skills
Learn TO CARRY LESS, and live closer to nature!
Basic level
recommended Pathway:
Course #1
Taking you step-by-step from Essential Skills to being able to live in the wilderness with just a knife!
DON'T KNOW WHERE
TO START?
THIS IS YOUR CLASS!
This introductory course teaches the essential skills needed to survive short-term emergencies in the outdoors.
Learn hands-on the skills that will save your life!
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Gear selection Be prepared for the unexpected! We'll cover the components of a well rounded emergency kit, including gear selection, and survival priorities.
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Emergency shelters No tent? No sleeping bag? No worries! Learn how to sleep warm & dry- turn ponchos & emergency blankets into amazing shelters!
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fire Learn basic and advanced firecraft! You'll learn tips and tricks to lighting a fire using feather sticks, ferrocerium rods, flint & steel, and a magnifying lens, and keep it going in bad weather!
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water The most important skill! Know how to find, make, and purify water using improvised techniques- tricks for the Southwest backcountry that will save your life!
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Knife skills 101 Sharpen your knife with just a rock, and learn carving techniques and tricks on how to improvise your knife into the tools you'll need!
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campfire cooking We’ll prepare a delicious gourmet meal off the campfire from scratch- using just a tin cup and simple backpacking ingredients!
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useful knots With some string and using a few simple knots, you can make your time outdoors much easier! Learn the top knots that come in handy for common tying needs.
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improvised navigation Find your way when modern tools fail! You'll learn how to get lost proof using the sun and shadows, celestial navigation, and making improvised compasses!
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Map & Compass Skills Learn how to use a map and compass to find where you are, estimate your pace, and to accurately plot your cross-country overland course!
At the end of this exciting course, you will be able to survive a zombie apocalypse, or just simply being lost in the wild!
Tuition- 225
(All you need is provided- including lunch made off a campfire!)
Length-Full Day
(Combine with our Useful Plants course for a full weekend experience!)
private groups Available!
Why wait? Create your own custom course!
Go to the Sign Up page to schedule your group's adventure!
public course dates:
Phoenix:
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JANUARY 24, 2026 (SOLD OUT!)
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APRIL 11, 2026 (SOLD OUT!)
Tucson:
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MARCH 14, 2026 (SOLD OUT!)
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NOVEMBER 21, 2026 (available)
Sedona:
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MAY 16, 2026 (available)
Payson
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AUGUST 23, 2026 (available)
IMprove your health!
Heal friends & family!
Enjoy new foods!
During this fun walk, you will discover the uses of our local plants growing in the Sonoran Desert, Woodlands, or Mountain Forests!
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edible plants- Sample lots of delicious wild edibles and learn how to prepare them & when to harvest as well as easy identification tricks!
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medicinal plants! Learn how to heal ailments and injuries with wild local herbs- bleeding, colds, bites & stings, sunburn, and so much more!!!
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Traditional items-see and learn about traditional items made from these unique plants- everything from arrows to yucca sandals!
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review anytime! includes my self-published booklet, Useful Plants of The Southwest, that details the uses of over 60 useful plants- the foods, medicines, and how to make survival items from them!
Join me on a fun, hands-on hike, learning the uses of over 30 plants in different locations around Arizona!
Tuition- 225
(All you needed is provided- includes wild food samples!)
Length- 5 hours
(Combine with our Essential Skills course for a full weekend experience!)
private groups Available!
Why wait? Create your own custom course!
Go to the Sign Up page to schedule your group's adventure!
public course dates:
Phoenix: (Sonoran desert plants)
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APRIL 12, 2026 (SOLD OUT!)
Tucson: (Sonoran desert plants)
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MARCH 15, 2026 (SOLD OUT!)
Sedona: (Red rock canyons and woodland plants)
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MAY 17, 2026 (available)
Payson: (Mountain forest plants)
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AUGUST 23, 2026 (available)
Basic level
recommended Pathway:
Course #2
Taking you step-by-step from Essential Skills to being able to live in the wilderness with just a knife!
intermediate level
Essential skills course or comparable experience recommended
recommended
Pathway:
Course #3
Taking you step-by-step from Essential Skills to being able to live in the wilderness with just a knife!
Join us for an
incredible
skills-packed day!
This exciting course gives you the unique survival skills for not just surviving, but THRIVING in the wilderness!
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Wildcrafted tools Improvise what you need from nature- you'll make sharp stone blades from river cobbles, and weave a strong cord from yucca leaves, a water bottle made from an agave stalk, and other survival items using just your knife!
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Fire From Friction Carve a fire by friction set from scratch and experience the incredible satisfaction of starting a fire the REAL way! You'll learn multiple fire by friction techniques (hand drill, fire saw, and bow drill)
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Survival hotel Learn how to sleep warm & dry making what you need from natural materials- from A-frame shelters, to warm stone beds and grass blankets!
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campfire cooking We’ll prepare a delicious wild meal from scratch- without any modern cooking items! We’ll boil, bake and cook using items we make ourselves!
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field Hygiene Stay clean and healthy! Make antiseptic soap & shampoo, toothbrushes, and even toilet paper from nature!
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backcountry first aid Know what to do before you need it! Learn basic care for common injuries in the outdoors- bleeding, sprains, and bone breaks.
Learn what it takes to survive and thrive during this fun, hands-on course!
Tuition-225
(All you needed is provided- including a wild food lunch!)
Length-One day
(Combine with our Hunting Skills course for a full weekend experience!)
private groups Available!
Why wait? Create your own custom course!
Go to the Sign Up page to schedule your group's adventure!
public course dates:
Phoenix:
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FEBRUARY 28, 2026 (Sold Out!)
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MARCH 28, 2026 (available)
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APRIL 25, 2026 (available)
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OCTOBER 17, 2026 (available)
Sedona:
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MAY 9, 2026 (available)
Payson:
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JUNE 13, 2026 (available)
Step back in time!
Rediscover the ancient skills that sustained our ancestors for thousands of years!
Learn to read the landscape —understanding animal behavior, identifying tracks and signs, and crafting primitive hunting tools such as deadfall traps, throwing sticks, and more!
This course is focused on skill-building and practice. No live hunting takes place unless otherwise specified and legally permitted.
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tracks & signs! Uncover the hidden stories written in the earth! Observe, identify, and interpret animal tracks and sign in a variety of natural environments.
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Nature Awareness See and hear more wildlife! Learn to move naturally like our ancestors- smooth and silent in the wilderness, blending and stalking close undetected
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Traps and snares- Carve and set up a variety of very effective snares and deadfall traps for catching calories!
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Fishing-Make improvised fishing kit items- hooks, nets, fishing traps, and other items for catching fish!
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Hunting tools-Craft and use traditional hunting implements made entirely from natural materials.
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pemmican-The original power bar! Satisfying, nutrient dense, and never spoils! Make some for your next wilderness outing!
Whether you're interested in hunting, or just want to learn these skills for emergency self-reliance, this course gives you a deeper connection with nature
Tuition-225
(All you needed is provided- including a wild food lunch!)
Length- One day
(Combine with our Survive & Thrive course for a full weekend experience!)
private groups Available!
Why wait? Create your own custom course!
Go to the Sign Up page to schedule your group's adventure!
public course dates:
Phoenix:
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MARCH 1 2026 (Sold Out!)
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MARCH 29 2026 (available)
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APRIL 26 2026 (available)
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OCTOBER 18 2026 (available)
Sedona:
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MAY 10, 2026 (available)
Payson:
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JUNE 14 2026 (available)
intermediate level
Essential skills course or comparable experience recommended
Recommended
Pathway:
Course #4
Taking you step-by-step from Essential Skills to being able to live in the wilderness with just a knife!
advanced level
recommended Pathway:
Course #5
Taking you step-by-step from Essential Skills to being able to live in the wilderness with just a knife!
Congratulations!
now let's put all that you learned to the test!
Embark on an unforgettable journey traveling light and living with the land!
Heading into the backcountry with just a knife, a few essential items, and minimal food, you'll travel through the desert and canyonlands using navigation skills and living with what the land provides.
This immersive, three-day experience blends cross-country travel with wilderness survival.
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CAMPING ultralight - Heading off with just a knife, a few essential items, and some food, you'll use your skills to set up an ultralight camp as you learn new skills needed for your adventure.
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Living wild- You'll transition to providing everything you need with only a knife and natural materials! Sleeping in comfortable shelters, starting a campfire with a fire by friction set you carve yourself, and crafting all kinds of useful gear-an agave water bottle, wooden cookware, toothbrushes, backpacks, sleeping mats, soap, yucca sandals, and so much MORE!
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Hunting & Gathering Skills- You won't starve! We will eat foods that were traditionally carried on journeys by Southwest tribes (mesquite & acorn flour, deer jerky, roasted agave, etc...) and supplement them with delicious native plants we gather, and what we catch using traps and primitive fishing techniques.
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Improvised navigation You will explore cross country using the sun and shadows, celestial navigation basics and creating and using improvised compasses!
This is the capstone adventure for those that have taken all four courses in the series:
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Essential Skills
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Useful Plants
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Survive & Thrive
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Hunting Skills
Tuition-625 (includes all materials needed)
Length- Three days
private groups Available!
Why wait? Create your own custom course!
Go to the Sign Up page to schedule your group's adventure!
public course dates:
We will contact you with available Walkabout Adventure dates to qualified students!
Make your own hunting bow and arrow from scratch!
Journey from raw wood to a beautifully crafted, fully functional traditional bow and matching arrow — all made by your own hands!
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Flintknapping- Strike off stone blades and use an antler baton to carefully shape the stone flake into an arrowhead blank, then with an antler tine, you will pressure flake the edge to shape!
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Crafting the Arrow- Learn how to find, and straighten an arrow shaft, add the feathers using hand-trimmed feathers & hide glue, and attach the arrowhead you made using pitch glue and deer sinew.
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Bow Making-From tree to target, you'll be guided each step of carving and tillering to complete a custom made bow using just a knife, and other simple hand tools and make it come alive with a hand-twined bow string.
By the end of the course, you’ll not only walk away with a fully functional traditional bow and arrow but also a deep appreciation for the skill, patience, and natural materials that connect modern archers to centuries of heritage..
Tuition-425 (includes all materials needed- just bring food, water, and car camping gear if you want to camp out each evening.
Length- Three days
private groups Available!
Why wait? Create your own custom course!
Go to the Sign Up page to schedule your group's adventure!
public course dates:
Phoenix:
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OCTOBER 24 - 26, 2026 (available)
intermediate level
recommended Pathway:
Course #6
Taking you step-by-step from Essential Skills to being able to live in the wilderness with just a knife!
learn from the legend of
desert survival!
Join the legendary herbalist, wilderness expert, and author, Peter Bigfoot as we team up to share our skills during an incredible 5- day immersion into desert wilderness living!
Nestled deep in the beautiful Superstition Mountains, Reevis Mountain is a true oasis in the desert. We’ll stay at Peter Bigfoot’s homestead paradise he has created in the wilderness- you’ll see true self-reliance in action!
You'll be camping in style- eating delicious home grown meals from an organic garden, enjoying hot showers, and experiencing first hand how to live completely off the grid!
This course is absolutely jam-packed with skills:
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Navigation- Get lost proof! Learn a ton of improvised techniques for accurate navigation! And learn how to use a map and compass to find where you are, estimate your pace, and to plot your course!
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Useful plants- Sample delicious wild edible plants and learn how to identify and prepare them. Discover incredible local medicinal plants for healing a variety of injuries, and illnesses.
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basic & advanced survival skills Create comfortable emergency shelters for staying warm and dry and staying cool. Make fire using modern and multiple fire by friction techniques (hand drill, fire saw, and bow drill). Learn life-saving water skills- how to find,and purify water.
And more!
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get geared up! Make your own survival gear right from nature- making rope, an agave water bottle, toothbrushes, sharp stone blades, pitch glue, and items for living in the wild!
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hunting skills Hungry? No problem! Identify animals in the area using tracks and other signs and learn to make effective snares, deadfall traps, and hunting items.
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campfire cooking Cook a meal off a campfire without modern cookware! Learn how to pit bake, boil using hot stones, and make useful cookware items like tongs, and coal burned bowls.
When you are done with this course you will be ready for awesome adventures in the Southwest!
Tuition: 625
(Just bring camping gear, food & water- everything else you need is provided including buffet style organic home grown meals, and Peter's Useful Plants book)
Length- Six days
public course dates:
Reevis Mountain Ranch- Roosevelt, AZ:
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OCTOBER 1 - OCTOBER 6 2026 (available)