This course goes deeper into the survival skills covered in the Standard class, as well as the philosophy behind them. It is a very hands-on week in which you will work many of the skills needed in order to make the transition to full survival living. During this class you will learn bow building, primitive pottery, basketry, grass mats, flint knapping, fish spears, arrow making and advanced throwing stick, as well building, and sleeping in, your own debris hut. These and many other essential survival skills will all be practiced so that, with some additional dirt time, you will be able to survive in any U.S. wilderness with ease and comfort. Survival, to Grandfather and to me, is a philosophy unto itself. With years of living close to the earth, without the umbilical cord of society, I understand a certain "oneness" that only knowledge of survival can bring. When I think of modern man entering the wilderness, I see a scenario much like an astronaut landing on the moon. So also when man enters the woods. He carries with him his backpack full of provisions, a sort of lifeline back to society. Both the man on the moon and the man in the woods are severely dependent on that lifeline; life without it would mean certain death. There is also a further insulation from the earth by heavy clothing and shoes, outer garments and tents; all to "protect" man from the splendid forces of nature. And their fears of being separated from the lifeline, whether conscious or not, keeps them close to the burdens of life. Survival is more than just and insurance policy. With the practice of survival one begins to relax into the earth, to learn its rhythms, to blend in balance and harmony with all things.
-- The Vision
