I even bring the compass on our family trips to the state park with the kiddos. Most of the trails are loops and easy to follow. BUT, when we go into a trail I look at the park map and the compass to get an idea of what direction I need to go at any given point on the trail to get a straight line back to the road.

I do this in the event of an emergency that I need to run straight through the woods to get back to the road for help.
It is easy to get turned around on the trails and I sure would not want to have to run back through the whole trail when I could go a straight line.

It sounds stupid, I know, but when I was 16, my dad and I were scouting deer hunting area in Mississippi. We were out in the woods and heard a slight "..hey" My dad said we are in someone's area and we need to go back. I said "no, I think the dude is saying help." I started running, ran about 2 or 3 miles to find a hunter hanging upside down 25 feet up from his climbing deer stand and talking to Jesus. He was so out of it, he couldn't even hear me, even when I talked to him. Covered in piss, no telling how long he hung there. I climbed the tree to the stand, tied him off and had to cut his feet loose letting him swing before figuring how to lower him.

Anyway, you just never know what will happen.