Hands hold a baseplate compass on a folded topographic map on a rock outdoors

Wilderness Navigation Skills

Learn to find your position with a map and compass from guides who navigate this ground without a phone.

A half-day clinic for the basics and a two-day course for dead reckoning, pace counts, and night navigation practice. Both are taught outdoors, on real terrain, by the same crew that guides and builds trail on it.

See the two courses Call +1 (898) 555-4791

Why a compass, not a phone

A dead phone battery is not a navigation strategy

We carry phones too, and GPS apps are useful right up until the battery dies, the signal drops in a valley, or the screen cracks. A map and compass don't need power, and pace counting doesn't need a satellite. What we teach is how to know where you are and where you're headed using tools that work in every condition we guide in, cold, wet, or dark.

This isn't a survivalist pitch. It's the same skill set our own guides use on every trip, taught the way we'd train a new guide rather than the way a gear shop runs a weekend seminar. You'll take a bearing, walk it, and check your position against the map, over and over, until it's a habit instead of a lecture you half-remember.

The two courses

A half-day start, or a two-day course that goes further

Both run rain or shine; navigation practice in poor visibility is part of the point. We only call a session off for lightning or genuinely dangerous footing.

Four people stand around an outdoor table studying an open topographic map

Map & Compass Clinic

Half-day

Price basis: per person, half-day rate

A half-day, small-group session on reading a topographic map — contour lines, scale, and how to match what's on the paper to what's in front of you — and the basics of taking and walking a compass bearing. We keep groups small on purpose; navigation is a hands-on skill, and six people crowded around one map learn less than three people each taking a turn.

By the end you'll be able to orient a map to the terrain, identify your position from two landmarks, and walk a straight bearing through the woods without drifting off it. That's the floor every one of our own trainee guides starts from before they're allowed on the trail-crew logbook as a lead.

Map & Compass Clinic — course specification
Detail	Spec
Duration	Half-day, roughly 4 hours
Group size	Up to 6 per instructor
Covers	Topo map reading, taking and walking a bearing
Equipment	Maps and loaner compasses supplied
Experience needed	None; open to new hikers

Ask about the clinic Call +1 (898) 555-4791

A person holds a compass at eye level sighting a bearing through the trees

Backcountry Navigation Course

Two days

Price basis: per person, two-day rate

Two full days building on the clinic's basics: dead reckoning over multiple legs, pace counting to measure distance without a GPS, and off-trail route-finding using terrain features instead of a marked path. Day two ends with a night navigation exercise on a route we've walked and checked ahead of time, applying the same bearing-and-pace skills in the dark with headlamps.

This course assumes you can already orient a map and walk a rough bearing, either from the clinic or from prior experience; we'll check that on the first morning rather than assume it from a form. If the group's skill level is mismatched on day one, we adjust the plan on the spot rather than push everyone through a script that half the group isn't ready for.

Backcountry Navigation Course — course specification
Detail	Spec
Duration	Two full days, back to back
Group size	Up to 6 per instructor
Covers	Dead reckoning, pace counts, off-trail route-finding, night navigation
Prerequisite	Basic map orientation and bearing skills
Bring	Your own baseplate compass if you have one

Ask about the two-day course Call +1 (898) 555-4791

Said plainly

We won't sign off on someone who isn't ready

If you finish the clinic and want a certificate saying you're backcountry-ready, we won't write one just because you paid for the course. Navigation is a skill you keep by using it, and one afternoon doesn't make anyone bulletproof off-trail. What we will tell you, honestly, is what you're ready for next: another clinic to cement the basics, the two-day course, or enough practice on your own before either.

Not sure which course fits where you are now? The Trip Fit Checker asks four quick questions and points you at the clinic or the course based on your actual experience level, not a marketing tier.

Before you sign up

Questions we hear before every course

Do I need to buy a compass before the clinic?

Is this the same terrain I'd hike with a guide?

Can kids take the clinic?

Not what you need

The rest of the crew's work

Guided Hikes

Would rather follow a guide than navigate yourself? Half-day, full-day, and evening trips are on Guided Hikes.

Trail Building & Maintenance

Landowners training a volunteer or steward crew on your own trail network should also see Trail Building & Maintenance.

Custom Multi-Day Expeditions

Ready to put navigation skills to use on an overnight route? See Custom Multi-Day Expeditions.

Reserve a seat in the next course

Tell us which course you're after and roughly how much hiking experience your group has. We'll confirm the next available date and whether the clinic or the two-day course fits better.

Send an inquiry Call +1 (898) 555-4791

Office: 71 CHESTERFIELD RD
WESTHAMPTON, MA 01027-9633
Phone: +1 (898) 555-4791
Email: office@jaspertrailguides.com