Introduction to the Mighty Map and Clever Compass
Visiting wilderness spaces is a beautiful, grounding way to connect with the natural world, but it also requires deep respect and preparation. Too often folks head out on a wing and a prayer or leave their safety completely in the hands of someone else. We created THIS so you don’t do THAT ever again.
Our wish for you is to explore confidently, soak up the freshness and freedom of nature, and make sure every single trip is an uneventful round trip.
Learning how to read terrain and guide yourself back to the car is a powerful act of self-reliance and community care. Let’s invest some time together and get more acquainted with this stuff.
In this fun, hands-on, experiential workshop you’ll explore the anatomy and functioning of a map and a compass and practice skills that can literally save your life. We’ll play with exercises that familiarize you with using these tools to guide yourself where you wanna be.
We’ll also go over essential trip preparation and safety practices. Talking about mindful details to leave with someone trustworthy back home, how to make the 10 essentials work for you, and how to increase your chances of being found quickly if you get lost in a big way. Getting lost is about when, not if. And we’ll talk about how we can increase our chances of being found if we really get off track.
Demystifying a map includes understanding its anatomy and basic features:
- What a map is
- Anatomy of a map
- Legend and key
- Scale
- Terrain features
- Elevation
- Associating terrain
Demystifying a compass includes understanding its anatomy and basic features:
- What a compass is
- Parts of a compass and their functions
- Finding North, South, East, and West
- Using the needle
- Orientation
- Bearings
- Magnetic declination
- Route planning
- Magnetic interference
What to Bring & Materials:
- A small day pack to carry your lunch, drink, and items
- Comfortable outdoor shoes
- Pen for taking notes
- Sack lunch and something to drink
- Everyone’s receiving a pocket notebook from us
The Details:
- Date: May 2, 2026
- Time: 11am to 4pm
- Location: Meadowbrook Farm in North Bend, WA (We’ll email details about what to wear, where to park, and other logistics after you register)
- Contribution: $20 per person
- Age: 15+ (youth must come accompanied by an adult who’s 21+)
- Intimate Group Size: 15 people
- Register by: April 25
- Leadership team: Lindsay Huettman and Denice Rochelle
If you can’t participate, but still want to support us, you can always donate to The Bronze Chapter.