Two roads diverged in the wood ...

[majorhavoc]

https://www.concordmonitor.com/hiker-49331058

Getting lost in the woods is one of the more plausible survival scenarios I can imagine getting myself into someday. Actually, twice I've badly misjudged the amount of available daylight. But for multiple light sources, I would not have made it back to the trail head, at least not until the following morning. 

And once I was in a group that was caught in a cold, soaking rain above 10,000 feet. It dropped well below freezing where we made camp that night. A late addition to our group was badly under equipped and likely would have died had we not dried him out and given him an emergency blanket. (That's when I learned that space blankets crinkle - a lot. They can save your life but they'll keep you, and everyone in your party, awake all night long.)

But the above article reads like a primer on everything one can do wrong on a winter hike.

One bit of absolutely vital survival information I didn't see mentioned at the conclusion of the article: tell someone where you're going. The exact route and estimated return time. Ask them to call you if they haven't heard from you by a set time.

[Wasteland Charlie]

I have never been seriously lost, but I was confused once while hiking in the Ozarks near my home. I thought I was following creek "A" down to the road and I was actually following creek "B". Both creeks flowed in the same direction and cut the same road, I was just a quarter of a mile further south than I thought, so no real drama. However the cognitive dissonance I felt when reality didn't match what I "knew" to be true I can still remember 40 years later. It's something that can't be truly described, only experienced. Panic is very close at hand. 

Definitely have a plan if you hike to be able to suffer through the worst possible night if things go wrong.

[Anianna]

I got lost many times as a child.  Leaving in the morning and nobody expecting to see you until dinner makes getting lost for hours pretty easy.  The main thing I learned is that the moment you realize you're lost, stop moving and take the time to calm down.  Running around in a panic just makes it worse.  Even turning in place can be disorienting.  Just stop and stay facing the same way you were facing.  Take the time to look for clues that tell direction, like where the sun is in the sky or where the moss is on trees or if you've been leaving footprints.  Have a general idea of direction before you start, as well.

Getting lost and unlost was kind of my thing, especially after my mom died and I was essentially feral and raising myself.  Most of the time you get lost, you'll at least have known where you started from and maybe have some idea of the area, especially if you're on a planned hike.  It's often just a matter of calming yourself and taking a few minutes to think it through.  

Winter, though, there's so much that can obscure the clues and make being lost truly desperate.  I was never brave enough to press the limits and get lost in the snow, especially falling snow.  Being in cold and wet weather is what turns me into a sniveling crybaby.  No way I want to be lost on top of that.

[wolf_from_wv]

I knew exactly where I was at...  Just across a little valley from the road that led back to the parking lot.  Just down hill from another "road" full of sticks and water that most likely would lead back to the parking lot. My issue was being shin deep in mud/quicksand.  Fortunately, there was a sturdy sapling that I just managed to grab to pull myself out, leaving my boots behind.  Fortunately, if was warm that February, but the ankle deep water was still quite cold on the 1/3 mile(?) hike back to the truck...