In reply to c line:
One thing orienteers learn is that paths are not the only linear features. Other options include:
-spurs (sloping ridgelines). You can count these off as you traverse a slope, or ascend/descend along them. Height can be judged by how steep or prominent the spur is.
-re-entrants. The opposite of spurs, where the slope is concave. The classic example would be where a stream runs down the slope, but when you get better even a very shallow curve in the contour lines can be enough.
-contour lines. If you strike off a path at known height and maintain that height as you traverse then you know how high up you are when you hit the next linear feature.
-fall line. This is the path a ball would make if it rolled down the hill, which is perpendicular to the contour lines on the map. On a large, featureless slope a bearing up or down the fall line (or a spur etc) may show how far round you are.
-dry stone walls, edges of woodland etc.
Generally navigation is a process of moving along linear features, and then striking off on a bearing until you hit the next one. Then move along until you hit some feature that tells you exactly where you are. All the time you should have a sense of roughly where you are, and what you expect to see next (and in how long). Going out with someone more experienced and talking everything through can be very valuable, as can practicing fog nav in good conditions (basically avoid looking up at any distant features).
If you become truly lost then options include running on a bearing towards some major feature such as a road, or retracing your steps, or I guess your watch should output a location which can be transferred to the map.