Compass Rose, errrr Emma.

Pardon the title but there is going to be some snarky sarcasm with this post.
A while back I found a link to a Compass Class. I had been wanting to do one but was looking for something more than the REI in store class and less than the $200 full day class.
BINGO! This class was great.
It was offered by She Jumps which is an organization that helps women get outdoors. This class was being offered by the NH Chapter and it was only $10. RIGHT !?!? It included a couple hours inside and then we went down the road to a local conservation and tried it hands on.

 It was very basic and I will definitely need to keep practicing but I would say I did my first few .2 mile bushwhacks and made it out alive with only a few scratches. LOL!

 The side story which I can laugh about now but not so much on Saturday.
As I said this was a women only class but there were a few kids there as well. When a man came in I was like huh? but realized he brought 2 girls and a wife.
Not long after this I should have known where this was headed when the instructor had to ask him to stop talking so she could. See, these parents brought a 9 and 12 year old but they were taking the class themselves so I guess they thought they could chat. The girls didn't have the correct compass even though it was explained in each of the multiple emails we received about supplies needed for the class. When we grouped up to share maps and brainstorm they didn't group with their own kids but let them join myself and another woman who I learned was a school teacher. Instead of adding new knowledge we both reverted to basic facts explained to these 2 kids who really knew nothing about map reading.
Once they explained the small lot at the trail head myself and a 2nd woman agreed to carpool with this family to save space. Again, if I had only known....
So as we arrive at the lot Mom says to the girls "Just text us and we will pick you up."
Ummm, what??
They sprayed them with bug spray and left them with us.
At this point I became some other kid's mother. She didn't listen ,ran and fell and never looked at the compass. I slowly began to steam. I didn't come to be their mother.
When we got to the Cliff's above for lunch I realized that by jumping in with them I had forgotten my lunch in my car.
Can you say Last Straw?
After lunch the organizers made the decision that the kids would hike out and if anyone wanted to call it a day they could go as well. Anyone wanting more time out would continue with the AMC guides.
I called it a day. It wasn't the organizers fault but I mean really Mom? You thought this was okay?
The positive part was we just hiked out on a trail so I got to chat with another woman about hiking which always makes me happy. The 2 girls ran ahead not needing any guidance until 1 of them fell yet again.

 The end result is this-I got to be outside. I'm learning skills to be safer outside. I have more knowledge than I give myself credit for.