Backcountry Safety, Navigation, Map & Compass Workshop

Saturday, May 3, 2025, from 9:30-5:30 with complimentary transportation from Puyallup WA to our favorite accessible wilderness location along the Nisqually River at the foot of Mt. Rainier with Wolf Camp directors Kim & Chris Chisholm.

This class will give you great teaching tools for use when hiking and backpacking. If you are “navigationally challenged,” then we hope the simple way we teach these skills will open a world of understanding for you in the wilderness. If you are ready to guide others, we hope this workshop will give you the tools to lead. Skills will include:

• Outdoor Leadership & Risk Management
• Navigating & Orienteering with and without Map & Compass
• Efficient Packing, Survival Shelters & Campfire Cooking Primers
• Herbal & Wilderness Medicine Primer

Top 10 Lost proofing Skills: The most important skill for lost proofing is awareness. In fact, some people say there is no such thing as being lost, just in being unaware, so we will practice skills to improve your spatial recognition including wide-angle vision, expanded hearing, and new ways of walking appropriate to various environments, among other skills such as reviewing the 10 Packing Essentials and risk management tips shared from our Search & Rescue background,

Top 10 Orienteering Skills: You will be amazed by some of the incredible ways to find north-south-east-west in order to walk in a straight line toward your destination on a map. One of our favorites is floating a leaf in water and placing a pin on the leaf. Amazingly, it points to magnetic north. We’ll demonstrate that, and some other ways to orient yourself to the cardinal directions in city and wilderness, from GPS to the stars.

Top 10 Navigation Skills: There are some very important skills to learn in order to negotiate your way through nature without map or compass. For instance, do you know how to follow the contours of a hill in order to stay above thick brush and away from steep cliffs? How about lining up landmarks in order to go straight? We’ll talk about these skills and practice others as allowed by time and location.

Map & Compass Field Training: No matter whether you have GPS or not, the crux of these skills is understanding map and compass. Our method of using map and compass should allay your fears, even when it comes to contour lines and magnetic declination. We are going to transition to a big, near-by commuter parking lot to practice navigating with compasses, as well as we helping you test to see if you are “right or left dominant” because when walking in nature, most people continually veer left or right when they actually want to go straight. Key to navigating in nature is learning how to compensate for your dominance.

## FAQs
What ages can participate? Workshops are designed for adults, but youth may enroll with a parent/guardian.
How should we prepare for the workshop? To get a jump-start on the skills we cover in this class click here for our blog post on the subject but otherwise, prepare as you normally would for a hike, including snacks, lunch, water bottle, 10 Essentials, etc. – all that a safe hiker or any leader should bring, plus hats, warm clothes, proper footwear, and rain gear as necessary for the outdoor portion of class.
Also bring an Orienteering Compass, if possible, although we’ll have plenty to share and can sell basic compasses at the end of the workshop. Please note that “surveyor’s compasses” and other non-map-compasses won’t work well for backcountry travel. If you don’t have a hiking compass yet, try online, or cheaper sports stores for last-minute purchase, and we may have the following recommended compasses for sale at class, including: the Rothco Orienteering Compass Item #337 for learning in the $10-$15 price range, or the Brunton 15TDCL Compass if you want to go up to the next level in the $35 price range for precise mirrored sighting and adjustable declination, the Silva Ranger 515 Compass at about $45, or the patented Suunto “global needle’s unique ability to handle tilts up to 20 degrees makes it perfect for hikers that don’t want to break their stride. Not having to level the compass exactly makes it easier to take an accurate reading while you’re still moving along the trail.

## Cost & Registration
Cost for this workshop is $145 for one person, and $120 per additional friend/family member registering in advance, with optional transportation provided from Puyallup WA, plus reduced tuition and scholarship options also available by request.
Simply reserve your spots via one of the following methods, or click on specific programs for FAQs:
• Zelle is preferred using our email address with that extra “e” on skye plus try to add a note including camper name/age, camp start date/theme, plus your CONTACT INFORMATION (phone number is fine if system doesn’t allow sharing email) if we don’t already have your info since Zelle doesn’t automatically share that with us;
• Or use Venmo to @Chris-Chisholm-13 or • CashApp to $wolfschool but again, try to add your contact information, camper name, program theme and dates, or follow up right away with that via email;
• Or use Credit Card, PayPal or Apple Pay;
• Or call us between 9am-9pm at 425-248-0253 ex 1 with a credit card to register over the phone;