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I am standing in a forest, surrounded by tall hardwoods that are not yet dressed. It is spring, the temperature is cool, but the sun is warming the air. Before me lies a trail. It is well worn with knurled tree roots and small rocks protruding from a sparse layer of seasoned leaf fall. The trail follows the side of the hill; contouring in and out, over earthen waves.
Glancing backward I notice that I can no longer see the beginning of the forest. Just a few moments ago I had begun my trek at the edge of a field. There was a break in a line of thick vegetation; I entered eagerly and have been briskly wandering along for on to two minutes. Everything about me seems to look the same. I notice no discerning features to indicate my location. A feeling inside percolates up to my consciousness and I realize that my only connection to home is that trailhead long behind and out of sight.
While suppressing a feeling of panic, I stop to gaze at the colorful sheet of paper in my hand. It is a map. Not any ordinary map; But one that shows this forest with this very trail clearly marked. Not yet quite at ease, I wonder 'which line on this map is the trail?' Then I recall the odd man back at the shelter giving some instructions. I fumble through my coat pocket and pull out a simple plastic compass. "The compass tells us which way is north," I recall the man saying. "The map tells us the way to go." The man had lain the compass on his map then did some strange twisting to his left. 'What was it he was doing', I struggle to remember. I lay my compass on my map trying to recreate his example. I notice the red arrow in the compass dial drifting then settling in a direction to my left. 'That must be north', I think to myself, while hoping no one noticed my amazing discovery. I give the map a brief study. Then suddenly, jumping out of the page, is a set of parallel black lines. These I recall are all pointing toward magnetic north. Revelation! But they all seem to be pointing in a different direction than the red compass needle. Devastation!
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