Leader Notes: Everett's Basic Navigation Course is a single-day event that teaches how to use a topographic map, compass, and altimeter for backcountry navigation. The course also emphasizes advance preparation, terrain reckoning, and route finding as a team responsibility. It includes lectures, indoor exercises, and outdoor navigation courses.
This enrollment is for students only. To signup as an instructor, click here: Instructor Signup
While this course is intended for climbing and scrambling students, it is open to anyone interested in improving their land navigation skills. However, students simultaneously enrolled in Mountaineer courses with a navigation requirement do have priority. Other registrations are accepted pending availability when signup closes; the entire fee will be refunded to anyone who is bumped. Registration: You may enroll online using this website and a credit card or by phoning the clubhouse. Signup is open through Thursday preceding the course, however, if the enrollment minimum is not met a week earlier, the course may be cancelled.
Schedule: - Check in opens at 7:30 am
- Class begins at 8:00 am
- Lunch is a working lunch during class time
- Dismissal is about 6 pm
Location: The course location is at Camp Brinkley near Lake Roesiger. Allow 45 minutes driving time from Monroe or Lake Stevens. Please use the north (Camp Brinkley) entrance and not the south (Camp Pigott) entrance, as driving through the camp is not permitted. Be advised that driving directions are not simple, so plan ahead and allow ample time.
Driving directions: From the I-405 corridor, the shortest drive is from the south, following Woods Creek Road from Monroe. A map and driving directions from Monroe is published here. However, while it may be a little out of the way, we encourage carpooling from the Frontier Village Transit Center.
From the I-5 corridor, the shortest drive is from the west, following Dubuque Road. Driving instructions from that direction are as follows: - From Frontier Village Transit Center, go south on Highway 9 for 1.3 miles.
- From the intersection of Highway 9 and 20th St SE (Hewitt Ave), go east for 1.6 miles.
- Continue onto Williams road at the sharp corner and wind down the hill for another .4 miles.
- Turn right onto Machias Cutoff Road and go east for .2 miles.
- At the stop sign, turn right onto South Machias Road and go south for 1.1 miles.
- At the nursery, turn left onto Dubuque Road and go east for 7.4 miles. (If you find yourself on Woods Creek Road, then you have gone too far).
- Turn left onto S. Lake Roesiger Road and stay right for 2.4 miles.
- At the Lake Roesiger Store, turn right onto Monroe Camp Road and go east for 1 mile.
- At the Camp Brinkley entrance sign, turn right and follow the camp road to the parking lot.
Carpool: Informal carpools should leave the Lake StevensTransit Center or the Monroe Park-N-Ride at 6:30 am. The transit center is south of Frontier Village between the Target Store and Highway 9. The park-n-ride is on the outskirts of Monroe, just west of the fairgrounds.
What to Bring: For indoor exercises, students need a compass, a topographic map of Stevens Pass (USGS 7 1/2 minute preferred, Green Trails acceptable), and a pencil. Some students also find a straight edge or protractor handy. There will be a supply of hot water, so you may want to bring a cup and your favorite instant drink.
For outdoor exercises, bring a lunch, dress warm and be prepared for steep terrain and adverse weather. In addition to the above items, students need a clear, waterproof cover for an 8 1/2 X 11 handout, a daypack, sturdy footwear and other gear suitable for travelling through mud and wet brush.
Hiking poles and clipboards are useful, but the tradeoff is that you may need your compass often and only have so many hands.
Compass: You must bring a prismatic compass: one with a sighting mirror and declination adjustment. It should have a liquid-filled housing that rotates on a transparent baseplate. It is also important to have a 360 degree asimuth scale with 2-degree increments.
Here is a partial list of acceptable models: - Brunton 15TCDL
- Suunto PC-2 Pro
- Suunto MC-2G Navigator
Advance Reading: Students are encouraged to read Wilderness Navigation by Bob and Mike Burns. There is also a relevant chapter in Freedom of the Hills.of the Hills.
|