Kind of after the fact, but I would leave the K-Bar at home and take a Swiss Army Knife-a small one. Reminds me of when I was scuba diving. My first knife was a huge Scubapro knife about the size of a Bowie knife. My next one was about 1/4 the size and much more useful. Same for my compass and watch.

As Lori said, learn navigation using a map and compass. You can learn from websites, books or classes. A GPS with a dead battery is worse than useless. A compass and map need nothing but know how.

Get a copy of The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher. The latest edition is No. 4, I think. It is a good introduction to camping and hiking.

Most importantly, don't feel bad about buying stuff you realize you don't need or want. Everyone does it. See that parka I'm wearing? Someone paid about $500 it and it wasn't me.