[pct-l] looking to buy a compass TODAY :)

[Brick Robbins]

About the only time I ever used a compass in the heavy snow year of
1995, it was the North is Thattaway sense. I carried a fancy compass
for the first 700 miles, then ditched it in Mammoth, and just relied
on the one on the thermometer zipper pull tab I put on my chest strap

Example: you hit a road. The guidebook says the trial is 1/4 mile
southwest on the road. It is overcast, so you don't really know which
way southwest is.

You get out the compass and realize that the road goes northwest, like
90 degrees off what the description says. You think you're going
insane. You look at the map several times, and realize that there is
another road crossing about a mile before the one in the description,
not mentioned in the text. You then see the trail is almost right
across the road from you but you didn't see it because you were so
invested in going 1/4 mile down the road....