Snapping turtle in Adirondack Mountains.Modern Self-Reliance is all about learning to do more with less, giving you the freedom to travel lighter with maximum flexibility. Being resourceful is paramount; always adapting and improvising and finding solutions to your needs in an ever changing outdoor environment. In this course you will explore a wide variety of useful camping skills and knowledge, creatively utilizing both synthetic and raw materials to meet your survival needs.
Choosing Your Equipment: Examine the properties of various outdoor clothing and gear, and learn to correctly match it with varying weather conditions.
Solar still.Solar Still & Water Transpiration Bag: Construct a solar still that will give you pure drinking water from mud, urine, your sweaty clothes, salt water (ocean), plants AND even work in the desert where there appears to be no water! Collect water transpired from plant leaves using a plastic bag.
Basic Survival Kit: Learn what components should be included in your survival kit, why and how to use them.
Rock stove.Fire Starter Demo: Learn how to make fire using modern materials and methods such as matches, lighters, flares, a magnesium bar, convex lens, fire piston, prison match or flint & steel. As well as more primitive methods using friction like a bow drill, hand drill, fire plough and fire saw. You will also create your own char cloth kits.
Trench Fire Bed: Spend the night rolled up in a wool blanket, on a heated bed!
Wick Stove: Create an apparatus that will boil your water, give you heat and light or even cook your food; all from common materials found in your broken down or stuck vehicle.
Blanket Pack: Practice your resourcefulness by turning your bedding into a back pack to carry your gear.
One way to rig a tarp.Tarp & Space Blanket Usage: Travel light; turn your tarp into a tent and learn how to most effectively use a space blanket.
Carrying only multi-use items eliminates unnecessary gear, saving you money and precious energy. The more you know, the less you need. Leave that heavy pack at home and try to see how little you really need.