I’ve never felt the need for a compass, because I’ve always stuck with trails. I just made a mistake one day of trusting my eyesight and sense of direction.
A $100 Garmin gps will keep you on trail. It doesn’t need a cell tower. Might save your life.
Ten essentials for hiking. Perhaps this will help you in the future.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/10essentials.htm
I got lost in a 40 acre patch of woods once while deer hunting. The wife’s family acreage in the Ozarks. Finally climbed a tree and saw a telephone pole. I then knew where in that 40 acres I was.