Wilderness Navigation Course - Winter

Please note that we are transitioning to a new textbook. A draft of which will be provided to you in PDF form, at no cost. Please ignore any prompt you may encounter to purchase our previous textbook (Wilderness Navigation, Burns and Burns) during enrollment for this course.

This Wilderness Navigation Course has four parts: Activities #1, #2, #3, #4. They MUST be completed in sequence. Successful completion of activity #1 is mandatory before you will be admitted to activity #2. Activities #1 and #2 must be completed in order to attend activity #3. Activities #1, #2, and #3 must all be completed in order to qualify for activity #4.

If you cannot complete any of the four activities during the winter course, you must rollover to the fall course. You may not rollover to the spring course. You are allowed only one rollover, after that you must pay for the course again. 

The cutoff date for cancelling this course and receiving a full refund (less a $10 administration fee) is January 5, 2024. If you cancel after this date, you will lose your entire course registration fee and have to pay the full fee again for a future course.

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Current course status

If there is a wait list, Click here to see how this course may still work for you.

SIGN UP PROCEDURE

1. Register for this Winter Wilderness Navigation Course and pay the course fee.
2. Register for Activity #1 Online Map and Compass.
3. Register for Activity #2 Online Introduction to Digital Navigation.
4. Register for (one) Activity #3 In-Person Workshop - scheduled AFTER both online activities.
5. Register for (one) Activity #4 Field Trip - scheduled AFTER the In-Person Workshop.
6. Buy your USGS Baring Map and Compass, setup the Gaia GPS app, and subscribe to Gaia GPS on your smartphone (per Required Equipment and Course Materials tabs).  
7. Read the FAQ: Link provided in the Course Materials tab.

KEEP YOUR DATES. Once you sign up for an Activity (there are multiple choices for activities 3, and 4), please try to keep that date. If you move to a later date, do so very 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 also earns the Basic GPS Badge, since the material from our "Intro to GPS and Trip Planning" is included in this course.

NOTE: This course prepares you for navigating in back country, 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 into more narrowly focused, fundamental 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 OUTCOMES

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

1. Understanding the Ethic of Self-Reliance. Group-reliance is not self-reliance.
2. Skilled in travel thru varied terrain & conditions, on and off trail.
3. Navigation tasks can be shared among the entire team.
4. Able to maintain high level of situational awareness – all individual team members can determine point position & return to your Camp/Trailhead working solo.
5. Skilled in using the FULL tool set – map, altimeter, compass, GPS, and awareness of emergency procedures and devices.

COURSE COMPONENTS AND TIME COMMITMENT

The entire course will take up to 30 hours to complete. Please obtain your map and 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 Activity is at your own pace over a 2-week period. It will take you a 7 to 8 hours to complete. It covers the basics of map and compass, coordinate systems, measuring and plotting bearings, altimeter and GPS system basics, and an introduction to trip planning. It includes practical exercises at home with map and compass.
• The online Introduction to Digital Navigation Activity is also done at your own pace over a 2 week period. It will take you 4-6 hours of online work and practical exercises. It expands upon the eLearning Workshop further into GPS and the use of digital tools for trip planning. It includes setting up Gaia GPS on your smartphone and using CalTopo for trip planning.
• The In-Person Workshop Activity is about 3 hours on a weeknight at the Seattle Program Center. You will develop a workflow that covers best practices from pre-trip preparation through post-trip evaluation, do more practical exercises with map, compass, and GPS, and get some tips on preparing for the field trip.
• The Field Trip Activity is held at Discovery Park in Seattle. 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, in combination. Review of emergency communication devices such as locator beacons and satellite messengers will also be covered.

Required Equipment

• Compass, Map, Altimeter, Smartphone, and Gaia GPS (with a paid subscription). See the Required Equipment and Course Materials tab for details and links.

Required Reading Assignments

• TBA

FIELD TRIP CARPOOLING

Carpooling to the Field Trip is strongly encouraged so please specify your carpool preferences in your personal profile. You can view other students' carpool preferences by viewing the roster on the field trip activity page. (The activity page can be found after sign-up under "My Activities" when you click your name on the Mountaineers website). The Mountaineers does not coordinate carpooling. You can set up your own carpool using groupcarpool.com.

For More Information and Other Courses

For more info about this course, equivalency options, renewing your badge, or other navigation courses, please see the Seattle Navigation Committee Page.