Wilderness Survival 101

Yesterday was splendid.  Not only was it the most beautiful Autumn day so far this year, with the sun finally bursting out in the late morning, helping temperatures to settle in the low 60s, but a terrific bunch of people gathered at the Frick Environmental Center to share their enthusiasm for learning the fundamentals of wilderness survival.

The group, all members of Venture Outdoors, took part in True North’s Wilderness Survival 101.  The primary focus of WS101 is to offer a one-day introduction to the basics of wilderness survival.  It is a great way for folks to begin learning about survival philosophy, skills, and what is involved.  It is particularly nice too for those folks who aren’t quite ready for an overnight, or who are just getting involved in the outdoors and want to learn about gear and local resources.  Either way, beginner or advanced, we always talk about the Seven Priorities of Survival.

After we all introduced ourselves, and discussed basic equipment, we jumped into what probably was the highlight of day for the group: Fire.  Heck, because everyone was having such a good time — and for a few it was their very first time making a fire — it was almost hard to pull everyone from the fire pit so that we could stop for lunch!  Later, we learned about Shelters, first watching  how to make a “bomb-proof” shelter, and then the group breaking up into small teams to make “immediate action” shelters.  We then closed out the day discussing the importance of Wilderness First Aid, Signal, and Water, putting the role of Food into context, and then wrapping up the course with the most important element of survival, Positive Mental Attitude.

True North extends a hearty thanks to the whole crew for taking the chance to learn something new and for sharing their eagerness to learn.  Congratulations!

Check out the photographs from the day on True North’s Facebook page.