Come on Muley - really? You mean you've never walked in a loop in the woods? Went in one way and made a big circle and came out somewhere else. You cover a lot more ground especially if you're still hunting. (why backtrack).
I've done that out west (Idaho) walking for miles on ridge tops using just a couple mtn peaks as landmarks. I would have need 1/2 doz rolls of flagging to mark my trail and another day to go pick it all up.