Basic Guide

This is the foundation and stepping stone to your professional guide career. The Basic Program provides the knowledge and experience for an outdoor enthusiast to lead and coordinate guiding and outfitting adventures. The basic program is conducted over a two week period clocking 120 hours of instruction and exercises. This is a prerequisite course for the advanced COAGS courses. Below are the topics of instruction and time allocated for each.


Basic Guide Curriculum

Introduction – 10 hours
School Standards
Outdoor Recreation Opportunities
Qualifications and Skills Needed

 

Basic Horsemanship – 30 hours
Introductory Riding Lessons
Saddles and Equipment
Horse and Mule Behavior
Horse Care and Common Health Problems
Trailer Loading and Transportation
Repair of Tack/Equipment
Safety

 

Leadership Development – 10 hours
Based on the concepts of Dale Carnegie’s How to win Friends and Influence People

 

Standard First Aid and CPR Certification – 10 hours

 

Orienteering – 20 hours
Using a Compass
Using a GPS (Global Positioning System)
Maps (Topos, US Forest Service, BLM)
Day/Night Navigation

 

Wilderness Survival – 10 hours
Safety and Prevention
Hypothermia
Dehydration
Emergency Procedures
Emergency Shelters and Fire Starting

 

Outdoor Recreation – 30 hours
Hiking and Backpacking
Biking and Mountain Biking
Trail Rides and Pack Trips
Outdoor Photography
Camping and Tent Construction

 

Outdoor and Camp Cooking – 10 hours
Cooking on Camp Fires
Dutch Oven Cooking
Cooking on Wood Burning Stoves
Menus (Nutrition and Diet)
Safe Food Storage

 

Conservation – 8 hours
History
Organizations and Funding
Ethics
Patterns/Practices
Animal Activist
National Forest Service use and regulations
“Leave No Trace” Techniques