Jerry V Lapes' orienteering tips are very good ones. The topo maps, for those who have not used them, are fantastic and open a whole new world of new hunting areas to you. Many times, I picked out a new hunting spot on a topo map and went in blind in the dark, hunted all day, and was able to come out in the dark 12 hours later and be within a few hundred yards of my truck. This did not require constant map and compass checking. That one time that had me doubting my compass was a time I felt sure I knew my way out.
Someone mentioned the folly of hunting alone. For years, my work gave me days off in mid-week when my hunting buddies were all working. It was hunt alone or stay home. I came to enjoy the solitude of hunting all day and often not seeing another hunter. I tried to leave an itinerary or xerox copy of a topo of the section I planned to hunt. But sometimes I got halfway to my destination, and decided to hit another spot which often would have sent searchers to the wrong county. Not smart. Once when I had told my buddies where I was hunting, I arrived back at camp four hours after dark, having shot a buck way back in right at quitting time. They were quite worried, but were so drunk they couldn't have found their ass with both hands.
I always carry some basic survival gear in my fanny pack. Matches, lighter, hexamine tablets or bars for easy fire starting, space blanket, water, jerky or candy bars, small led flashlight with fresh batteries, whistle, cell phone, FRS/GMRS radio even if hunting alone (leave channel to moniter in your itinerary), and one of those thin light plastic 9'x12' dropcloths which weighs next to nothing, but can provide dry, windproof shelter. All of this stuff is less than a couple pounds. I add chemical handwarmers and spare gloves, ski mask, etc. for very cold weather. I think the knowledge that you have a few basics that can keep you dry and warm if you had to spend a night in the woods will do a lot to stave off the panic that will only make matters worse.
I still frequently hunt alone, mostly in flintlock season when it is often near zero and no one else is out. Mainly, I worry about slipping and breaking a leg or something that would prevent me from building a fire or shelter.
