Need Advice/Feedback on Wilderness Training

[HikerAmiga]

I have a desire to take a couple of courses/workshops as follows:

- Wilderness First Aid, and;
- Map and Compass

I know that the AMC and REI offer these but wonder if anyone can offer me feedback as to their experience with these and their satisfaction levels. Who has a preference for the AMC or REI or any other venue?

I am currently taking the AMC's winter hiking/camping program which is truely a good value and very informative. They do cram a lot of information in the 5 week course and I realize that had I not already been exposed to winter hiking previously, I would probably feel overwhelmed with all the instruction without being able to practice it. Although the AMC does emphasize that the only way to learn winter hiking is to hike.

They actually cover map and compass as one of the units, but they basically just do a brief overview and suggest that people take a separate detailed workshop on this topic as it's not an easy subject to master and requires practice especially outdoors on trails.

Again, I am just looking for feedback on the above training topics and to hear if anyone has a preference for either the AMC or REI or another program.

Boston University, my employer, offers a course of Wilderness First Aid at $120 and this is much pricier than AMC and REI, I note.

 

[David Metsky]

For the most part, no matter who sponsors the course, the Wilderness First Aid courses are taught by SOLO. They are consistently great, so it doesn't matter much who you go through. You can find the offerings here. I don't see an REI listings for WFA, where did you see them?

The SOLO course we just sponsored (AMC Boston Chapter Ski committee) was $120, which is pretty normal. Where did you see the AMC offer it for less?

I helped teach one of the AMC map and compass courses up at the Harvard Cabin last year. I found that to be a great learning experience for all involved. We did a full day bushwack plus a few smaller ones; it was a good combination of classroom and practical learning.

I'm sure REI does a good job as well.

-dave-

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

In terms of course offerings, "the AMC" is a complex organization! Some courses are offered by the paid staff at Pinkham, others (like the Winter Hiking Program) are offered by volunteers. Obviously the latter are much cheaper; those of us who run them suspect that they are also better

The Map and Compass course offered by the Boston Chapter's Hiking and Backpacking Committee is run by volunteers (I was one of the instructors last September, and expect to do a return engagement next year), out of Harvard Cabin, a very "basic" facility (sleeping loft, outhouse, but fully equipped modern kitchen) with communal cooking. The combination of basic lodging and volunteer instructors allows us to offer it at a ridiculously low price.

Participants arrive on Friday evening, most eat on the drive up north. On Saturday morning we have a group breakfast, then several hours of instruction, with about 15 participants and four leaders. After a quick "trail lunch" eaten in the Cabin we split into two groups to climb the trailless Spruce Mountain in the Cabin's "back yard".

After the climb we return for Happy Hour and dinner, discussing the trip and what went right, what went wrong.

After breakfast on Sunday we clean out the Cabin and pack, then drive to the start of a bushwhack over a 3,000 footer that none of the leaders has previously climbed (for greater authenticity). Last September we did Mount Rosebrook, next year we are thinking of Whitewall. After the bushwhack we return to our lives.

I have attended the course both as a participant and an instructor, and since I love Harvard cabin, have enjoyed it very much. Obviously your mileage may well differ!

 

[sleeping bear]

I've heard the REI map & compass clinics are pretty basic. I guess it kinda depends on how you learn best, but I think many would agree that reading a book on it and then getting out and doing it is the best way to learn.

 

[MadRiver]

I just recently completed the WFA course sponsored by the Boston Chapter of the AMC. My price was $90.00 because I didn’t need their lodge since I was just 50 miles from home. I found the course extremely well organized and highly informative. I would recommend it to anyone who hikes on a regular basis.

I too need to brush up on my compass and map skills, so I will be looking for a course in the not too distant future. I was going to take the Winter course in Boston, but driving two hours south after work and then driving two hours north after the lecture was a tad too much for this old body to take so I decided to wait until it is offered a little closer to home.

 

[David Metsky]

After breakfast on Sunday we clean out the Cabin and pack, then drive to the start of a bushwhack over a 3,000 footer that none of the leaders has previously climbed (for greater authenticity). Last September we did Mount Rosebrook, next year we are thinking of Whitewall.

The previous year we did South Engine Hill.

-dave-

 

[KayakDan]

For the most part, no matter who sponsors the course, the Wilderness First Aid courses are taught by SOLO. They are consistently great, so it doesn't matter much who you go through. You can find the offerings here. I don't see an REI listings for WFA, where did you see them?


-dave-

The WFA couse we took was taught by Wilderness Medical Associates,and it was sponsored by North Shore Paddlers Network. We found them to also be a first rate group of instructors,and the course materials and tools provided are excellent.

 

[David Metsky]

IIRC, WMA and WMI are the other two major Wilderness Medicine organizations. New England, being the home to SOLO, has been mostly served by them, but they are all teaching courses now in New England.

-dave-

 

[DSettahr]

If you have the time and the money, I would strongly recomend looking into a Wilderness First Responder course rather than Wilderness First Aid. What is taught in WFA is good, but fairly basic. WFR courses are 9 days long and go into a lot more depth concerning the topics covered, and also include an evening mock rescue/response training situation in the woods. You spend a lot more time learning how to respond to a wider variety of situations. If I recall correctly, the cost for my WFR course was about $500.

Occaisionally, a 7 day WFR course will also be offered by SOLO for those who already have their WFA and CPR certifications.

 

[RoySwkr]

For map & compass I would suggest orienteering. They will give you free instruction with your entry fee, which also includes a very accurate map of the area. (One of my gripes with map instruction is that it's hard to match map with terrain when map is old, outdated, or too small scale to visualize the terrain you can see.) Another feature of orienteering meets is that people there treat off-trail travel as normal, unlike some club leaders who do it only at workshops. And once you learn to find a tiny flag in the woods (often hidden), it's trivial to find summits, ponds, and typical hiker destinations.

 

[SAR-EMT40]

For map & compass I would suggest orienteering. They will give you free instruction with your entry fee, which also includes a very accurate map of the area. (One of my gripes with map instruction is that it's hard to match map with terrain when map is old, outdated, or too small scale to visualize the terrain you can see.) Another feature of orienteering meets is that people there treat off-trail travel as normal, unlike some club leaders who do it only at workshops. And once you learn to find a tiny flag in the woods (often hidden), it's trivial to find summits, ponds, and typical hiker destinations.

As well as teaching land navigation in the Army I have been teaching orienteering for the last 16 years and doing map checking for o-maps and courses. Learning orienteering is free and many of the instructors are very good. There is a little more involved with land navigation than is taught in orienteering but the differences can be learned fairly easily if the fundamentals of orienteering are learned. The other major difference between the two are of course the resolution and detail of the maps for orienteering are typically very high and are more works of art than typical maps if you are use to the standard 1:24000 or 1:50000 maps.

When you really want to have some fun start looking at ROGAINES. That right, ROGAINE is not only a hair treatment for balding men. Orienteering is fun ROGAINES are the best. You cannot have more fun in a 8 or 24 hour time period.

Besides. How hard is it to find a summit. You just keep going up until you run out of up.

Keith

 

[HikerAmiga]

This is terrific! Thanks guys for all the input here. Certainly there are lots of options out there and I will try to digest all of your input and make some decisions and further inquiries regarding training in the coming months!

Best,

 

[Peaks]

For map & compass I would suggest orienteering. They will give you free instruction with your entry fee, which also includes a very accurate map of the area. (One of my gripes with map instruction is that it's hard to match map with terrain when map is old, outdated, or too small scale to visualize the terrain you can see.) Another feature of orienteering meets is that people there treat off-trail travel as normal, unlike some club leaders who do it only at workshops. And once you learn to find a tiny flag in the woods (often hidden), it's trivial to find summits, ponds, and typical hiker destinations.

You beat me to it!. For those in Eastern Massachusetts, the New England Orienteering Club has an active program spring and fall. Go to www.NEOC.org for the updated schedule. Not much happening right now. Expect to see more after the spring thaw in April.

 

[MadRiver]

If you have the time and the money, I would strongly recomend looking into a Wilderness First Responder course rather than Wilderness First Aid. What is taught in WFA is good, but fairly basic. WFR courses are 9 days long and go into a lot more depth concerning the topics covered, and also include an evening mock rescue/response training situation in the woods. You spend a lot more time learning how to respond to a wider variety of situations. If I recall correctly, the cost for my WFR course was about $500.

While perusing the Plymouth State University’s course catalog, I discovered that they teach a Wilderness First Responder course in May-June. I contacted the SOLO instructor who teaches the course and found out as an PSU employee that I can take the course for free. Details of the course will not be available until December, so I will have to wait until then to see how the meeting time for the course is structured.

 

[Waumbek]

The Hulbert Outdoor Center (Aloha Foundation) sponsors a number of SOLO-instructed WFA and more advanced courses in the winter and spring of 2007. The HOC is located in the town of Lake Fairlee on the NH/VT border not far north of Hanover. The place has a very nice atmosphere, and many of the people taking the courses there are team coaches, camp councilors, as well as hikers and others. Combined with SOLO, HOC does a really nice job all around, and the setting is quiet and gorgeous. If you sign up for a course, let us know, and we'll give you all the free advice you need, such as take enough warm clothes to be comfortable lying outside on an ensolite pad while you play "patient" with a fractured leg for a lot of folks who never improvised splints out of the stuff in their packs before.....