SKILL BUILDING
Want to feel more comfortable outdoors? Learn map & compass skills!
MAP & COMPASS SKILLS & FIELD PRACTICE
Cost: $50 Total - $40/person for class, $10 cash for Rochester Orienteering Club Letchworth Map
Total time: 4+ hours
Difficulty: Easy rolling terrain, logs to hop over, potential water crossings, bushwacking
Clothing: Season appropriate clothing and footwear (woodland environment). Don't wear your best puffy, as there are lots of wild roses to catch on your jacket and pants. Hats and gloves in cooler/cold weather.
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In this 3-part course, you'll learn how to use a compass, read a map and start an orienteering course!
Compass Skills: Learn why people get lost, and how you’ll most likely get lost. Next, grab your compass and get comfortable with how to go in a straight line. Then get comfortable returning to where you started. Then learn one of the most fun parts of the course - how to successfully get around hazards and obstacles!
Map Reading: Next learn all about a map’s key and all the information it reveals. Then we’ll learn how to read topographic lines - those squiggly lines all over the map. Then learn how to identify hazards and obstacles, hills and valleys, swamps and lakes, and finally tricks and tips on how to traverse across the map using our compass.
Field Practice: And finally, we'll put map and compass together to find hidden treasures in Letchworth State Park. Correctly orient a map outdoors, estimate distance, and successfully discover orienteering markers. This part is a ton of fun and you'll see a part of Letchworth that is hardly seen by visitors, with a few surprises guaranteed!
We'll be bushwacking in the woods, so wear warm comfortable clothing. Depending on temperature, ticks and other insects may be present. Puffys are not recommended - lots of wild rose to catch on your puffy’s thin material!
Long pants, headlamp, snacks and water highly recommended.
Trail Otter has compasses if you need to borrow or purchase for the course.
Total fun, and greatly increases your map & compass confidence. Be sure to wear proper clothing, shoes, and items to keep the bugs away. Bring water, snacks, a small notebook, a pen, and your compass.
BACKPACKING SKILLS
INTRO TO BACKPACKING: Two-hour class in an informal setting where we’ll discuss what you need to have a comfortable and enjoyable experience backpacking. We’ll start with gear systems (sleeping, shelter/protection, food/cooking and restroom). Then we’ll provide tips & tricks, followed by how to avoid animal encounters, and finishing with getting in shape for your first trip! Two hour introductory class.
BACKPACKING WORKSHOP: Six-hour, in-the-field workshop where we’ll practice identifying a campsite, lay out the “bearmuda” triangle, setup a bear hang, dig a cathole, setup a tent & cooking area and many other skills to know when you’re out on the trail.
TRIPS: We also have one- and two-day backpacking trips to practice these skills and feel more confident. Your Trail Otter guides will help you build confidence both in the classroom and out on the trail.