Wilderness Skills - Olympia - April 29 & May 6, 2017

Day Hiking Course

Wilderness Skills

Learn the skills to get outside and safely enjoy Washington's wilderness.

Wilderness Skills is designed to prepare area outdoor enthusiasts for hiking or backpacking in the forests, mountains and trails of the Pacific Northwest. Open to all, this course is also the foundation required before the Alpine Scrambling, Basic Climbing and Backpacking Courses with the Olympia Branch.

The Spring 2017 course will be held Saturdays April 29 and May 6 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Olympia. A detailed SAMPLE agenda for both Saturdays is below. It is the actual agenda used for the Jan-Feb course. Exact times and content for the April-May course will be finalized after the Jan-Feb course is reviewed and we make any adjustments or updates.

The course is offered twice each year - once in the winter and once in the spring -during two 8-5 Saturdays that include presentations and hands-on inside and outside activities.  Students must complete both Saturdays and report via email that they have completed a hike to graduate.

Backcountry skills and Unplanned overnights are covered in Wilderness Skills. Planned overnights are covered in the Backpacking course scheduled after the the spring Wilderness Skills course. 

Students must complete both Saturdays AND report via email that they have completed a hike or backpack.  

BACKPACKING STUDENTS: may register for the Backpacking course whenever they wish, but must complete BOTH of the Saturday workshops BEFORE their Backpacking course begins.  The two Wilderness Skills workshops are offered on consecutive Saturdays shortly before the Backpacking course begins (and earlier in the year).  Students must complete Wilderness Skills before beginning the Backpacking course, because essential skills for day hikes and unplanned overnights taught in Wilderness Skills are not repeated in the Backpacking course.

CONDITIONING HIKING SERIES PARTICIPANTS:  Wilderness Skills is useful but not required for the Olympia Branch Conditioning Hiking Series.

Date Time Min Agenda Item
       
28-Jan-17 7:30   Check-in available for students and leaders
28-Jan-17 7:30   Setup room and AV
       
28-Jan-17 8:00 15 Class Begins: Welcome and Overview
28-Jan-17 8:15 30 What could go wrong? Hazards of the Backcountry.
28-Jan-17 8:45 65 Day Hike Equipment: the 10 essentials and more
28-Jan-17 9:50   What's in your daypack? (90 minutes)
28-Jan-17   5 "What's in your daypack?" introduction
28-Jan-17   10 An unplanned overnight with what was in his daypack
28-Jan-17   10 Break/setup for small group "Table" presenters
28-Jan-17   55 Four daypacks: "Table" presentations (Scramble/Climb, Winter, UL, Everyday Trail)
28-Jan-17   10 Group discussion about packs
28-Jan-17 11:20 70 Backcountry Navigaton: Maps & Compass (Part 1 of 2)
28-Jan-17 12:30 30 Lunch (bring a lunch to eat at our tables)
28-Jan-17 13:00 40 Staying safe and Healthy in the Backcountry: Injury prevention and response to illness
28-Jan-17 13:40 75 Backcountry Navigation: Maps & Compass (Part 2 of 2)
28-Jan-17 14:55 10 Break
28-Jan-17 15:05   Safe Water (65 minutes)
28-Jan-17   10 Safe Water: Intro to safe water
28-Jan-17   50 Four groups rotate thru four stations @ 12m each: 1. Chems and UV, 2. Pre-filtering and boiling, 3. Squeeze in-line filters and gravity filters, 4. Pumps
28-Jan-17   5 Reconvene and group discussion
28-Jan-17 16:10 25 Wilderness Ethics
28-Jan-17 16:35 15 Preparing for the Outdoor workshop: things needed, questions, comments
28-Jan-17 16:50 10 Final group exercise (putting away tables and chairs)
28-Jan-17 17:00 0 End of Day
       
Date Time Min Agenda Item
4-Feb-17 6:30   Unlock church doors for BC meeting at 6:45
4-Feb-17 6:45   Basic Climb students ONLY meet with Dawn and Janette
4-Feb-17 7:30 15 Coordinate set up of room and AV
4-Feb-17 7:30   Check in available for students and leaders
       
4-Feb-17 8:00 30 Class Begins: 10 Essentials+ check-in dicussions in animal groups
4-Feb-17 8:30 10 Intro and overview for the day
4-Feb-17 8:40 30 Nutrition: Food for Healthy Meals on the Trail
4-Feb-17 9:10   Essential Backcountry Skills: Four sessions listed below total 160 (+5) minutes, four groups rotate thru the sessions
4-Feb-17   15 Session  1(a): Animal protection (Options, differences they make)
4-Feb-17   15 Session 1(b): Party Separation (How party separation works and how to pee in the woods)
4-Feb-17   10 Session 1.c: Sun protection and illumination
4-Feb-17   40 Session 2: Fire, cook stoves, and equipment (Stoves, fuel, mess kits, cooking equipment and hands-on fire lighting)
4-Feb-17   40 Session 3: First Aid Kits ( Hands-on look at what to include and how to prepare)
4-Feb-17   40 Shelter (Picking/preparing a site and options for erecting a shelter)
4-Feb-17     Navigation Refresher and Challenge Course (265 minutes)
4-Feb-17 12:00 10 Review and send off for Navigation Refresher and Challenge Course (Animal groups will leave from Navigation Refresher in animal group carpools directly to the Challenge Course and then return to the class space after the Course.)
4-Feb-17 12:10 50 Backcountry Navigation Refresher and Exercise (Route finding, terrain association and being lost)
4-Feb-17 13:00 20 Carpool to trailhead
4-Feb-17 13:20 150 On the trail (each group will eat lunch at least 10 minutes down the trail, use map & compass skills, do scenarios, have nav exercises, and at the end briefly discuss their experience before returning to the classroom space) 
4-Feb-17 15:50 20 Carpool to classroom
4-Feb-17 16:10 15 What happened?  (Qs, comments from the challenge course)
4-Feb-17 16:25 10 Info about other courses, activities and events
4-Feb-17 16:35 15 Course evaluation and closing
4-Feb-17 16:50 10 Final group exercise (putting away tables and chairs)
4-Feb-17 17:00 0 End of day: Where are we going for pizza?

 

Badges you will earn:

Course Requirements

This course has no scheduled activities.

Roster
Required Equipment

Wilderness Skills is designed to prepare area outdoor enthusiasts for hiking or backpacking in the forests, mountains and trails of the Pacific Northwest. Open to all, this course is also the foundation required before the Alpine Scrambling, Basic Climbing and Backpacking Courses with the Olympia Branch.

The Spring 2017 course will be held Saturdays April 29 and May 6 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Olympia. A detailed SAMPLE agenda for both Saturdays is below. It is the actual agenda used for the Jan-Feb course. Exact times and content for the April-May course will be finalized after the Jan-Feb course is reviewed and we make any adjustments or updates.

The course is offered twice each year - once in the winter and once in the spring -during two 8-5 Saturdays that include presentations and hands-on inside and outside activities.  Students must complete both Saturdays and report via email that they have completed a hike to graduate.

Backcountry skills and Unplanned overnights are covered in Wilderness Skills. Planned overnights are covered in the Backpacking course scheduled after the the spring Wilderness Skills course. 

Students must complete both Saturdays AND report via email that they have completed a hike or backpack.  

BACKPACKING STUDENTS: may register for the Backpacking course whenever they wish, but must complete BOTH of the Saturday workshops BEFORE their Backpacking course begins.  The two Wilderness Skills workshops are offered on consecutive Saturdays shortly before the Backpacking course begins (and earlier in the year).  Students must complete Wilderness Skills before beginning the Backpacking course, because essential skills for day hikes and unplanned overnights taught in Wilderness Skills are not repeated in the Backpacking course.

CONDITIONING HIKING SERIES PARTICIPANTS:  Wilderness Skills is useful but not required for the Olympia Branch Conditioning Hiking Series.

Course Materials

You must register for this course to see course materials.