These days, you don't even need to do that if you use a GPS system that tells you where you are and, even better, where you've been and, if you plan ahead, where to want to go. A hundred dollars and change seems reasonable at home or camp, and like the greatest bargain ever in the boondocks when you realize you don't know the way home. Lou's rule suggests this will be just as it starts to rain and/or snow and/or get dark.
GPS systems work off of government satellite systems. Using three or more signals, they simply measure the time it takes for the information to get to the receiver from the satellite. With four or so satellites you can even get your elevation. In fact, the system's accurate to within 20 feet or less in military mode. The government has added a "fiddle factor" that increases the error to hundreds of yards for civilians. This so the bad buys can't use GPS systems to guide bombs and such. In most cases such an error isn't important. It can be for anglers and coastal boaters trying to make a narrow harbor or river mouth when it's dark and nasty out. Fortunately the Coast Guard sends out supplemental signals (DGPS) that can narrow the error back town. To get these you need either a supplemental receiver to add to your GPS or some sort of FM device. But these are more in the boater's scope, since DGPS can put you exactly on favored fishing spots on lakes, rivers, bays or the oceans. For anglers and others who wander in the boondocks, 50 or more yard accuracy is fine, save in spots like the brink of Yosemite Valley. Add a topographic map unless you're on level California rice fields and such. I use DeLorme State Guides for most general applications, since they are the most up to date source on roads and other features. Unfortunately, their scale is such that you need topographic supplements in the boondocks. The State Guides are pretty hefty and quite large too.
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