Wilderness Course to Take Hikers Off the Beaten Path

Registration is under way for the Sierra Club’s annual wilderness travel course, which begins in January. The course is designed for outdoor enthusiasts, whether beginning hikers or experienced backpackers, who seek the knowledge and skills for safe exploration off the beaten path.

The 10-week course offers instruction in navigation with map and compass, wilderness ethics, backpacking equipment, outdoor nutrition, mountaineering medicine, physical conditioning, winter camping and safety and rescue techniques. Classroom meetings will include training films, workshops and lectures illustrated with color slides.

Four trips are scheduled for small groups to practice techniques learned in the classroom.

The first trip will be a 12- to 15-mile, one-day conditioning hike to a peak in the local mountains. Two weeks later, students will spend a weekend at Joshua Tree National Monument for navigation practice and an introduction to rock climbing.

Snow travel will be taught in another one-day hike, probably in the local mountains. The final trip will be a weekend snow camp in the High Sierra, putting to use all the techniques taught during the course. Chartered bus transportation is provided for the two weekend trips.

Georgette Schultz-Rieck, a Santa Monica resident and chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s San Gabriel Valley section, said the course is for people who enjoy physical activity and want to learn more about the wilderness environment and develop skills for traveling in remote desert and mountain areas.

Schultz-Rieck has been involved in the course for 12 years.

Fees are $135 for Sierra Club members and $150 for non-members, plus $18 for a textbook. The minimum age limit is 14; there is no maximum age. Any minor enrolled must be accompanied by an enrolled parent or legal guardian.

Class meetings will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays starting Jan. 25 at Monterey Highlands Elementary School, 400 Casuda Canyon Drive, Monterey Park. The San Gabriel Valley section of the course draws many of its students from the Westside and the San Fernando Valley, Schultz-Rieck said. Two other sections will meet on Wednesdays starting Jan. 19 in Long Beach and on Tuesdays starting Jan. 11 in Orange County.

Applications are available at mountaineering stores, Sierra Club chapter headquarters and by mail from Pat Johantgen, P. O. Box 70438, Pasadena, Calif. 91107-7438. Applicants should send a business size self-addressed stamped envelope. More information is available from Johantgen at (909) 980-1210 or (213) 726-7333.

The course is taught on a nonprofit basis by certified and experienced Sierra Club volunteers.