What an amazing week of Backcountry Survival Instructor Training at the Nantahala Outdoor Center!
My partner Gene and I decided to take this training together to brush up on and learn some new, interesting things. And all I can say is, this course delivered. It was absolutely filled with useful techniques and information about many different kinds of practical primitive skills.
We made shelters, fire by hand, learned ways to find potable water, made natural cordage, lashing techniques, and knots, identified edible, utilitarian, and medicinal plants, learned navigation techniques, and so much more. We cooked over fire with natural tools and made pesto with local walnuts and wild-foraged foods …which, in my opinion, was some of the best pesto I have ever tasted!
Wild-foraged Pesto!
We practiced numerous ways to make fire… such as by hand drill, bow drill, Ferro rod, flint and steel, char cloth, as well as fashioned several types of DIY kindling materials. We carved fuzz sticks for tinder and practiced several wood carving methods.
We made different types of leaf shelters and wigwams (wickiups) with sticks, branches, leaves, as well as emergency shelter materials.
On our plant identification walks, we harvested Kudzu vines and made cordage out of the inner fibers. I knew Kudzu had edible leaves, flowers, and roots, but now I have even more appreciation for this invasive plant. If we took advantage of its many gifts, I suspect it wouldn’t be so invasive!
Handmade rope from Kudzu fibers
The most exciting part of the course for me had to be making fire by rubbing pieces of wood together. There is something extremely satisfying about making fire by hand. Words simply cannot describe it, and there is no going back! Finding our natural wildness opens a primal door within us that cannot be closed again.
Not that I am going to leave my lighter and matches at home on my next backpacking trip, but… useful skills to have for sure. Feeling self-reliant is something we are not usually taught to seek, but the more I know how to take care of my basic human needs with grace and ease, the more peaceful I find myself naturally becoming.
Collin making fire with bow drill
Handmade tinder materials
The beginnings of one of our leaf huts
Fiber from Kudzu vines for making rope
Lashing with frapping
I find that stepping out of my comfort zone to learn new things is always a highly valuable experience. Not only is it totally empowering, but also, adding new skills to our personal toolbox is important in the natural flow of our self-evolution. You just never know where something might lead you.
I am excited to incorporate some of these techniques and new information into the course itinerary of my backpacking programs.
Are you ready to awaken your innate wildness? If so, perhaps the Badass Backpacker Bootcamp VIP program is just the ticket!
