OUR
INSTRUCTOR TEAM

Wilderness Navigation Course

- Ever lost your way in the woods?
- Wondered how you paddled up that blind bay?
- Couldn't see your way in a whiteout?
- Discovered your GPS was malfunctioning!

Avoid these pitfalls by learning how to use a map & compass with confidence.

In this course you will:

- Take a map bearing & follow it in the field
- Adjust a bearing for magnetic declination
- Take a field bearing & verify it on the map
- Orient a map with a compass
- Interpret topographical map symbols
- Plan a wilderness route using a topo map
- Determine your location using both map & compass
- Take sightings and follow bearings around obstacles
- Do orienteering exercises to practice map & compass skills
- HAVE FUN!!

Navigation skills are a great asset
for anyone, but invaluable for:

Backcountry Canoeists, Kayakers, Hikers, Mountain bikers & Skiers
Teachers, Outdoor Leaders & Camp Counselors, Hunters & Fishermen
Adventure Racers

Location: Morning Map & Compass Classroom Session - U of S Campus
Afternoon Outdoor Orienteering Session - Chief Whitecap Park (this is an undeveloped park on the outskirts of the City with no facilities)

Equipment Needed: Orienteering style compass. An excellent compass is included in the higher course fee. Bring running shoes & warm clothing for the outdoor session.

Who Will Benefit: Anyone wanting to learn basic navigation or needing to refresh their skills

Cost: $80 or $99 (this price includes a quality orienteering compass to take with you)

To Register: Mail registration form with course fee to:
CanoeSki Discovery Co., 1618-9^th Ave. N., Saskatoon SK S7K 3A1.

John Lavery first got involved with CanoeSki in a beginner ski program in the winter of 2006. That spring he signed up for a couple of paddling courses and the Map & Compass Course. He offered to write up his experiences on the navigation course. Here is his story. 

Orienteering Means Freedom to Find Your Way
by John Lavery

The CanoeSki orienteering course restored my long-lost acquaintance with compass and topographical maps. As a thirteen-year old scout, I was thrilled to match the landscape before me with the features on the map, and to guide myself with the help of my trusty Silva compass, but over time I lost these essential wilderness skills. Now many years later, Cliff's classroom instruction and outdoor practice have revived my satisfaction in locating myself in the landscape and in setting a course that will get me to my destination. I have plans for long hikes and for four and five-day canoe trips with my moderately outdoorsy daughter.

The orienteering course began in the classroom with basic compass terminology and a few orienteering scenarios, though I confess I could have done with more of the latter to help make the initial map and compass procedures second nature. Being confident with the basics is what I need in order to move on to more challenging tasks. Repetition does this for me and I'm sure many people feel the same. Only once everyone has shown the ability to find and face, say, 270° with a compass, or to chart a course from A to B on a topographical map of Stanley Mission, do we all feel confident in ourselves and in each other. We won't worry about being left behind and we won't fake or fudge being sure that we absolutely know what we're doing.

Charting a prospective trip on the Churchill River system was fun as a real-life task, though it takes time and occasional guidance for those still unfamiliar with the detailed symbolic "language" of maps. This is where an oral question and answer procedure would have been a good prelude to the printed task-sheet, as some of us felt a bit rushed over this exercise. Allowing more time for instructor-modelled ("This is what I do . . . ") and instructor-aided ("This is what we do, don't you agree? Why?") preliminaries to the you're-more-or-less-on -your-own part would have paid off handsomely. As it was, we all tried to keep up, since finding your way is fun and the name of the game.

Cliff explaining the rules of the orienteering game
Photo credit: Henry Eng

At noon we left the classroom at the Saskatoon Field House and headed over to Chief White Cap Park. After lunch we measured our individual paces to get a sense of distance (How far is fifty metres? How many paces do I take to walk fifty metres?). Then came the valuable short-course Finding  your Bearings exercise that consolidated the idea that we have to rely on accurate reading of the compass rather than on any hints the eye might have ("I bet it's that little flag over there!") about where we should be going. Believe in careful compass readings! But it was the final afternoon orienteering exercise -- remember to allow for declination! -- for which we paired off at Chief White Cap that delighted me most, consolidated theory with practice, and had me eager for hikes over hills and sand dunes and for paddling the Churchill River system -- without getting lost!

I learned that planning your route, taking precise readings off the compass, (keeping your map dry!), and being methodical throughout the orienteering frees you up to enjoy everything else about the day, including not getting lost when you don't want to be. Now, whether travelling on foot or by canoe, I'll have confidence that I know where I am and how to get to where I'm going!