around here (in Costa Rica) following a creek downstream can lead you into into narrow gorges which then often end in waterfalls, requiring one to climb up and around -- nothing i'd recommend in the evening or during/ after rain when everything is slippery... that said about two years ago an exploration trip lead me to getting temporarily geographically embarrassed (it involves a disappearing trail, almost stepping on a 2,5 m fer-de-lance and my glasses fogging up in dense mist reducing visibility to almost zero) and following a creek to the nearby coast when i realised i wasn't finding my way back
near Fjordland (=New Zealand south island) i once went exploring in the mountains, following a ridge. as the vegetation prevented me from finding out how far i'd followed the ridge (intention was to descend to get back to the remote farm i was staying) i decided to head down as it was getting late... following a little creek brought me to a bigger creek, but in the darkness i missed my turn-off over a lower ridge which would have lead straight to the house.... the creek which got bigger from all the water running off the mountain finally completely disappeared in low-laying swampy country to reemerge a km further, slowly meandering to the river. fortunately i'd already been there before (and carried a daypack full of "goodies" incl.a headtorch and a map
) so i knew it was just a long walk in the dark...without local knowledge and my headtorch + gear i'd looked for a suitable spot before dark and hunker down..
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