This demanding 4-day / 3-night course will teach you how to confidently manage a wilderness emergency and become a better leader.
The goal of our Advanced Wilderness Survival is to provide you the confidence to, not only survive a wilderness emergency and expedite rescue, but become the leader that others will need. Most search-and-rescue missions conclude within a 72-hour timeframe where many victims only passively hope to be found. Instead, our instructors will provide you the skills and knowledge to be proactive, and they will expose you to the mental and physical stressors that you’ll likely encounter — lack of resources; poor weather; fatigue; and hunger — so that you can bring out your best and demonstrate leadership. After all, the essence of survival is really about protecting others.
Signaling Exercise
You will learn the same modern approach to wilderness survival that is taught to U.S. military personnel to bring them home. You will learn such basic skills as knots and lashings; the fundamentals of first-aid and prevention; how to procure potable water; improvise tools; and to confidently build a fire in all types of weather conditions … including rain. You will sleep, not in tents, but rather in improvised emergency shelters that you construct earlier each day. You may not bring sleeping bags or pads. All cooking with be done over coals. You will be tasked with various projects and challenges throughout your training. By the time that you’ve finished your course, you’ll have a better sense of risk assessment and management so that you can ideally avoid an emergency in the first place. Regardless, you’ll be ready to protect yourself and others, then return home with pride.
From our anonymous course evaluation
This course is geared towards participants of all skill levels and backgrounds so no particular experience, prerequisites, or athletic ability is necessary. We only require that you bring the necessary equipment, your sense of adventure, and your Positive Mental Attitude. From there, we will work together to take care of the rest. However, please note the “Level of Physical Difficulty” description below so that we can all get the most out of the program.
Course Overview
- Course Duration: 4-Days / 3- Nights
- Start / End Times: 9:00 a.m. Day One / 12:00 p.m. Day Four
- Fee: $750 per person
- Location: Quebec Run Wild Area (see below for more detail).
- Maximum Group Size: 8
- Minimum Age: 18 Years.
- Description of the Level of Physical Difficulty – Moderate to Strenuous: This course involves multiple sessions of hiking with laden backpacks, walking and other activities over varying distances at a steady pace over varying terrain that will include off-trail sections, rough spots, unexpected obstacles, and low to steep inclines and declines. This course is conducted in varying weather conditions, including hot, cold, humid, rain, wind, and snow, or a mixed combination. This is a physically active course so it is best suited for those in good physical condition and ready for a fast paced day. If you have any questions, or would like some guidance, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What happens when I register? We will personally follow up with you with three quick and easy forms for you to complete and return. We will send you a detailed course information sheet which will contain all of the applicable details that you’ll need to prepare and arrive for your training.
Quebec Run Wild Area – Click to enlarge.
Where is Quebec Run Wild Area located? Quebec Run Wild Area is a 7,441 acre reserve within Forbes State Forest, located roughly 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, along the West Virginia border.
Does True North run this course as a private one? Yes! While we offer many open enrollment survival courses, most are run for private groups. So we regularly work with families, scouting groups, and schools. The many benefits include personalized training which can be tailored to your specific needs. We can do this by structuring the program in a variety of time formats, running it in various locations, either your location or ours, or for a mix of ages. To learn more, just contact us.
Are bathroom facilities available during the course? Since Quebec Run is a designated “wilderness area” there is no infrastructure whatsoever, including toilets. Relax, before we set out into the wild woods, we’ll teach you what’s needed to feel just like you are at home. Almost.
What kind of gear do I need to bring? Since our primary goal is to provide you a safe and comfortable learning experience that helps to minimize your costs, we really don’t require much beyond appropriate clothing and footwear, and a means to stay warm and dry overnight while you sleep, like a sleeping bag or blanket. When you register, we’ll send you a detailed course information sheet that will list the required and suggested items.
Besides, one of our goals is to give you a chance to “test drive” gear and supplies that we bring so that you can make better purchases after the course.