{"id":3822,"date":"2016-01-26T22:43:44","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T06:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/group3.lbsb.wildernesstravelcourse.org\/?page_id=3822"},"modified":"2024-03-12T22:33:45","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T06:33:45","slug":"welcome","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/group3.lbsb.wildernesstravelcourse.org\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023 WTC Final Class Celebration!<\/span><\/h2>\n

Date: Wednesday March 22nd
\nTime: After Class Around 9:30 pm (class ends early)
\nLocation: Schooners Bar and Grill (190th & Inglewood)
\n2701. 190th St, Redondo Beach, CA 90278
\nWTC \u2013 LBSB \u2013 Group 3 Welcome WTC Class of 2019 Hello New and Old Friends, Welcome to Group 3 of the Long Beach \/ South Bay area of the Wilderness Travel Course. Hopefully your first night wasn\u2019t too overwhelming. We cover a lot of ground in trying to get you the broadest, and most well-round instruction we can in the time available. With the weekend before us there\u2019s a couple things I want to touch on: This week\u2019s homework \u2013 Get the right boots for the course: Dave did an excellent job of reviewing the range of boots available and what\u2019s needed for the course, and also what\u2019s not acceptable. This is a safety issue, we\u2019re teaching what\u2019s needed for safe 4-season wilderness travel. He also stressed the need for a boot that can be waterproofed. What you will find is that many boots come with a \u201cGoretex\u201d waterproof liner as part of the boot. When you talk to the sales people they might say that any of those boots are already waterproof. That\u2019s usually far from true. While the Goretex fabric itself may be waterproof (initially) it has to be sewn together and into the boot. That means it\u2019s full of holes. IF the manufacturer seam tapes the sewn Goretex liner then you\u2019re relying on them to have covered all the seams and holes, smoothly. And Goretex breaks down over time and flexing. So you need to ignore when a manufacture or sales rep says any of these boots are already waterproof. You will definitely need to waterproof your boots. Even if the Goretex liner is waterproof (initially) that would only keep the water from getting to your feet, not from soaking into the leather\/fabric. Leather breaks down and fails quicker when it repeatedly gets soaking wet. And if you go to sleep at snow camp with wet boots you\u2019ll wake up to \u201cbootsicles\u201d. Not exactly what you want to slide your feet into on a cold morning. So solid leather boots, or similar boots in that price range and above are what you\u2019re looking for. I\u2019ve attached a file on boot waterproofing that you might find useful. It can also be found in the Downloads section of our Group 3 website. All boots need some use to break in. Some people are lucky to have tough feet, or feet that are average and fit certain brands well. Most people will need to harden up their feet as they break in and form their new boots. Blisters can be an issue, particularly during break-in. I\u2019ve attached a file that covers blisters; cause, prevention and treatment. It can also be found in the Downloads section of our Group 3 website. Over the next three weeks we cover navigation (among other things). You will need to have a compass by week 3. If you have not bought one from WTC then wait until we describe the features to look for at next week\u2019s class. But instead, I would strongly urge you to consider getting your compass from WTC. The compass we sell is the benchmark for a compass. It\u2019s what I and all the leaders use. WTC get\u2019s a deal for purchasing them in bulk, we get nearly half off. And we pass that directly to you. I replaced my worn-out compass last year by buying my replacement from WTC. You can\u2019t get a better price. So while there are cheaper compasses that are perfectly acceptable for the course, they\u2019re also a lot less functional and not that much cheaper. Our supply is limited. If you want one and didn\u2019t already purchase it let me know ASAP and I\u2019ll try to get a few set aside. WTC is a fantastic way to start the new year and our first outing is only two weeks away! We\u2019ll be hiking Mt Wilson (5,710 ft. elev.) in the San Gabriel Mountains, a pretty big day hike that most people will find beneficial to prepare for by exercising. Hike, treadmill, StairMaster, whatever you can do will help you reach the summit with success! Remember, conditioning, conditioning, conditioning. Cheers, Neal Link to the club sponsored activities schedule: http:\/\/angeles.sierraclub.org\/outings\/oars.asp<\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n

\n