" If you start seeing road signs in (multiple) foreign languages (Flemish, French, German, Croatian), pull over. You're probably going the wrong way."

that was funny !! :-)

you guys have hit upon another cause of getting lost. It's long term exposure to the elements. A slow but steady drop in body energy, accompanied by heat or cold exposure and dehyrdration. Personally I can attest to the mental screw-ups that come from dehydration and exhaustion.

You can get to the point where you are hallucinating. Somewhere before you start seeing things ... your sense of direction takes a major hit. People tend to enter a death spiral where they are going around in circles, hardly even realizing that they are doing it. So they are expending energy and "pushing on" but really getting nowhere.

Pete2