Outdoor Survival Schools
When it comes to wilderness survival techniques, many beginners rely on books and videos at first, simply because they’re what’s most readily available. However, while these sources of information are quite useful, they can’t replace hands on experience.
Here are a few ways an outdoor survival school can benefit you.
What sort of things does an outdoor survival school teach? Whether you’re planning on becoming a regular hunter or hiker or you want to learn more about surviving in a bug out to the woods, these courses are perfect for learning everything from navigational skills to foraging techniques. By learning to do various tasks and techniques yourself, your chances of remembering how to do it again increase dramatically.
Navigational skills are an essential part of any outdoor survival school. Along with basic map reading and compass use, you’ll also learn how to mark trails, read landmarks, and even use the stars as directional tools. This can help enormously in simply keeping you from becoming turned around. This way, you’ll never have to be frightened of exploring a new and vast forest.
Finding food is another important ability that an outdoor survival school will hone. Ideally, a good class will teach you a variety of tips on how to identify various plants mushrooms, seeds, berries, and nuts that are great for consumption. In addition to this, you may even learn the rudimentary basics of tracking various animals for hunting. When it comes to staying well fed, however, it’s not a good idea to depend solely on what the forest provides—at least not at first. Your class should also inform you about various long lasting meals to pack with you, including freeze dried, dehydrated, or canned foods.
Some outdoor survival school courses also include first aid. While what is learned here is hardly a substitute for what a trained paramedic can provide, you will at least know how to keep yourself or a partner stable should an injury occur. Also included are tips regarding various first aid kits and which kinds are best for your situation.
Finally, a good outdoor survival school will also teach you the importance of learning what to pack. A mark of a beginner is one who packs too much or too little. Ideally, a survivalist’s belongings are multi-purpose devices that fit easily in the pack and are easily accessible. Most food kits and first aid kits are naturally lightweight and small as well.
Boulder Outdoor Survival School is one of the largest traditional survival schools in the world. It ranks as the oldest institution in that category. It was established in 1968 by Larry Dean Olsen. It initially started offering wilderness program. This program has been utilized by the institution to bring challenges to participants of the programs physically and mentally.