One of the items in my fanny pack is a compass. It was given to me by one of my daughters for a Christmas or Birthday present and although I don't use it for orienteering, it is an important piece of equipment in case you get lost in the woods. In most parts of the country, they say you can find your bearings by looking at the moss on the north side of a tree. In the Northwest, there's moss on all sides of the tree. You can also find your bearing by knowing what time it is and finding your shadow. In the Northwest, it's cloudy all the time, so you don't have a shadow. Even the North Star isn't reliable out here. Hence the compass.
I've been fortunate that I've never had to use the compass, but now that I've been snowshoeing a couple of times, I can see how easily one's bearings can get crossed. I'm not certain if the compass will make the final cut, but 2 oz is a small price for a bit of safety.
I'll leave the discussion about bringing a GPS for another day.
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