Wilderness Navigation

IMPORTANT NOTES

First, please expand page by clicking MORE+ to read the entire note to instructors and participants.

• Instructors: See Registration Note to Instructors.
• Participants: See Registration Process.

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The Wilderness Navigation Course has three required activities. Each activity must be completed in order:

• Activity 1 Online is a self-paced course open for about a week. It takes you through the core principles of wilderness navigation and includes the basics of the map and compass, declination, coordinate systems, measuring and plotting bearings, altimeter, GPS system, and trip planning. 
• Activity 2 In-Person Workshop builds on the core principles you learned in Activity 1, and provides hands-on practice using your various navigation tools in combination, and by themselves. You will develop a workflow that covers best practices from trip planning through post-trip evaluation. You will do more practical exercises in the outdoors with your map, compass, and GPS. The indoor portion of this activity is guided by a lecture and Q&A problem set.
• Activity 3 In-Person Field Trip is held at Discovery Park and further reinforces the core principles of wilderness navigation. You'll explore what Situational Awareness means and practice the Ethic of Self-Reliance, both critical in backcountry pursuits. You'll develop a sense for how and when to use the navigation tools (map, compass, altimeter, GPS) in combination. Review of emergency communication devices such as locator beacons and satellite messengers will be touched on. A skills assessment must be satisfied to successfully complete the course.

Cancellation and Refund

Only register for this course if you can complete all activities on the dates offered. We are unable to provide make ups for any part of the course. Should you cancel mid-course, no credit will be given for completed activities. Our cancellation policy is strict:

• If you cancel on or before Thursday, 09/04/2025 You will receive a 100% refund minus the standard Mountaineers cancellation fee of $10.
• If you cancel on Friday, 09/05/2025, or later: You will NOT be refunded. There are no exceptions.

The Seattle Wilderness Navigation course will be offered monthly throughout most of the year. If the activity dates for this current course don't work for you, consider registering for an upcoming month when posted.

Learning Objective - The Core Principles of Wilderness Navigation

This course prepares you for navigating in the backcountry, on and off trail. Although it's suitable for students with little or no experience in navigation, you may want to take one of our Intro courses first (see Note on Intro Courses below), which are more narrowly focused on the fundamental principles of navigation, and include hands-on practice. The Wilderness Navigation course is faster paced and covers considerably more content. 

The three activities of the Wilderness Navigation course build upon each other and are based on the following core principles of wilderness navigation:

(B) Measuring and Plotting a Bearing - Learn to read topographic maps and use a compass for orientation, route planning, and navigation. Measuring and plotting a bearing are two halves of one unified process. Learn these techniques and apply in combination on the map and in the field.

(M) Mastering Map Basics - Learn to create, read, and use topographic maps, both paper and digital.

(D) Understanding Declination - Understand declination and why it's important when navigating everywhere in the world.

(S) Owning the Ethic of Self-Reliance - Group reliance is not self-reliance. Each member of the group must know how to use GPS devices, digital mapping apps, and emergency communication tools in additional to their paper map, compass and altimeter.

(S) Situational Awareness - Foster the ability to assess surroundings, adapt to changing conditions, and make sound decisions. Everyone must know where they are, where they’re going, how they will get there, how long it will take, and what to expect along the way. Promote Leave No Trace and responsible behavior to minimize environmental impact.

* Note on Intro Courses: Two introductory course options are: "Introduction to Map and Compass" offered by the Seattle Branch, and "Staying Found" offered by the Foothills Branch. These introductory courses do NOT meet the navigation requirements for Climbing, Scrambling, Snowshoeing, etc.

Required Equipment

See the Required Equipment and Course Materials tabs on this course page for details and links. These required items must be obtained before the start of Activity 1:

• Compass with Adjustable Declination - only specific compasses are acceptable, be sure to read our compass specs on the Course Materials tab
• Downloaded Caltopo Baring Map
• Barometric Altimeter
• Cell phone with Caltopo or GaiaGPS apps installed - create an account, a free subscription is acceptable

Registration Acknowledgment and Promo Code for Recommended Books

You will be required to send an email to navchairs@gmail.com at registration with the following in the Subject line: I understand the cancellation and refund policy, and will obtain the required equipment before the start of Activity 1. After receiving your registration acknowledgment email, we will forward a 50% off promo code for one of the recommended books for this course.

Registration Process

1. Register
   1. Register for this Wilderness Navigation Course.
   2. Pay the course fee.
2. Upon registration, you will automatically be signed up for the activities on the dates listed.
3. Click on navchairs@gmail.com to send an email with the following in the Subject line:  I understand the cancellation and refund policy, and will obtain the required equipment before the start of Activity 1. Use the promo code you receive in response to your email to get a 50% discount on one of the recommended books for this course. While both recommended books are excellent, one will suffice.
4. Make a note of the activity dates on your calendar. Ensure you have no conflict. Our cancellation and refund policy is strict.
5. Buy your approved compass, download the Caltopo Baring map, get a barometric altimeter or app if using, create a free account for Caltopo and GaiaGPS and download either or both apps to your phone. Do all of this before the start of Activity 1. Please see the Required Equipment and Course Materials tabs on this course page for details.

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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.
• Your Basic Navigation Badge expires after three years. Please refer to the Wilderness Navigation Rebadge page on the Mountaineers website for information on how to renew your badge.

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