I always carry a compass with me when I'm shooting in the woods (or the mountains or the moors or...). Mostly it's for locating where sunset and sunrise are going to be but I occasionally put it to navigational uses the way you did :) I also keep a light Gore-Tex jacket bungeed to the side of my Lowe Pro backpack and have a Mylar space blanket packed away inside.
-- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
