Have you ever wanted to test your outdoor survival skills and learn how traditional cultures lived comfortably off the land without modern gadgets?
A company called Boulder Outdoor Survival School offers adventure courses out of Boulder, Utah based on the motto “know more, carry less.” Equipment many campers think is necessary such tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and backpacks are replaced with low tech counterparts like ponchos, a blanket, and campfires.
To take the Hunter Gatherer course the company strongly suggests the student possesses a degree of comfort in the wilderness and proficiency in primitive survival skills before joining. These skills can be learned in field courses.
Hunter Gatherer participants learn in a 4-day skills-intensive period at basecamp before embarking on a 9-day primitive living experience. During those nine days the students test themselves to find out if they can comfortably survive in Utah’s desert canyons.
Basecamp gets students ready for the challenges ahead. With no electricity or phones, they focus on mastering the skills and producing the tools they will need for the upcoming adventure.
Where they head for the nine days depends on the season and the weather. Because the group will be foraging and living off of the land, only very small primitive style foods are given. The destination will depend on how nuts, berries, and similar sources of nutrition are growing.
This challenge is less about the hundreds of miles the students hike and more about being able to keep energy and activity levels high even when food and water sources are limited. During the course, the combination of necessary exertion and minimal rations frequently leaves students 10-15 pounds leaner.
Course applicants are required to undergo a complete physical and have a physicians approval in writing prior to participation. No individual younger than 18 years of age can take the course.
If you’re ready for a challenge, the program is a unique opportunity to join a group of likeminded individuals to test your resourcefulness, living as a hunter/gatherer with your mates and surviving off the land.
For the avid outdoorsman, wilderness survival training might someday save your life. For survival school options, click here.
