Wilderness Navigation & Orienteering
When you're standing at a trail junction with no signs and your phone shows "no signal," what do you do? This hands-on intensive builds the foundational navigation skills that transform map-and-compass from intimidating tools into trusted companions that never need charging.
We don't rise to the occasion in emergencies—we fall to our level of training. So let us give you solid fundamentals to fall back on when technology fails in wild places.
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Knowledge & Training - what stands between lost
and found
From Anxiety to Competence
- KNOWLEDGE - PRACTICE - AWARENESS - HONESTY -
Knowledge is understanding how maps and compasses work together to tell you where you are and where you're going. It's knowing that contour lines reveal the shape of the land, that declination matters, and that terrain features are your guides.
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What transforms knowledge into confidence? Practice. Your hands need to know how to orient a map, how to take a bearing, how to triangulate your position. We drill these skills until they become second nature—because when you're tired, uncertain, and the sun is setting, you want techniques that are so ingrained they happen automatically.
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Awareness is reading the landscape around you. It's matching what you see on the map to what's in front of you. It's noticing when the terrain doesn't match your expectations and stopping to reassess before you get seriously lost.
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Honesty is admitting when you're not sure where you are—and having the skills to figure it out. Most people who get lost keep walking, hoping they're right. Confident navigators stop, use their tools, and get honest about their location before moving forward.
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We teach more than just how to use a compass. We teach you how to read landscape, think spatially, and navigate with confidence through terrain where trails don't exist.
What You'll Learn
You'll spend 3-4 hours in the woods with us, learning the skills and then using them, over and over again.
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Map Reading - Understanding topographic maps, contour lines, scale, legend, and how 2D paper represents 3D landscape
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Compass Mastery - Parts of a compass, taking bearings, following bearings, and understanding declination
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Orienting Your Map - Using your compass to align your map with the landscape so what you see matches what's printed
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Finding Your Location - Triangulation, terrain association, and other techniques to pinpoint where you are
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Planning Your Route - Reading terrain to choose the best path, estimating distances and travel time, identifying hazards and features
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Practical Navigation - Putting it all together to navigate through unmarked terrain to specific waypoints
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Tools & Technology - When to use GPS apps, how to use them as backups, and why paper maps and compasses remain essential
About your Instructor
Ali has navigated wilderness terrain on three continents since 2009. You'll learn from someone who doesn't just teach navigation—she uses it constanty. She spends 3-6 months a year leading wilderness expeditions where often there are no trails, from the mountains of Oman to the forests of North Carolina. She has guided groups through unmarked desert, alpine terrain, and dense forest using the same fundamental techniques she'll teach you.
Practice Makes Permanent
We drill the fundamentals over and over until they become second nature. We don't practice until we get it right, we practice until we can't get it wrong. You'll orient maps repeatedly, take dozens of bearings, and navigate to multiple waypoints. Because when you're uncertain in unfamiliar terrain, you want skills that are so ingrained they happen automatically—no panic, no overthinking, just competent navigation.
This class takes the mystery out of maps and compasses. By the end, you'll understand not just the "how" but the "why" behind each technique. That understanding builds the confidence to adapt these skills to any terrain, any conditions, anywhere.
Why Choose Us?
We teach practical, modern navigation skills that work in real wilderness conditions. ONX, Avenza, and Gaia GPS are fantastic tools—we use them too. But we also know that batteries die, screens crack, and signals fail. Paper maps and compasses are backup systems that never need charging and always work.
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Our mission is simple: get more people confidently adventuring in the wild. Navigation skills are critical to doing that successfully, so we made it accessible by keeping costs down and class sizes small—all while supporting our local nature conservancies and our instructors.
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We donate 15-20% of revenue to Triangle Land Conservancy. Our pay structure is inverse of most outdoor companies so that our instructors receive the highest possible pay. Read more about our business model here.
Come Prepared
This is an active, outdoor class. Be ready to walk through varied terrain as we practice navigation skills in real conditions. We'll be moving between locations, taking bearings, and actively navigating—so dress for the weather and bring comfortable shoes.
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The Essentials:
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Small backpack for carrying gear
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Water bottle
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Sunscreen and bug spray
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Snack or energy bar
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Weather-appropriate layers
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Comfortable walking shoes
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Notebook and pen for taking notes
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Your own compass if you have one (we provide loaners if needed)
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Rain gear if weather looks questionable
