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Step B: Tutorials

Class Access - Sample Tutorial - About

Quick Tip: Open Tutorial files while on-line to access resource links!

Tutorial 1 :Welcome to the ABC's

Tutorial 2 :Awareness ~ Techniques to Advanced Learning

Tutorial 3 :Geared for Adventure: Part I

Tutorial 4 :Geared for Adventure: Part II

Tutorial 5 :Health & Safety by Island Mama, certified Wilderness First Responder

Tutorial 6 :Planning and Basic Logistics

Tutorial 7 :Post-trip Tutorial- Finding a New Path

• Please note: The tutorials are password protected .PDF file. To obtain passcodes, visit the contact page and register.
• To view .PDF files, download the FREE Adobe Reader here. Version 5.0 or higher is required.

What are the tutorials?

The ABC's on-line tutorial sections are specially designed to familiarize students with the concepts, philosophies, tools, and skills needed for the class trip and beyond. They are streamlined lessons, which stem from a variety of resources and thousands of miles of first-hand experience. We understand that every person does not have the time to read the bulging shelves at the local outfitter. However, we do reference books and websites so that you may further investigate topics on the peripheral of our focus. We have boiled the most immediate and useful information down to what one needs for the trail, and briefly delve into some "deeper" interpretations of what makes backpacking such a fulfilling activity.

Our goal in all of our guidance is to help each student develop his or her own backpacking style. We encourage everyone to live up to the often-quoted backpacking cliche, "hike your own hike." After all, the freedom of choice is one of the best aspects of backpacking. Yet at the same time, we share many of our own trail-tested techniques from the many miles of our own trail and error.

How it works

After you take step one of the ABC's and have paid for your course(s), you are given special access to the tutorial's on-line resources. The total number of tutorials depends on your chosen class level. Classes will range between 5 and 7 tutorials. Each one consists of sections of material that are arranged to introduce course material, and ends with an activity to exercise the student's awareness of the material. Students are encouraged to keep track of their learning and tutorial exercises with a small class journal-notepad. Class journals will not be judged or graded, but we encourage students to share their results if they wish on the free class trip.

How much knowledge one gains from the tutorials is up to the student. We suspect that some of the information will already be known by some students. For them, we have arranged the tutorials with clearly visible subject headings so each student can pick and choose the information they wish to learn.

Finally, we stress the goal of the ABC Tutorials -to ensure that each student is given the information they need to fully prepare for a safe, lightweight backpacking trip. For topics of interest that are outside of the scope of this goal (like "primitive" skills), we point the students to a variety of books, web materials, and other quality courses.