Our instructor Galen Stanger wrote this post about his experience over the summer at Boulder Outdoor Survival School's 14 day Field Course. Enjoy!
At the end of this
past summer I spent 2 weeks living in nature. I took a 14-day Boulder Outdoor
Survival School (BOSS) course in Utah. There were 12 of us - 9 students and 3
instructors. We only had a couple of items the first three days, to simulate a
true survival situation. I had a water bottle, two wool upper body layers, wool
pants, a hat, and a knife. We walked 27 miles in the first three days. It’s
amazing what the body can do with no food and only water. There were some
things to forage alone the way but if the body does not get 500 calories in one
day it’s better not to eat anything. After 3 days of walking and no food, it
was about 11:00 at night and we came to a primitive camp with Wikiups. I ate
the best tasting banana I had ever had in my life, and went to bed for a much
needed sleep in the Wikiup with a wool blanket. The nights were getting cold,
down into the 30ยบ’s.
This was the
transition from surviving in the natural world to living in the natural world.
In order to sustain ourselves, we took the life of an animal in a very humane
and humbling way. There were two days spent processing every part of this
animal in honor of its life so we could stay alive and continue on our journey.
We took care of camp chores and prepared for our travels as we still had a long
way to go. The way got easier even with small blanket packs carrying a little
food, two water bottles, and my wool layers. The guidance of our route was
handed over to us. We were given maps and an end destination. We were to
appoint two leaders for a day but any of us students could weigh in on the
route we traveled. We set out from the primitive camp out of the canyon and
headed up to 11,000 feet, mountain country. After a couple of days in the
mountains and getting rained on we headed back to the desert. It had been 8
days and at this point our instructors had shown us everything they could. It
was time for our solos. Three days by ourselves alone for some solo time and
living in the natural world with almost nothing.
After a great three days the group came
back together. This led to the next stage where our instructors left us for 2
days. We had an end destination and a route led by us with no instructors. We
had been a group for 12 days, so this was our time to sink or swim. It was
inspiring to be in that group. From the slowest person to the fastest we all
picked each other up when we fell. There were many leaders but we took turns
never stepping on each other’s feet and always looking out for the welfare of
the group. After a wonderful two days, and seeing the best looking little creek
in my life (because I hadn't seen water deep enough to submerge in for two
weeks), we met back up with our instructors at sundown of the second day. We
told our stories of the last two days and set off on our final challenge, which
as a BOSS tradition, I can’t say what it was. Every one of us made it the whole
100 miles in two weeks. We ate a
great final breakfast together back at base camp. Finally something more than
the 3 items that had been on the menu for the past two weeks.
There is something to
be said about simplicity, and living in the natural world with no protection. I
have come back a changed man in more ways than one. It was an experience I am
truly grateful for. Now I have the skill set to survive anywhere, and not just
the knowledge.
~Galen
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| Crossing through sage |
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| A debris bed, used to insulate us from the ground at night |
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| A wickiup |
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| Drying sheep jerky |
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| One of our instructors in a debris hut |
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| My blanket pack |
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| Poncho-shelter |
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| Woodrat tracks |
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| Testing out a debris bed |
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| My cooking fire on my three day solo |
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| Walking along the canyons |
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| The group at the end of the course |
