The thing is,in the typical basin and range mountain, you know you are somewhere within XYZ Canyon, although you may not know precisely where, but you will be there until you come out, by traveling up or down the canyon or climbing over one of the sides. That is where it gets interesting, due to cliffs, waterfalls, dense brush, and the like.

Looking for overdue hikers,very few were lost, in the sense that they had no idea of where they were. They knew they were in Sabino Canyon (a notorious canyon near Tucson), somewhere in the middle, but they didn't know how to get out....

On trips in Colorado Plateau country, where the whole trip might follow a deeply incised stream for a long ways, we have counted bends and meanders very carefully, so that we can figure out which side canyon to take to continue on our trip. It wasn't a trivial task, especially if the map was off.