Frequently Asked Questions
Where are you located?
Our home base is Raleigh, North Carolina. Our classes take place in the Triangle and Piedmont, and our adventures traverse the South Eastern United States.
What do you do?
We teach skills classes and outdoor adventures in wilderness survival, navigation, orienteering, sea kayaking and ancestral skills.
We lead nature immersions and teach ancestral skills to connect us to our human past and the wild places that surround us.
On our adventures, you'll learn the technical skills you need for your future journeys while also building connection to wild places. You'll head home full of confidence and wonder.
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Our adventures are intentionally designed wilderness immersions that provide your subconscious with the evidence it needs to release old limitations and embrace new possibilities. We explore, create and play on our trips.
To help you remember that you're descended from people who lived by their wits and thrived in wild places. To give you experiences that prove you're more capable, more resilient, more essentially you than you ever imagined.
To help you integrate back into the wild—both the outer wilderness and the wilderness within—and discover the joy that comes from knowing you belong in both places.
How are you Different?
These are not just skills classes. Yes, you'll leave with a toolkit of skills, but you'll also leave with a deeper connection and wider awareness.
We're here to make sure you have the skills you need to thrive, but we're also here to help you build a real relationship with nature, to play and imagine like a kid again, and emerge with a renewed sense of awe and confidence.
I'm a beginner . . will I be able to do this?
Almost all classes and adventures are beginner friendly. We have taken hundreds of beginners out on their very first wilderness experiences- from kayaking to rock climbing and mountain biking.
The few trips and classes that are geared toward intermediate skill levels are VERY clearly defined in the class / trip description. You'll also see a list of physical fitness requirements and technical skill requirements in the class or trip description.
What about bad weather?
Classes
For our day-classes, we will cancel for thunderstorms and heavy rain if temperatures are below 50F. If your class was cancelled due to weather, I will set up a rain date for that class. You can reschedule to the rain date, a different date or get a refund.
Adventures
We schedule adventures based on seasonal trends, so we have the best weather window possible. We avoid extreme times of year and do not operate when conditions demand specialized gear and skill to avoid things like hypothermia. Out on trips, we avoid traveling during times of day when thunderstorms are prevalent. We stay flexible and may change our route to better align with changing forecasts.
Cancellations for adventures: All trips cancel if there is an incoming hurricane or tropical storm. We do sometimes also cancel for Nor'easters, depending on the time of year and type of trip. Sea kayaking trips cancel for small craft advisories and sometimes for winds above 15kt, depending on location. Please ensure you are available for the rain dates of your trip. Trips that cancel due to weather receive 75% refunds, or a transfer to the rain date at no charge.
Cancellations
Classes
Personal cancellations for classes must happen 48 hours in advance. Between 48 and 24 hours, you can contact me and I will move your reservation to a different date. Within 24 hours, class bookings are non-refundable, but you can transfer the booking to a friend or family member.
Adventures
Personal cancellations for adventures must happen 2 weeks before the start date of the trip. Within the 2 week limit, reservations can be transferred to another person (like a friend or family member) at no charge. If you need to cancel within the 2 week mark but prior to 48 hours before the trip, we are able to refund 50% of your trip cost. If you need to cancel less than 48 hours before the trip starts we cannot give you a full refund.
What are your qualifications?
Ali is a Wilderness First Responder and has received this training from several different organizations (NOLS, Wilderness Medical Associates & Walker-Muir Medical Co-op) over the course of a decade.
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She has taught skills classes and led expeditions for several different companies globally and has worked in 7 countries.
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Guest instructors have relevant certifications from internationally recognized organizations. These include certifications like W-EMT, ACA Kayaking, ARC Lifeguard and more.
Our instructors bring thousands of miles and thousands of hours of outdoor leadership to Wayfinder Outdoors. They have spent extensive time leading others through wilderness areas all over the world.
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When you spend this much time in so many different places, you end up dealing with a wide array of medical, environmental and logistical challenges. This gives us ability to keep our cool under stress and solve problems in the safest, most effective way.
For more info on safety and risk management check out our page on safety HERE