as a waypoint on the GPS, then the GPS can give you a bearing to follow your way there. OR, you can convert your current location's coordinate to the map, and then get the bearing from the map.

Many locations just don't have sufficient points of reference to determine one's location even on a very good topo map in clear weather. If you don't know where you are, a compass is often of little use unless you can "box" yourself in to known landmarks (for example, you may know that if you walk east you'll hit a river).

Many people would find their way back pretty quickly with just a basic GPS, a saved waypoint, and a moderately cheap compass.

This also brings out the importance being able to provide good shelter. While I find much of the other survival gear to be pretty easy to accumulate, finding good compact shelter gear continues to be a challenge for me.