Trained Participant Bushwalking - Tracked and Difficult Tracked Environments

Are you a leader looking to take your Scouts out for a night hike? 

Or are you focused on developing the bushwalking skills of your Joeys and Cubs?

Or just enabling your Venturers to get out there?

Bushwalking skills development is designed to give you the skills needed to support our youth members to get out hiking and to develop their OAS levels in preparation of undertaking and Adventurous journey to reach their peak award.

Through this course, Leaders with logged bushwalking experience can achieve their Trained Participant qualification for bushwalking in Tracked and Difficult Tracked Environments (please see the prerequisites listed below). If you are yet to get logged hikes, then this course provides you with the skills to get out there and gain the practical experience needed to achieve TP qualifications in bushwalking.

Note: If you are an experienced hiker, you may not need to do this course. Contact you RCAA or local guide to get your experience recognised.

Course Topics

• Gear for bushwalking in the Australian bush
• Route planning
• Bushwalking risk management
• Navigation in the field
• Interpreting Weather
• Determining your location
• Basic GPS operations

What to bring

• See the attached checklist for what to bring on a day hike
• Food that you can carry in the field
• Mapcase, Compass and Pencil
• Personal First Aid Kit

Course Timing (End times are approximate and will be managed based on the group needs)

Saturday: 8:30 - 5:00pm
Sunday: 8:30 - 2:00pm
There is no facility for overnight camping, it is expected that you will return home or arrange your own accomodation for Saturday night.

Pre-requisite for obtaining Trained Participant Bushwalking qualification

The following are requirements that you need to complete that are not covered as part of the course. You will need to complete each item below either in advance or after the course in order to receive your TP qualification in Bushwalking.

1. Trained Participant Core - Leaders are required to have completed Trained Participant Core before further Trained Participant qualifications can be awarded.
2. TP Bushwalking Tracked Environments - you ned to have logged three bushwalks of at least 5 km in the past three years (one of which can be the hike we do as part of the course) 
3. TP Bushwalking Difficult Tracked Environments - you need to have logged three bushwalks in the past three years on Grade 4 tracks, at least one of which is an overnight bushwalk 
4. You need to provide a copy of your logbook with the above hikes listed, highlighting dates, tracks, grade, distance, role, verifier and notes.

Youth members

Youth members are welcome to attend the course and develop their bushwalking skills to support achievement of OAS Stage 4, 5 and 6, or as a preparatory hike for an Adventurous Journey. The course is designed for adult leaders, and it is recommended that youth members be at least 13 years of age, and planning to lead a multiday hike in the next six months to provide the opportunity to apply the skills learnt during the course.