If you go to the Home Page (not the forum home, but the site home), you'll see links to gear lists for lightweight trips as well as a list of the "Ten Essentials." The Ten Essentials list has been modified over the years and some lists have more than ten items, but the principle is the same-some things you shouldn't be without, no matter where you are-not things in your car, not things left in your tent while you go on a day hike; these are things you should have on you if you wander away from your base camp for any length of time.

For example, some day hikers in the NE always carry enough gear to do an overnight if the weather turns bad. When I am day hiking in winter (the kind of winter with snow on the ground, not LA winter), I have enough gear to dig a shelter and stay dry and relatively warm if I get lost. It can happen. I also carry some food and a stove.

Learn to use a map and compass, as already said. Getting lost is not a good introduction to camping. Practice in your neighborhood. There are several good books and even lessons online. You don't need a fancy compass; a nice baseplate compass costs about $20.

You don't need a GPS either. They are nice, but people have been navigating around the world for centuries without one, so don't let someone tell you "oh, compasses are oldfashioned" or some nonsense like that.