Being able to read a compass and orient a map are important skills that can keep you from getting lost in unfamiliar territory.
Stepping off the trail and heading up a canyon for a mile or so is enough to get a person lost. The twists and turns of a benign-looking range of hills and arroyos can be confusing, especially if you add to it the fears of survival, the pangs of hunger or the parched dryness of thirst.
You know where you came from-perhaps a broken-down car or last night’s camp-and you know where you want to go: civilization.