Decided to press on into the mountains after the run (only a few times here, a route uphill across the long silt rise to the beginning of the rock). Bit like Gurdjieff making his escape, or perhaps Merton taking the Gesthemani jeep out into the Kentucky mud roads for a bit. Unjustifiable, but refreshing.
Once I was past the paved walking paths, I was hoping to find a trail, but saw no blazes, so I just set out across uncleared land, uphill on a vector that I knew would hit the road. Sure enough, after an hour or so of tough climbing over wooded land, a 1980's second world passenger van hove into view. At least the top half. Then to the hiking hut on the road, and past it, up into the gap on a well-blazed trail, as far in that direction as the path went before it doglegged back to the summit of the hill it was on, so I bowed slightly to the path ahead, and turned around. Decided to take one of the trails down, which was an exercise in Fenimore Cooper/Dan Boone alertness, as there were basically no blazes. Basically following a creekbed, and occasionally winding off to the side -- which was confidence-inspiring, as I knew that I wasn't just walking down a creekbed.
But on a large mountain, it's hard to get lost. just go down and walk back around, if you need to. Not like going off-piste in a completely strange range.