20+ Years of Field Testing With WTC

Question 1: You're in a forest, miles from the trailhead and it's getting dark. What essential item are you glad you brought with you?

1. Extra clothes
2. Headlamp + spare batteries
3. A map & compass

The answer is: all of them.

Extra Clothes? Temperatures are going down by the minute. Headlamp? Sure, the moon won't appear for many hours and the forest has low branches designed to whap you as you go. Map & compass? Your GPS is running out of battery-life and it can't 'see' that cliff up ahead.

These items are just three of the 'Ten Essentials,' a list of things that you should take with you on any dayhike or backpack. They are essential because they are not easily improvised and can save lives. It's one thing to read such a list; it's another to grasp it.

The best way to understand an Outdoor Truth is to field-test it.

For the past 22 years, hundreds of Southern California hikers, backpackers and mountaineers have been field-testing these and many other lessons each year by taking the Angeles Chapter's 10-week Wilderness Travel Course (WTC.)

The Wilderness Training Committee offers this popular course each winter, January through March or April, in four geographic areas: Long Beach-South Bay (LBSB); Orange County (OC), San Gabriel Valley (SGV); and West Los Angeles(WLA).

Experienced, enthusiastic all-volunteer leaders and staff divide each area into groups. Groups usually have a maximum of 15-22 students, mostly ages 20s to 60s. Kids ages 14 and up can also take the course if accompanied throughout the course by parent, legal guardian or appropriate chaperon, subject to, acceptance by the Group leader.

Question 2: When you hear someone yell 'ROCK,' the person

1. Alerting you to a photo opportunity
2. Warning you about a falling rock.
3. Warning you about a falling energy bar.

Answer: B, and - believe it or not - C. That energy bar falling from above can gain velocity, hit somebody in the eye, you name it.

More than a backpacking course, WTC reviews the basics and introduces you to a variety of outdoor terrain, from desert to mountain, under different conditions. But you are prepared for extremes because WTC leaders show you how to stay safe, comfortable and above all, found.

'Staying found' is one of the hallmarks of the course. It's a more proactive way of not getting lost by learning map and compass navigation. WTC staff demonstrates the use of these tools in a classroom setting, and then it's off to the local forest and desert with close instruction on a nav 'noodle.' The result is that you gain confidence in your ability to travel cross-country. What's so great about going off-trail? It's about the places you can go - farther, higher. - for which no trail exists.

Question 3. You're on a day hike somewhere in the San Gabriels. Why should you know where you are when you could just follow a leader?

1. Your leader might become injured.
2. You can brag about it later.
3. You could become separated from your hiking pals.

Answer: A and C. But also B, because if you do know, then you can return and do it again.

A starting point for many Sierra Club leaders, WTC is structured around 10 classroom sessions on successive Tuesdays or Wednesdays depending on the area. The classroom is where students learn the core basics of navigation, wilderness safety, gear selection, nutrition and environmental awareness. During the course, there are four outings on weekends to expose you to a range of wilderness experiences, starting with a conditioning hike, followed by a Joshua Tree rock scrambling and navigation weekend, and then a snow travel day.

Question 4. Hypothermia is a serious condition caused when the body's core temperature: becomes:

1. Too cold
2. Too Hot

Answer: A. Something to be avoided.

The culmination of the course is a three-day snow camp, usually in the Sierra front country. Snow camp? Igloo-building? You're not sure what this is, but it sounds, well, it sounds, cold. But, by the time snow camp rolls around, you know that if you eat, pack and wear the right things, you will not suffer from the dreaded hypothermia. In fact, snow camping has been known to cause a lot of smiles.

To graduate, students flock to the over 100 trips that WTC sponsors or co-sponsors each spring and summer. Graduates go on to participate in adventurous cross-country backpacks with family and friends or on Sierra Club outings. Some climb Shasta or Rainier, or Sierra peaks, or Kilimanjaro and beyond. Some join staff and work to become rated leaders. Some do the John Muir Trail or the Appalachian Trail, and some simply hike the kinds of trips or, hikes they did before, but more wisely.

Question 5: What should you consider when planning a dayhike or backpacking menu:

1. Length (distance)
2. Duration (time)
3. Taste
4. Whether someone else in my party will like it.

Answer: at least A, B and C. If the food doesn't taste good, you won't eat. D is useful if you don't like it and someone else is really hungry. Now, name a few, more considerations on your own.

Until December 15, WTC charges $320 for SC members and $335 for non-members, after which the fee increases to $345 for members and $360 for non-members. Fees cover expenses only, such as bus costs for Joshua Tree and snow camp; and for maps, classroom fees and micscellaneous expenses. Along with WTC's own Handbook which is included with the fee, the Mountaineers' Freedom of the Hills, 8th Edition is the text and costs an extra $20. WTC also recommends, and has made available for purchase via online registration, a professional mirror compass at a reduced price.

Question 6: Which of the following is NOT an official Ten Essential item:

1. Knife
2. Firestarter and matches
3. Cell phone.

Answer: C. While you can't improvise a cell phone, you also can't rely on one in most wilderness areas.

Find out more and register on. or after September 15 for 2012 by visiting the WTC website. More information also by phone: (310)967-2029.