Wilderness Navigation - Staying Found

Grand Ridge, Issaquah, WA

Earlier this month, I successfully completed the Wilderness Navigation Course offered by the Seattle Mountaineers. The course combined an online class with a weekend field trip.

I have nothing but praise for the volunteers/organizers. They provided a safe and friendly atmosphere for learning the skills necessary to navigate through wilderness. Despite the rain, we all had fun and learned how to relate features on a topographic map to our surroundings, and use the compass to determine bearings to objects in the field. We also practiced using a map and compass to determine our location and desired direction of travel. It was one of the best learning experiences I had in the recent years. Next course on my list is the Wilderness First Responder - a 10 day intensive class exposing students to the assessment and management principles for a broad range of injuries, illness and environmental medical problems. I can hardly wait.

“When walking alone in a jungle of true darkness, 
there are three things that can show you the way:
instinct to survive, the knowledge of navigation, 
creative imagination. Without them, you are lost.” 
​
- Toba Beta