Overview
| Location | Course Date(s) | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder UT | 6 Days: 6/24/24 - 6/29/24 | $1600 Sale! | Buy Now |
Special 6 Day Desert Survival Adventure Course:
2 Days of Basecamp Stone Age Gear Making (Special Pottery Focus!)
+4 Days of Primitive Walkabout with only the stone age gear you made, and the clothes you wear! This course is a dream for anyone interested in primitive wilderness survival and bushcraft.
Join Instructors David Holladay, Phillip Liebel, Kelly Magleby, and Dan Baird for a stone age walkabout in Southern Utah over the summer solstice!
Next Course Dates: June 24-29th, 2024
Days 1-3: Basecamp primitive gear making course days (details below).
Days 3-6: Traditional Walkabout using only stone age gear.
This is not just a survival course, this is about learning to thrive outdoors and work with nature instead of against it! During basecamp days, students will learn how to produce all the stone age traditional living and survival gear needed to replace modern camping kit for a primitive walkabout on the last 3 days in the canyons of Southern Utah.
Your master Instructors will provide instruction on stone age gear essentials like making traditional clay fired cooking pots, and crafting essential wooden tools like spoons to digging sticks, simple burden baskets for gear, yucca sandals, grass reed sleeping mats, traditional friction fire bow drill/hand drill sets, fire management tools, straightening sticks, edged stone tool construction, and more! (More details below).
Additional ancient living and wilderness survival skills that will be covered during your journey include animal sign & tracking, traditional land navigation, useful plants, fire making skills, traditional cooking techniques, camp making, trail health & hygiene and more (Full details below).
Your Instructors
What is Included?
6 Day Desert Stone Age Living Skills Kit Making and Walkabout Adventure:
Detailed Course Itinerary:
Days 1-3: Basecamp Primitive Kit Making:
- Students will begin the course on day 1 by visiting Anasazi State Park Museum to learn about local traditional pottery and the history of other appropriate related skills and living practices of the area.
- Students will then travel to basecamp and get settled-in for four days of adventure, learning how to produce traditional gear to replace modern gear for the walkabout.
- A central focus of the first few days will be learning from Master Pottery Instructor Kelly "Kayenta" to construct one of the most key tools for the walkabout - Traditional clay fired cooking pots! These clay containers will be key for both carrying and heating water, as well as cooking throughout the course.
Clay Fired Containers In The Wild:
For this unique workshop we will go over the process of making clay fired useful containers from the land from start to finish.
We will emphasize the tricks and techniques that allow the potter to be successful in a primitive or survival setting.
Topics will include how to find and process clay, temper, what temper is and how to find and process it, how to build pots with minimal tools, corrugation techniques, how to fire with primitive tools, water proofing etc.
In this class we will all make water carrier vessels or "canteens".
Once we have our vessels ready and other elements of our survival kits we will cross the landscape to test our newly made pots and tools.
Beyond pottery, students will also be working to construct a variety of other wilderness survival and traditional living tools to ways meet their needs during the walkabout:
- Learn primitive living/survival techniques that will get you comfortable with low-tech camping and backpacking, and ready for your stone age walkabout.
- Ancient friction fire methods using found/gathered wood materials.
- How to create stone tools to replace metal knives/axes wherever you are.
- Animal Sign & Tracking techniques for reading your surroundings.
- Manufacture of natural rope, simple woven carrying containers and other ancient living essentials.
- Primitive shelter, footwear & woven sleeping mat gear manufacturing from natural materials.
- Ancient water finding and purification techniques.
- Natural foods preparation and primitive cooking techniques.
- Traditional plant uses
- Ancient & modern navigation & lost-proofing techniques.
The Walkabout:
Starting on the 3rd day, students will begin the walkabout journey with a sunrise gratitude ceremony, before heading out into the wilds with your guides and you stone age kit. The adventure ends on the 6th day with a closing gratitude circle at noon.
What Gear do I need to bring?
Students start out the course with normal camping gear (list provided at registration) to use during the first 3 days of the course. Students will also need to bring meals to cover their needs for the first 3 basecamp days. (Think simple camping or backpacking food. Suggestions also included in the packing list. Ask us if you have questions).
At basecamp, simple amenities will be available. At the site:
Fire pit, stove, shade, composting toilet (bucket with toilet seat), water, snacks, drinks (coffee, tea, hot water).
During the walkabout portion of the course, students will only carry the clothes (see packing list), a small personal first-aid kit, and the traditional gear we make during the course.
Physical Requirements?
This adventure can be physically demanding for some participants.
There are hiking opportunities during the course as well opportunities to potentially swim and do other physically demanding activities. As this adventure can be physically challenging, California Survival School asks that all adventure course applicants have receive their Doctor’s approval in writing before final acceptance for attending the course. (If you have any concerns here, please touch base).
Please note that, even with your Doctor’s permission and California Survival School‘s acceptance of you on the course, there are no guarantees.
Health and participation risks (inherent and otherwise) will always exist. It’s up to you and your physician to determine if this course is an appropriate choice for you. All participants must be aware of these risks and accept them. Students will also be required to obtain personal emergency medical and evacuation insurance (cost is generally around $60 and we can help with info on how to get it) Please let us know if you have any questions.
Age Requirements?
Attendees must be at least 15 years of age. Students under 18 must attend with a parent or guardian who is also a registered participant on the course.
Additional Information
When you register for your trip you will receive an information packet that covers all the major details of planning for this trip the month prior to the course starting. (i.e. – How to get here, pre and/or post-trip nearby lodging recommendations, packing lists, etc.) If you have any additional questions, please email us at info@casurvival.com or call 1-949-216-0252.
How do I get to Boulder, UT?
The easiest way is to drive. Google maps directions here. Travel time by car is roughly 4 hours from Salt Lake City or 5 hours from Las Vegas, Nevada (the two closest major airports). A trip to these wild canyon lands has never been so worth it!