Yeah...I don’t think I would have left the pack.
Sounds like he was trying to find a way out where you leave a fixed point and walk a straight distance to look for anything to help navigate your way out.Think I might have left a bright colored cloth tied to a branch or something before I left all my goods behind.
People usually drop the pack to go 300 feet off trail to crap or pee. It is easy to get lost if you do not stick a hiking pole with a glove or hat on it twice the frist 150 feet or so. That gives you a directional reference point towards your pack. Better is when you also pull out your compass and follow a straight line, while leaving your “aiming stakes” or Hiking Poles behind you.