A favored western writer of mine, Louis L'Amour, used to write in his books that those that were the pioneers and early travelers in the west would stop occasionally and look back towards the direction that they had traveled.  That way, they could watch for any possible dangers behind them, but more so to be able to see the landmarks behind them so they would know what to recognize should they have to return that way.

Any time that I've talked with folks that are in new areas, even within cities, I advise the same thing.  Back about a year ago, there was a couple that had parked their fifth wheel in an RV park and had driven into town to see some local attraction.  When they went to leave and go back to their truck, they couldn't find it.  The story is here on my blog, and there is a link in the first paragraph of the story that goes to the news story.

Impending Danger

The point of all this is to always be aware of everything around one's route so as to not have a similar experience.  That was spoken of in the news story by Vance when it said they had problems finding their way back.

Terry