COURSE DESCRIPTION

Advanced Navigation Course takes our Land Navigation course to the next level. You will be taken to a more rugged environment and traverse over longer distances with obstacles in your path. If you have not taken our Land Navigation I Class, we highly recommend that you do before taking this course.

Day One students will be taught basic wilderness survival and signaling techniques and we will transfer to our remote advanced location.

Day Two and Day Three students focus on understanding the topographical map, orienteering compass and using them together to navigate cross country. You will navigate through back country and spend the night in a remote area away from our main camp. Overnight camping gear and proper clothing is required.

The ability to go off trail with confidence opens up a whole new world of off-trail areas to explore. Hunters know that the best game hide deep in the woods where the trails don’t go and the fishing is always better at remote lakes and streams. Many of the best vistas are known only to locals and those with the skill and spirit to find them.

• Interpretation and use of topographical maps
• Use and selection of compasses
• Terrain identification and navigation
• Using back azimuths and triangulation to determine your location
• Route planning
• Navigation using dead reckoning, terrain association
• Safety bearings, backstops and guide rails
• Upon completion of this course, students will be able to navigate confidently through the wilderness over rugged terrain. This is an excellent course for hunters, hikers, military and search and rescue.

LENGTH

3 days/2 night​

ACCOMMODATIONS

We will be staying in a remote location for this advanced class. Bring your camping gear!

FOOD AND WATER REQUIRED

Water can be sourced from a nearby stream. A quality water purification system is highly recommended. We recommend quick field expedient meals such as freeze dried hiking meals or MRE’s. They can quickly be made at our primitive camps and won’t slow down the learning process. However, students may bring any food that they wish to cook over the campfire or on their own personal camp stove.

SUGGESTED GEAR LIST

We do not provide students with gear unless they have purchased it from us ahead of time. Not much gear is needed for our courses, though good equipment does speed the learning process up greatly! Gear does not have to be purchased from our store to attend the course, but we recommend survival gear of equivalent quality.

• Orienteering or Military Style Lensatic Compass
  • We recommend a SUUNTO MC-2DLIN NAVIGATOR (orienteering) or Cammenga Tritium H3 (lensatic) or an equivalent compass.
• Fixed blade knife (Preferably a full tang bushcraft style knife WITHOUT a serrated edge)
• Ferrocerium rod
• Poncho or Rain Gear
• Outdoor Clothing and appropriate footwear
• Folding hand saw
• Overnight Camping Gear: Tent, sleeping bag, ground pad, etc
• 100’of 550 Paracord
• Shemagh or large cotton scarf
• Headlamp and extra batteries
• Cooking pot and eating utensils
• Single walled metal canteen
• Notepad and pencil
• Sunscreen and sunglasses
• Insect Repellent
• Small Backpack

CLOTHING REQUIRED

Warm outdoor clothing, warm gloves and hat, outdoor boots and wool socks. Cotton clothing is highly discouraged in the mountains! Wool will keep you warm even when wet and synthetics will dry faster. Layers are important in Colorado. You will want a water wicking base layer, an insulating mid layer, and a waterproof breathable outer shell. Check out our Clothes Layering Basics if you are unsure of what to wear.

Check Recommended Items List for more details!

If it is still not clear what gear is needed for our survival courses, then we have assembled a complete kit that is still high quality but for a budget friendly price. All the items in this kit were hand selected by our instructors to be the best bushcraft tools on a budget. This survival kit is a useful starter kit that can be used in all of our courses. These are all must have tools at a good price. It’s a great survival kit, bug out kit, go bag, or use it as a solid foundation to build a kit that perfectly fits your needs. With this kit and our training anybody can survive like a king in almost any environment!

NOTE

Due to the different levels of prior experience and knowledge among students in each class, individual outcomes may vary. Weather conditions can also be a factor in changing class content slightly. Nonetheless, our instructors will always endeavor to be as accommodating and consistent as circumstances will allow to ensure students get the best training experience and value for money.