Wilderness/Survival Schools or Courses

JC in SC

JC in SC

Joined
Feb 28, 2009
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Does anyone have personal experience with one (or more) of the many wilderness/survival schools? I've been thinking about taking an intro type course just to get some hands on experience while in the company of people "in-the-know". I enjoy reading books and scouring the internet for information on various subjects, but IMO nothing compares to learning first hand from a knowledgeable individual.

For instance, I could find the designs, build various traps and probably catch a squirrel or rabbit in my backyard without much difficulty (depending on legality of such pursuits); however, I doubt I'd do it any time soon because I lack the drive to research what to do after the kill. Maybe I'm just weird, but I lack the motivation to do this in my home environment, but if I were in the woods with an instructor I'd do it in a heartbeat. Does that make sense?

I'm in the Upstate of SC, so something in the Southeast that teaches things which would be analogous to my area would be preferred. I've also seen some sites offering correspondence type courses (Pathfinder School among others), but I couldn't find any reviews of those either.
 
I've no experience directly with any of the schools, but if I were to spend the time and money currently I'd go to the Wilderness Learning Center. Really excellent reputation, lots of great reports online, and no hokey philosophies to endure. :thumbup:
http://www.weteachu.com/
 
Hey JC,

I attended "The Wilderness Learning Center" http://weteachu.com/

It is run my Marty Simon, who is a helluva guy.He is a member here "Oldman Marty"
Marty is the real deal, he is a wealth of knowledge and teaching comes first hand to him.
I learned so much from him in 2 days at a get together, that I had to sign up for his school.
It was an excellent weeklong course. The whole course including classroom was outdoors.

Kevin Estela(one of our mods here) is the head instructor there. He was born to do this. His passion for the outdoors is worn on his sleeve. An outstanding teacher who gets as excited if not more so when his student gets it right!

Wild Bob is another instructor there. He is one of the coolest guys I met. He is a very experienced trapper and outdoorsman.

Aggie (Marty's Wife) is probably the most important person their IMO! She is a very experienced and knowledgeable outdoors person. She is also the one that keeps us fed. I know alot of schools offer food, but I guarantee you its not as good as hers. From breakfast, lunch, and dinner; you can expect a delicious meal everynight! There were a few guys who had food allergies there, but Aggie saw to it that they had their own delicious meals as well.

Anyway, I can go on and on. Here is a thread I started when I got back.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=577035

Marty and the gang just gave a 2 day course in N.C. this month. I believe he does it every year. Definately something you should look in to.

If you ahve any other questions, let me know. Or you could just ask Marty or Kev, they would be thrilled to answer them.
 
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