Activity 2: In-Person Workshop at the Seattle Program Center - Mountaineers Seattle Program Center

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Instructors: See important Registration Note to Instructors.

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Time: Students arrive no later than 8:00 AM. Instructors at 7:30 AM.

Place: Meet at the Seattle Program Center.

Activity 2 includes an outdoor component, please be prepared to walk about 2 miles and be mindful of weather conditions. Be prepared to work outside in the rain.

Required Equipment

• Declination Adjusted Compass
• Printed copy of your custom Trip Plan prepared in Activity 1
• Printed copy of your custom Caltopo Map prepared in Activity 1
• Caltopo or GaiaGPS apps with gpx files installed (see Course Materials tab on the main course page for details and links to gpx files)

About the Workshop

Activity 2 continues to reinforce the core principles of wilderness navigation:

• Measuring and Plotting a Bearing
• Mastering Map Basics
• Understanding Declination
• Owning the Ethic of Self-Reliance, and
• Situational Awareness

Details

We meet at the Seattle Program Center for check in, orientation, and small group assignment.

Once in your small group, you will be given UTM coordinates in Magnuson Park to which you will guide yourselves, shadowed by your instructors. Please stay with your small group and practice the Ethic of Self-Reliance and Situational Awareness! It is a 10 to 15 minute walk. Be prepared for the weather. Bring your required equipment. For the bulk of our time "in the field" you will practice using a paper map in combination with your compass and GPS device. Remember, measuring and plotting a bearing are two halves of one unified process. And, in that process, you touch the bezel only once!

Your small group will hike back to the Program Center for up to 2.5 hours of in-depth review of navigational principles and mechanics. This includes hands-on practice with your paper map and compass, guided by a Q&A problem set and accompanied by highly detailed illustrations displayed on an overhead screen. 

Your small group instructor will assess your skills throughout the day and give you feedback for improvement.

We will end the day with a review of the field trip. There will be no official lunch break. Feel free to bring snack foods to eat throughout the day.

WHILE BOTH RECOMMENDED BOOKS ARE EXCELLENT, ONE WILL SUFFICE.

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Registration Note to Instructors

Due to the small group format of our in-person events, instructors must register for Instructor Training - Discovery Park, Activity 2 (In-Person Workshop), and Activity 3 (In-Person Field Trip).  If you've volunteered as an instructor at Discovery Park in the last 12 months, you're welcome to email navchairs@gmail.com for an exception to the Instructor Training requirement (you only need to do this once for this course). Please indicate the dates you last instructed.

Come prepared to instruct students who likely have a wide range of experience:

1. Instructor Workshop packets will be issued to you in your welcome email at least two days before the workshop.
2. Bring your declination adjustable compass, cell phone with GaiaGPS installed, compass and altimeter.

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Students: 8:00 AM      Instructors: 7:30 AM

Place: Cascade Room at the Seattle Program Center