>>1947523The closest call I've had when /out/ myself was when dense fog hit me on the way down, and I knew the trail would disappear for a while. I took a bearing on the map from the end of the trail, to where it would reappear. I followed the compass a lo and behold, I hit the trail. I doubt I would have been in serious trouble but it would have been a hassle and taken hours otherwise.
When I was /out/ with a group, and I didn't plan the outing, things could have gone worse. I didn't bring any of my nav stuff as someone else took it on themselves to organize the outing. Long story short, after taking a long-ass route we start descending. It's winter, dark is falling fast, and it starts to drizzle. People's phones are dying one after another from the cold and using GPS all day. The only guy with a headlamp was me. The leader takes multiple wrong turns. I eventually fire up my phone GPS as it's the last one still alive, and we use it to see where we are. It's a long-ass hike back to the car. People are wet. NOW the leader starts to freak out since it's dark (I was actually calm as we now knew where we were, I was more worried before). They knock on a house we pass for help, and the owner drives us back to our car. Without my GPS, we would truly have been lost. I am not at all proud of that day.
