A dreary rainy day where the lunch fire was a welcome rest stop. I took a "shortcut" back to camp, that proved to be a "longcut". There was no sun visible all day, and without checking my compass because I "knew the way" (just like a typical man not asking for directions), I headed off. At one point when I made my way through thick brush and spruce trees, I climbed a hill to see a long picturesque lake in the distance. I think I stated how loud "Where the heck am I?" I took off my pack and got out my map and compass. The problem with a map and compass is if you do not recognize a landmark there is no way of figuring out where you are. I pondered the situation for several minutes. It is already getting close to nightfall. In my mind I am backtracking where I travelled and the possibilities. A number of thoughts occurred including how and where I would set up camp for the night. I always carry a backpack with gear and clothing to be relatively comfortable if required. I have had this feeling of concern before, and can appreciate how easy it would be to panic. Twice, I thought I had figured out which way to go and headed off, but stopped in short order each time to ponder my situation more. Finally I thought I knew which way to go, and headed in that direction. Within about 30 minutes I reached an area that I recognized, and took a long way back to camp. Night was falling when I arrived. For the next two days, what happened replayed in my mind as I tried to figure out where I went and how I made the mistake. To the best of my knowledge, as difficult as it is for me to believe, I took the completely wrong direction at some point. The lake I did not identify was recognizable later, but at the hilltop from which I overlooked it, I had never seen that part of the lake before.
The moral of this story is that because the sun was not visible, I should have used my compass initially when I got into unfamiliar terrain. I also could have returned the way I came if I had done so from the lunch spot. It would be helpful to have a GPS to plot latitude and longitude on the topographic map, although the device is dependent on electronics and technology that could fail. I would never give up my compass.