MAP AND COMPASS WORKSHOP (Thursday) AND FIELD PRACTICE (Saturday)

Do you like to get out and explore, but worry about your skills to find your way back? Join the Narragansett Chapter of the AMC and the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association for a two-part course to read and understand maps and use a compass correctly. At the end of this course participants will feel more comfortable with their abilities to plan routes and return safely. This first part is a 3-hour indoor and outdoor class held at the WPWA Campus on Thursday. Topics include reading map symbols and contour lines, matching the terrain to the map, taking and using bearings, orienting map and compass, declination, determining your location and planning your route. Saturday's 6-hour section will be conducted at Arcadia Management Area in Exeter, RI. The morning session will allow participants to practice their new skills. After lunch they will plan and then execute a bushwhack route through the woods. Instructors include experienced AMC Narragansett Chapter Northern Hikes Leaders. Participants should bring a base-plate style compass with an adjustable declination feature and plan to attend both Thursday May 1 evening class and Saturday May 3 daytime field practice. Please register and pay the $29 fee at www.wpwa.org