Wilderness Navigation Course

The Foothills Wilderness Navigation Course consists of four (4) required activities. To  receive credit, participants must complete all four. Online activities are taken sequentially.

• 1 of 4, Online Map & Compass Module - There are no prerequisites. This online activity must be successfully completed before starting the Online GPS Module. This activity must be successfully complete before the In-person Workshop
• 2 of 4, Online GPS Module - Completion of the Map & Compass Module is a prerequisite. This online activity must be successfully completed before the In-Person Workshop.
• 3 of 4, In-Person Workshop - Successful completion of both online modules is a prerequisite. This activity must be successfully completed before the Field Trip
• 4 of 4, Field Trip - activities 1 - 3 must be completed before taking the Field Trip

SIGN UP PROCEDURE

1. Register for this Wilderness Navigation course and pay the fee.
2. Register for the online Map & Compass Module
3. Register for the online GPS Module
4. Register for one In-Person Workshop
5. Register for one Field Trip
6. Purchase your required course material e.g. maps, books, compass. See this course  Required Equipment and Course Materials tabs.
7. Read course FAQs, link provided in the Course Materials tab.  

Once you signup for a particular activity, please try to keep that date, If you move to a later date do so very early so others have time to fill your spot. If you make changes at the last minute, it affects everyone. So, KEEP YOUR DATES. 

BADGES

Successful completion of this course will earn you a Basic Navigation Badge and Basic GPS Badge. Fulfilling requirements for any club course which requires either or both badges as a graduation requirement.  The badges are valid for 3 years.

NOTE: This is not a beginners course.  It prepares you for the rigors of back country and off trail navigation.  If you want an Intro course, two other courses may suit you first, "Staying Found", offered by the Foothills Branch and "Introduction to Map and Compass" offered by the Seattle Branch.  Neither of these courses meet the navigation requirements for Climbing, Scrambling, Snowshoeing, etc. This one does.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Please see the Curriculum Summary / Syllabus in the Course Materials Tab for more details on the curriculum.  The sections build upon each other, and the learning goals by the end of the course are as follows:

1. Skilled in travel thru varied terrain & conditions, on and off trail.
2. Navigation tasks can be shared among the entire team.
3. Able to maintain high level of situational awareness – all team members can determine point position & return to your Camp/Trailhead
4. Skilled in using full tool set – map, altimeter, compass GPS and emergency communicators. 
5. Able to provide support to bewildered, abandoned, ill-equipped or overly ambitious souls.

COURSE COMPONENTS AND TIME COMMITMENT

The entire course will take 24 to 30 hours to complete. Please plan accordingly.

• The Online Map & Compass Module is an online "at your own pace" activity. You will have 2 weeks to complete. It will take you about 8 hours to complete including book readings, the online modules, and the practical exercises with map and compass.  It covers the basics of  map and compass, coordinate systems, plotting and taking bearings and coordinates, altimeter and GPS system basics, and an introduction to trip planning. You must finish this activity before starting the Online GPS Module.
  
  
• The Online GPS Module is also an "at your own pace" online activity. You will have 2 weeks complete. It starts immediately after the Online Map & Compass concludes and must be successfully completed before the In-Person Workshop.  It will take you 4-6 hours of online work and practical exercises to complete. It covers basic GPS functionality and reviews the use of digital tools for trip planning.  You will be required to install and configure Gaia GPS on your smartphone and use Caltopo ( a web based tool) for trip planning.
  
  
• The In-Person Workshop is a 3 hour weeknight activity held at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens.  You'll do practical map, compass and GPS exercises to solidify what you learned from the online material and prepare you for the field trip.
  
  
• The Field Trip is an all-day event. It presents both on and off-trail exercises with approximately 5 miles of hiking and 1,200' of elevation gain.  You'll tie together different ways to use your tools (map, altimeter, compass and GPS.

Required Equipment

You will need maps, compass, altimeter and GPS. See the Required Equipment tab below details.

Required Reading Assignment 

• Before the Workshop, you'll have readings from the Burns & Burns book Wilderness Navigation, 3rd Edition. Mountaineers members get a 20% discount when ordering it online from Mountaineers Books as well as purchasing it in person at the Mountaineers Bookstore located in the Seattle Mountaineers Program Center. Please support the Mountaineers by purchasing it directly from the Mountaineers.
• Additional reading is available in Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.

For More Information and Other Courses

For more info about this course, about equivalency options, or other navigation courses, please see our Foothills Navigation Home Page and/or the Foothills Navigation Committee Page.