BCEP 2021 Team 08: Navigation Session - Catherine Creek

Activity Notes

Welcome to the 6th hike, which will also be our Navigation Session for the BCEP class.  Please be sure to bring your compass with adjustable declination pre-set, a paper copy of your map, and a pen/pencil .  This will be a hike in which you (the students) will be completely in charge of route-finding.  This are is referred to as 'the Labyrinth' not because we expect to find David Bowie lurking around (tho that would be epic), but because there are many correct and incorrect pathways we can take to reach our objective.  How we do so will be entirely up to you. Each student WILL take two - 30min turns leading the group so everyone will have gain some experience leading a group via map and compass.  We will also practice teaching you how to take a bearing in order to calculate your position on a map, and also how to follow a bearing in case you cannot see due to poor weather conditions/lack of light, etc.  You will learn what it is like to become lost, and how to troubleshoot to find where you are on the map again.  These are necessary skills that can save your life so we want to make sure each and every one of you feels comfortable with navigation basics by the end of the day. Our goal is to give you the maximum amount of navigation practice as possible on this hike, so no climbing gear necessary this time (shocking, I know - but we will get oodles of rock practice the following day) Warning: ticks are often located here so please wear gaiters and do not set your packs down in the tall grass. We will meet at the Catherine Creek Trailhead (https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Catherine_Creek_Trailhead) Optional learning opportunities will also be discussed in-person for this weekend.