AOC Survival Series: Introduction to Survival Skills

Ever wonder what you would do if you were lost, injured, or for whatever reason "stuck in the woods" and had to spend (survive) the night when you had not intended to do so? Do you believe that situation can't happen if you're in a group? - better think again, it happens more than you may realize.  If you have a desire to learn the skills you will need, come join us for a educational and fun survival skills training session, in which the focus of the event will be to learn and practice the survival skills necessary for an overnight "lost hiker" scenario (and how to survive for 72 hours).

Please read the 'entire' event description - including the "itinerary", all "Notes", "Required Items", and "Recommended Items" - carefully before registering. We have held this event over the past 10 years, but this year we have made some changes which will allow people who wish to do this as a one-day event to participate. With that being said, it will be a pretty full day and if for any reason you can not stay for the full "event" duration (camping is optional and not part of the event), please do not register - i.e., no partial attendance. There are a few reasons for this, but most notably, because most of the practical exercises will be done in small groups of 2-4 people, so it will be disruptive to the event, other members, and potentially carpools, if folks don't remain to conclusion.

Your TL's will be arriving at the event location on Friday to secure the site and make preparations for the event. As such, we will both be camping at the location Friday night and Saturday night. Although camping is not required as part of the event, we would encourage all of those who are interested to camp with us on Saturday night. It is a lot of fun, we'll have a great bonfire, we'll discuss "Additional Topics" (see below), share relavant real-life stories, socialize, and enjoy the great outdoors! If you wish to camp with us, but don't have some, or any, camping equipment, there are numerous options available, including begging, borrowing, or renting. The reality is, that this type of camping can be done with very little, if any, actual camping equipment. There is more information in the "Additional Notes" section regarding camping.

Itinerary: Starting around 10am the essential topics will be covered (priorities, first aid,  shelter, fire, water, preparedness, and essentials). We will then spend a lot of time performing hands-on exercises, both at and away from the campsite. We will be walking through the wilderness (no trails) so that you can learn where and how to locate the types of materials you will need for fire, shelter, water, etc., obtain and collect these materials, and then utilizing those materials. Although, we will not be going long distances, we will be crossing streams, going through potentially boggy areas, climbing embankments/hills, and in general getting dirty - so be prepared with the appropriate clothing/footwear. Some basic exercises will be individual, while larger projects like fire and shelter will be in small teams of 2-3 people.The goal is that everyone gets ample time with "hands-on" learing experieces. The fire and shelter activities will include things like (but not limited to); what to look for, how and where to find those things, how to process them, different ways they can be utilized, best methods, selecting locations to build - and not build - shelter and/or fire, and of course utilizing them 'successfully'.  Your TLs will be providing guidance for all of these activities, however YOU will be performing all of them. The best way to learn and remember, is to DO.

When the 'official' event has ended, approximately 5 PM, those who are campimg with us can then enjoy an awesom bonfire, dinner (BYO), socializing, everyone sharing their own knowledge or experiences, and we can cover any "Additional Topics" (below) as requested that we didn't have time to cover during the day.

Primary Topics:

• *   Establishing your Survival Priorities
• *  Shelter -  You will need a tarp and cordage for this excercise (**)
• *   Fire - You will need a firesteel for this excercise (**)
• *   Water procurement/purification
• *   Daypack essentials

 (**) - see "Required Items" for additional information

Addtional topics (as time allows):

• *   Signalling for rescue
• *   Navigation/orienteering
• *   Survival gear/emergency kits (10 C's)
• *   Important knots
• *   Wild edibles
• *   Primitive fire techniques
• *   Smart phones as survival tools

Keep in mind that we must follow the rules of the National Forest. As such, we will limit our activities to comply with these rules - such as not cutting live trees (must be dead and down). See 'additional notes' for link to National Forest rules.

It is recommended to do some reading on survival topics which interest you prior to the event (see 'additional notes' for links).
Some materials will be provided, however you should bring items you wish to utilize for skills you wish to practice. See both "Recommended" and "Required" items to bring."

Feel free to contact trip leaders with any questions on gear prior to the event, but please ensure you have read 'everything' in this posting, so that you are not asking questions which have already been answered somewhere in this posting.

The forest service roads are gravel, and are passable in a standard car as long as it does not have exceptionally low ground clearance. There may be one or two small shallow streams to drive through. If you need a form of reference; on some previous events some folks driven a Toyota Prius and Nissan Sentra with no problem - you just may have to allow yourself some additional time if you need to go slow.

There is very limited/no cellular reception at this location. If you are planning to use your phone for navigation to/from the event, then you will want to ensure you have the "off-line" maps of the area loaded on your phone. If you don't know how to do that, just google it.

The event will be located in the Chattahoochee National Forest, approximately 6 miles from Nimblewill Church. Detailed directions to the exact location will be provided to the registrants a few days before the event. The Forest Service roads that you will travel to get to the event location (camp) are gravel and well maintained. They are passable with standard passenger vehicles, as long as they don't have super low ground clearance - i.e., leave the sports car at home.

Camping:

We will be camping at an established (primitive) camp site on the Chattahoochee National Forest.  You can spend the night in the survival shelter you will build, in your tent, in your vehicle, or just under the stars - the choice is yours. Either way it will be similar to pioneer camping in that your car will be parked at the site, so if you wish, you can bring all the creature comforts you desire. There is a creek next to the camping area for water, or you can just bring whatever amount you will need. There are NO restroom facilities. If you are not an experienced "camper" and aren't sure what you 'need', feel free to contact the TL's for guidance and/or options - you might be surprised at how little you actually need.

Carpools: There is limited space for vehicles at the site, so carpools may be mandatory for individuals who are NOT camping. And if there a majority of registrants ARE camping, we may need for some of them to have at least 2 person carpools. The TL's will work all this out after registration is complete, when we can determine the total number coming, the number camping, and the number not camping. There are a lot of factors to consider and after we have all of the required information, we will provide more detailed carpool instructions. We just want folks to have advanced notice that there "may" be carpool 'requirements'.

Other info:
http://www.wilderness-survival.net
http://www.zulusurvival.com/courses/survival- course- introduction/survival-priorities/
http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Survival.htm
(this site has a link to download the US Army Survival Field Manual from which much of the site's content was taken)

National Forest Rules: Click here

If severe weather is predicted this event may be cancelled