Ethnobotany 101
May 11, 2020Navigation – 3 Day Class
May 11, 2020Course Description
Itinerary
Students will learn wilderness risk assessment and management, how to avoid potentially dangerous situations, proper gear selection and how it relates to the priorities of survival. Next we’ll teach some practical knots and expedient survival shelters that are useful in the outdoors. We’ll discuss the selection and maintenance of our most commonly used tools and gear.
This course also covers the methods of heat loss using a light weight kit to maintain our core body temperature. Splitting and processing firewood for tinder, kindling, and fuel and practicing multiple methods of modern fire starting with a focus on ferrocerium rods are some of the tasks we’ll be covering. We’ll also be making modern fire starters from readily available materials found in your home that will greatly increase your fire starting abilities.
Students will learn about waterborne pathogens and various modern purifiers. We will discuss some common misconceptions about water filtration and how to safely purify water with various types of modern gear.
Additionally, we will be covering the psychology of survival and the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude to improve morale and cultivate a resilient mindset in a survival situation.
At the end of day two, students will undertake a practical field scenario, which will allow them to demonstrate their competency and ability to understand and respond to adverse situations. The students will then individually demonstrate their ability to build a survival shelter, process wood into a survival fire, light a fire with fire starters made earlier in the course then obtain and perform other standard survival tasks. We believe that exposure and practical use of your modern tools is the best way to determine which components work best for you.
Course Topics
- Risk assessment and management
- Emergency situation avoidance
- Survival plan formulation
- Psychology of survival
- Rule of Three’s
- Proper gear selection
- Tool/gear maintenance
- Practical knots for survival situations
- Methods of heat loss
- Modern fire starting techniques
- Expedient emergency survival shelters
- Water filtration vs purification
- Survival kit mentality
Course Outcomes and Demonstrated Skills
- How to identify potential dangers in the environment and situational awareness
- Have a deeper understanding of the psychology of survival
- Priorities of survival using modern methods and gear
- Understand the methods of heat loss and how to sustain core body temperature
- How to make and sustain a fire using modern methods and devices
- How to build temporary shelters using modern materials such as tarps, trash bags, and paracord and how to securely construct a shelter with the most effective knots
- Understand the difference between water filtration and purification and the skills to make water safe to drink
- What to put in your survival kit and how to effectively use and maintain it
Length
2 Days / 1 nights
Accommodations
If students do not wish to camp with us, the town of Cripple Creek is a short 15 minute drive from our location and Woodland Park is 30 minutes away. Students will be responsible for making their own reservations with nearby hotels. We do have a central community campfire location with a few designated campsites but mostly offer dispersed camping. Students will be able to drive their car within 100 feet of the main camp and will not have to hike gear for long distances.
- Shelter Lodging: Students can stay in one of our 20 person GP Medium tents when not running field exercises or may stay in their own tents, campers, vehicles or a primitive shelter. Our tents are complete with wood burning stoves for cold weather conditions. This is a shared tent for all students that wish to use it.
- Sanitation/Hygiene: A portable restroom and potable water will be provided at the main camp.
Food and Water Required
Water will be provided but students will need to bring their own food. We recommend quick field expedient meals such as freeze dried hiking meals or MRE’s. They can quickly be made at our primitive camps and won’t slow down the learning process. However, students may bring any food that they wish to cook over the campfire or on their own personal camp stove.
Food can be purchased locally at nearby facilities. Walmart and several local eateries are within a reasonable driving distance.
Suggested Gear List
We do not provide students with gear unless they have purchased it from us ahead of time. Not much gear is needed for our courses, though good equipment does speed the learning process up greatly! Gear does not have to be purchased from our store to attend the course, but we recommend survival gear of equivalent quality.
- Fixed blade knife (Preferably a full tang bushcraft style knife WITHOUT a serrated edge)
- Ferrocerium rod
- Tarp
- Emergency mylar blanket
- Signal Mirror
- Signal Whistle
- Glow sticks
- Compass
- Poncho or Rain Gear
- Outdoor Clothing and appropriate footwear
- Folding hand saw
- Overnight Camping Gear: Tent, sleeping bag, ground pad, etc
- 100’ of 550 Paracord
- Shemagh or large cotton scarf
- Headlamp and extra batteries
- Cooking pot and eating utensils
- Single walled metal canteen
- Metal Cup
- Sunscreen and sunglasses
- Insect repellent
- Notepad and pencil
- Small Backpack
Clothing Required
Warm outdoor clothing, warm gloves and hat, outdoor boots and wool socks. Cotton clothing is highly discouraged in the mountains! Wool will keep you warm even when wet and synthetics will dry faster. Layers are important in Colorado. You will want a water wicking base layer, an insulating mid layer, and a waterproof breathable outer shell. Check out our Clothes Layering Basics if you are unsure of what to wear.
Check the recommended survival gear list for more details!
If it is still not clear what gear is needed for our survival courses, then we have assembled a complete kit that is still high quality but for a budget friendly price. All the items in this kit were hand selected by our instructors to be the best bushcraft tools on a budget. This survival kit is a useful starter kit that can be used in all of our courses. These tools are a must have, at a good price. It’s a great survival kit, bug out kit, go bag, or use it as a solid foundation to build a kit that perfectly fits your needs. With this kit and our training anybody can survive like a king in almost any environment!
Note
As a result of varying levels of prior experience and knowledge among students in each class, individual outcomes may exhibit variability. Furthermore, weather conditions can contribute to potential modifications in class content. Nevertheless, our dedicated instructors are committed to maintaining the highest level of adaptability and consistency within the scope of prevailing circumstances. This ensures that students receive an optimal training experience that delivers both value and quality.
Difficulty | Advanced, Intermediate |
---|---|
Duration | 2 Days / 1 Overnight |
Instructors | Jason Marsteiner |
Dates | April 27-28 2024, Aug 31 – Sept 1 2024 |
Time | Start Time: 9:00am |
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Related products
-
5 Day Outdoor Survival Basics 101
$595.00Dates: August 23-27 2024, July 3-7 2024, June 21-25 2024, May 3-7 2024, May 31- June 4 2024, September 20-24 2024
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.