Off-Trail Wilderness Navigation Winter Course

This Wilderness Navigation Course has multiple parts: Activities #1A, #1B, and #2. Activities #1A and #1B must be successfully completed in order to attend activity #2. If you cannot complete any of the these activities during the winter course, you must rollover to a later course. You are allowed only one rollover, after that you must pay for the course again. 

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SIGN UP PROCEDURE

1. Register for this Winter Wilderness Navigation Course, pay the course fee.
2. Register for Activity #1A Online Map and Compass (Part A).
3. Register for Activity #1B Online Map and Compass (Part B).
4. Register for Activity #2 In-Person Workshop + Field Trip.
5. Buy your approved compass, setup the GaiaGPS app, and subscribe to GaiaGPS on your smartphone (the free version is acceptable, per Required Equipment and Course Materials tabs).  
6. Read the FAQ: Link provided in the Course Materials tab.

KEEP YOUR DATES. Once you sign up for an Activity, please try to keep that date. If you must switch dates, please do so early so others have time to be pulled in from the waitlist. If you make changes at the last minute, it affects everyone.

BADGES

This course earns the Basic Navigation badge, a requirement for Basic Alpine Climbing, Alpine Scrambling, Backcountry Snowshoeing, and other courses and activities. The badge is valid for 3 years.

This course does not earn the Basic GPS badge. The gps badge is earned through a separate course.

NOTE: This course will provide you with the navigational skills needed to set foot in the back country, both on and off trail. Although it is suitable for students with little or no experience in navigation, you may want to take an Intro course first, which will delve more deeply into the bedrock principles of navigation, and include hands-on practice. The Wilderness Navigation course is faster paced and covers considerably more content. Two introductory course options are: "Introduction to Map and Compass" offered by the Seattle Branch, and "Staying Found", offered by the Foothills Branch. Note that these two latter courses don't meet the navigation requirements for Climbing, Scrambling, Snowshoeing, etc. This one does.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The class activities build upon each other, with these ultimate learning goals:

1. Understanding the Ethic of Self-Reliance. Group-reliance is not self-reliance. Device dependency does not honor this ethic.
2. Skilled in travel thru varied terrain & conditions, on and off trail.
3. Navigation tasks can be shared among the entire team.
4. All individual team members, working solo, are able to deduce their location through terrain recognition/association, deductive reasoning, and maintaining a high level of situational awareness.
5. Skilled in using the FULL tool set, both singularly and in combination – map, compass, altimeter, gps, and understanding their limitations. Awareness of emergency procedures and devices.

COURSE COMPONENTS AND TIME COMMITMENT

The entire course may take up to 20 hours to complete. Please obtain your compass ahead of time in order to meet the CONCRETE DEADLINES. MISSING A DEADLINE IS UNACCEPTABLE. PLEASE DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE TIME COMMITMENT FOR THE ONLINE ACTIVITIES.

• The online Map and Compass Activities (1A and 1B) are at your own pace over an 11-12 day period. It may take you up to 10 hours to complete. It covers the basics of map and compass, coordinate systems, measuring and plotting bearings, altimeter, gps basics, and an introduction to trip planning. They include practical exercises at home.

• Activity #2 combines an in-person Workshop followed by hands-on Field Work. It is a full day held at Discovery Park. Plan on finishing between 3:30-4pm.

You’ll explore what Situational Awareness means, and practice the Ethic of Self-Reliance, both critical in backcountry pursuits. You’ll develop a sense of how and when to use all the tools, map, altimeter, compass, and gps, and how to use them in combination. Review of emergency communication devices such as locator beacons and satellite messengers will also be covered.