Longwinters: A good reminder regarding the white North pointer.
Think of yourself as a small airplane pilot heading East. To the North is a long valley, but to the East the Terrain rises rapidly from 200 feet to over 8000 feet, with a couple of passes a little more than 6000 feet. You have created a route that will take you through the low pass and your gps projects the path to the East. Clearly you do not want to be looking to the North except to check for hazards. You want to be looking eastward and making sure you did not miss an elevation point.
The gps is only a tool.