Mouse - I remember coming out of the METRO on a foggy night seek the youth hostel in Paris.


Anyway I think we can all agree that having a topo map is important:
if you know how to read it,
you have the correct one with up to date information,
AND
you have to carry it in your hand and use it like a "program" at a show, keeping track of where you are and don't get lost. If its in your pack its not gonna be as useful.

Obviously having more information is better than less and carrying all of the navigation devices might be a good idea, on the other hand carrying a whole bunch of other stuff might be a good idea too so we make decisions. Like W_D, I carried my compass for decades and never used it, then one time I did, I failed to orient the map and ended walking in the wrong direction anyway. [If I hadn't failed miserably trying to get unlost with compasses I would not complain about their lack of value so much.]

So it depends - on the terrain as much as anything. Try triangulating on mountain peaks when you are in a valley sometime. Problem is that you can't see them. This is where a topo is useful if you can figure out which drainage you are in. Around here a body of water or stream is so rare that it serves as a landmark.

Jim