About the Course
For alumni of BOSS's Canyon or Mountain Navigator courses, we've designed a new challenge for you: The 7-Day Advanced Navigator.

The course starts with a two-day review of traditional living skills and map and compass work. Since all students should be graduates of either the Mountain Navigator or Canyon Navigator courses, we'll quickly review the curriculum and make sure each student is comfortable with all relevant skills needed for successful navigation. We will then break the group down into smaller sections and give each group a destination that forces you to use your skills to navigate for a student expedition across the mountains and deserts of Southern Utah. Upon reaching your destination, the group will share stories, review each other's performance and then set off for the final challenge: a four-day solo expedition to test your hiking, navigation, and orienteering skills. (See below for additional curriculum options.)

On all BOSS Field Courses, students learn the basics of map reading, navigation and orienteering. However, not all Field Courses provide students with enough time to master the details of land travel. Therefore, we've created this Explorer Course specifically to help students master the use of maps and compasses on the trail.

Course Content
Skills taught on the 7-Day Advanced Navigator Course will vary with the group's needs and desires. However, we hope to teach everyone the advanced skills of navigation, orienteering, and desert travel so that each person can comfortably use these skills to meet the challenges of the course. We will also be reviewing the primitive skills needed to be comfortable in any wilderness environment: fire construction, shelter construction, water procurement and purification, campsite selection and other skills relevant to the experience.

Phase	Length	Description
Orientation & Review	2 days	Introductions, skills & safety instruction, and equipment review followed with rigorous hiking and acclimatizing to the environment, eventually arriving at a camp. We will review wilderness-travel, fire construction, navigation, and orienteering skills.
Student Expedition (Optional)	1 day	1 day and night of instructor-free travel as students put their skills to use. Each group is responsible for arriving at the final destination using a predetermined route.
Solo Expedition	3-4 days	Having successfully completed the student expedition, each student will face the challenge of 4 days alone on a specific route through the desert. Caches along the way will provide you with food, water and coordinates to the next cache.
Graduation		Celebratory graduation ceremony.

CURRICULUM OPTIONS: After the Orientation and Review phase, students on the Advanced Navigator will have the option of either going into a mini student expedition or their solo expedition. This will determined by you and the instructors, based on your level of comfort and competency with the skills and your personal preference.

If you would like to have an overnight student expedition with a few coursemates, we will create that for you and give you a chance to enjoy some trail time with new friends and practice your navigation skills. Or, if you prefer to have an extra day added to your solo expedition, we will create that instead. However, no student will be allowed to begin his or her solo expedition without demonstrating competency in the navigation skills needed, and this assessment will be made by your instructors.

About BOSS
Since 1968, BOSS Courses have set the standard for low-technology camping and desert hiking techniques, where instruction is conducted without the intrusion of modern technology in environments that allow course content to be experienced first-hand. Our commitment to quality and to our core philosophies has earned BOSS its reputation as the survival school to go to when you want to learn from the best in the industry.

Less is More
In line with the BOSS Positive Impact Camping philosophy, the Advanced Navigator Course has a decided emphasis on using only renewable, natural resources. Tents, sleeping bags, stoves, backpacks and many other "required" pieces of outdoor equipment are replaced with their low-tech counterparts: a poncho, a blanket, a campfire. The motto here is "Know more, Carry less" and we'll explore how traditional cultures lived comfortably without all the modern gadgets like watches, radios, cellphones, etc (which are not allowed). Come learn how back-country travel can be a less intrusive and more harmonious experience.

Course Location
This course will occur in the canyons and on the mesas surrounding Boulder, Utah. All 7 days of the course are in the field, where students will learn traditional living skills and the arts of orienteering.

The BOSS Challenge
On the BOSS 7-Day Advanced Navigator Course, students hike long distances over the rugged terrain found in Southern Utah's mountains and desert canyons, sometimes 10 or more miles in one day. The combination of high exertion and moderate rations usually leaves students 5 to 7 pounds leaner at the end of the course. For this reason, However, please note that rations on the Navigator course will be larger than those on our Field Courses, and there will be no Impact phase at the beginning of the course.

Health & Safety
BOSS requires that all Explorer Course applicants undergo a complete physical examination and receive their physician's approval in writing prior to final acceptance on the course.

Please keep in mind, despite your physician's approval and BOSS's acceptance of you on the course, there are no guarantees.  Health and participation risks (inherent and otherwise) remain. Ultimately it is up to you and your physician to determine if this BOSS course is an appropriate choice.

Age
The average age of BOSS students is in the mid-30's.The key to Explorer Courses is a student's maturity. Due to the physical aspect of the Navigator Course and the risks associated with a solo wilderness trek, students younger than 18 must come with a parent or legal guardian.

Food & Diet
All students are provided with BOSS food packs which consist of basic staples such as lentils, rice, millet, carrots, potatoes, onions, oatmeal, 7-grain, flour, powdered milk, etc. During fire-ban seasons, these rations are modified to include instant soups and meals which do not need a fire to be eaten. Either way, the food packs will provide a student with approximately 1500 calories per day — enough to keep you healthy and active for the duration of the course. Students who wish to supplement their diet with wild edibles and fishing may do so in a responsible manner (permits may be required and can be purchased in advance). Students with allergies or dietary restrictions should contact our office for additional information.

2008 Dates & Prices

7-Day Advanced Navigator

AN-5

Not offered in 2008

Utah

$1265

Course dates and prices are subject to change. Space is limited on each course, and registrations are made on a first-come, first-served basis. Please go to the Registration page for more information.