Navigation courses
for the wilderness traveler

Anyone who ventures into the wilds is well served by a working knowledge of navigation. Most of us use road maps, and can navigate the highway system fairly well.

Wilderness navigation, however, involves different challenges. There may or may not be roads, or even trails. The wilderness navigator must sometimes make his/her way across the terrain through dense forests or jungles, barren deserts, mountainous regions, artic tundra, and other challenging surroundings. Blizzard or thick-fog white-outs and dense foliage "green-outs" all serve to limit visibility, making navigation that much tougher.

A proficiency in wilderness navigation opens the entire wilderness to you, the outdoor adventurer. If you have confidence that you can navigate to where you want to go, then you "own" the wilderness, so to speak. It's your big playground. Without such confidence, the wilderness can be a scary place where getting lost remains a constant threat.

Specific course offerings

These courses involve some classroom work, as well as practical navigation through a wilderness area in both daylight and darkness. The objective is to make you proficient in the actual application of the skills you learn.

SPIRALING CURRICULUM The courses interface with one another through a spiraling curriculum. A spiraling curriculum is one in which certain topics are introduced in one course, then reviewed in greater detail in a subsequent course. Such repetitive presentation seems to help most people hang on to what they've learned. Because things are presented in this way, it's preferable--but not absolutely required--that you take the courses in order.

HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES Because of the practical nature of these courses, they all involve hiking through wilderness terrain in daylight and in darkness, sometimes in inclement weather. Participants should be in good physical condition, capable of walking at least five miles through wilderness terrain with a daypack, without endangering their health.

LIABILITY ISSUES Because of the inherent risks of wilderness travel, all participants must sign a release of liability.

Course Links

Nav 101 Low-Tech Wilderness Navigation

Nav 102 Map-and-Compass Wilderness Navigation

Nav 103 GPS Step-by-Step