Field Notes from Jess ~ Rewilding in 2022 | Week 10/52 | Winter
Mar 06, 2022
Field Notes from Jess
Rewilding 2022 Week 10/52 | Winter Survival School 
The first rule of survival? Don't Die.
As a Rewilder, there is a foundational freedom that comes with learning the very basics of fire, shelter, water, physiological and mental adaptivity in any environment. @jason_thesurvivaluniversity invited me to Winter Survival School at their training grounds in the mountains of Colorado. 12 students met with pro instructor @hutchs_adventure for 2-days of epic learning and #goodtimes
Students gathered around a campfire while their stainless steel canteens sat in the coals to make water from snow. Instructor Hutch gave us a very animated and entertaining deep dive on surviving in winter conditions that included proper layering, how to avoid hypothermia, and why everyone should carry chocolate in their emergency bug out bag.
Agenda:
Lecture on winter survival & Safety
Survival mindset
How to make a Quinzhee (snow shelter)
How to make a winter survival shelter from your vehicle
How to make emergency snow goggles from duct tape
How to make a water generator
How to make snow shoes
Lashing and frapping
Knots
How to make a survival fire in winter conditions
Sleeping/bedding
Emergency packs
I feel elated by the accomplishments of this transformative training. Not only did I build an epic Fortress of Solitude (look out Superman), but I experienced new levels of independence and freedom. Training and educational activities in rewilding takes a person out of fear and dependency into an elated feeling of self-reliance and connection to nature.
Humans have always adapted and survived in harsh conditions. It is only in recent history that we have been removed from the elements and plugged in to a modern world in which comfort and convenience is the new radical normal. Experience feeling more by shifting out of a controlled environment and stimulating all of the senses through outdoor engagement. Investing in an education that teaches foundational human skills that activate new brain pathways of awareness, might just save your ass if the going gets tough.
Rewilding is the new self-care..
I look forward to teaching and sharing the rewilding lifestyle through Wildkind Academy.
