WHY WILDERNESS GUIDING CLASSES?
 
There are many Opportunities for Job Positions in this area of Expertise. Many people really enjoy backpacking into the Wilderness for extended periods of time. Many Educational Jobs are available to the Professional Therapist in helping troubled youth find themselfs thru extended periods of backpacking and camping in Wilderness Areas. It is not just for troubled youths but for all forms of Individuals and groups from Professional Corporate Confidence and Leadership Skills learned from such activities. Elder Hostel which is an over 55 adventure group takes trips to Pack the Rim of the Grand Canyon and thousands of other adventures. Young Adult leadership courses. These courses are offered thru some Colleges. The reasons are many but most importantly they are useful skills to have for your own comfort and self confidence builder.
 
In today’s Economy, Wilderness skills may be, life saving skills!. There may be, in our future, food, fuel or medicine shortages. No matter! Why? Because You know how to use the Earths abundant’s to Feed You, Clothe You, Shelter You and Heal You! When You Know that everything you need is right there for you to use For all your needs you have something that no one can take from you! You will know How to store Meat and Vegetables without a fridge or freezer? How to collect plants and prepare them for the table. To sustain you and your families needs. Even in your everyday life! Not just in a Wilderness Survival situation but Everyday!

Many people Fear the idea of having to be in a Survival Situation! Where or when you may find yourself needing to build a shelter, fire, with or without lighters and matches( that may be wet) and obtain clean drinking water. For me This is what I do for fun. Why? Because I know how to live with the Earth. I know the Wilderness Intimately as a Friend not an enemy. The Wilderness supplies You with all You needs, if you know how to handle yourself in such a situation and have Knowledge, Experience and Skills on your side, you will find a Great Comfort and Confidence in the fact of knowing How and what to do! We will teach You to assess the situation, take in your assets and be able to make informed, knowledgeable, calm & collective plan of action. Because you have been trained how to handle situations. You know what to do! The most important thing you will know is what not to do!

What we teach you here at Bear Rocks Guide School can enhance your Professional Career by showing that you have demonstrate yourself to be proficient in Wilderness Survival! Classes are designed to Stimulate your ability to handle Wilderness Emergencies/Situations for you to learn how to take a leadership position in stressful moments when others are frozen, from not, knowing what to do!

You then become a valued asset to any community you live in by being a proficient First Responder with Medical Care in the event of a Wilderness/ Emergency Situations.

As nature being your medicine cabinet you will know how and what to use to relieve bug bites, poison ivy and other life threatening situations that can and do happen all the time! Even to the Pro’s! How do you help someone who drank contaminated water and are in danger of dehydration! Answer: Charcoal Charcoal comes in pill forms or can get it from a fire you built for the purpose to use as medicine. You must choose nonpoisonous wood for this purpose. Do know one piece of wood from the other?

On many of the reality shows that are in circulation right now , there is a disclaimer for viewers not to attempt this yourself. Why? Because what they are doing is not exactly what one should do in real life survival situations but they need viewers to tune in So they do risky things that are putting out the wrong message that can harm you if you did the things they are doing.

My disclaimer to you is you should attempt the things that Bear Rocks Guide School Teaches You in Your own back yard for Your own well being, for Your own Confidence, for Your own Peace of Mind to know You have Nature working for You not against You!!
 
 
 
1) You will learn CPR First Aid, and be a card carrying, Certified CPR and First Aid Trained Person who is a Valued member to the community You live in! This is a must have in most Guide positions, but not only that, it is a valuable skill to have in your own personal life.

2) You will also learn additional Wilderness Skills for making litters, splints from natural materials and how to care for people who have sustained some of the more common Wilderness injuries. We will attempt to dispel some of the myths out there about many things people believe to be true but that can cause more harm than good. How to read a topographical map and give latitude and longitude readings to emergency rescue attendants for a helicopter Medivac if needed.

3) Then it is time to have fun! We will show you how to build different types of shelters for... ever changing and different conditions. Then you get to build your own, that you will call home! Learn skills to make camp life comfortable, relaxing , warm, protected and inviting!

4) Learn all types of ways to build a life saving fire. There are certain types of materials that are more combustible than others, you will learn to be able to identify these materials and choose them over things that work but not as well, saving you time and energy, which can be crucial in a survival situation. We all go into the Wilderness with Lighters and Matches but lighters break, matches get wet. You need to know how to make your environment and conditions work for you not against you. The wilderness is like Super center. You can find your tools along with your food and supplies. You need rope or twine you go to the rope and twin department. In the wilderness you go to where the rope and twine plants and materials are growing at!
 
5) Water!!! Water is probably the most important thing and the most over looked aspect of any outing into the wilderness! Water is a must have and a must to know about in the Wilderness. Why? The Human body is built to live without food for up to 30 to 40 days without causing any real permanent damage! But, the human body can only go 3 days without water! It can only take 1 or 2 days in certain situations before dehydration sets in and debilitates you from being able to care for yourself or others any longer. If you drink bad water in a survival situation this can debilitate you beyond recover. We will teach you how to find and even purify water to make it potable for human consumption. How to get water from a solar still, the Earth, Plants, Trees.

6)How would you like to have the skills to be naked in the wilderness without a knife, flashlight shelter, food, water and be OK with that? In 3 days time you could have all that you need? You would have clothing, food, water, shelter, a knife, torches for light and gain weight from eating so good. This is how it can be for you also if you want to take the time to learn these skills.

7) Ever wanted to learn how to make arrowheads from stones? We will teach you how to make knifes, arrowheads and other fun stuff! Learn basic Flint Napping skills to help you in the Wilderness when you need a good sharp knife or cutting edge. What kind of rocks to choose for your new found skill, to practice on. How to make your own Wilderness Tool kit like drills to sledge hammers.
8)Basic Weaving/ Wood carving. I know, Weaving does not sound all that MANLY! But how will you carry water from the stream to the fire and boil it to purify your water source if you have no buckets, pots or pans? Weaving is also a very important skill, that is usually a overlooked Wilderness skill. Weaving certain plant materials together, can be woven into a rain slick to keep the rain off of you just as good if not better than a rain suite. We will show you ways to make bowls and containers to perform various task for your Wilderness needs.

9) Wild Eatable and Medicinal Herbs. You know your plants well enough to know what you can use for bruises, a Wilderness salad or trail side delectable’s that are both tasty and full of vitamins and nutrients that will give you energy and life saving vitamins like Vitamin C? You will learn how to identify some of the most common Wild Eatable Medicinal and Utilitarian Plants for making it on the land a lot easier, warmer, drier and very enjoyable!

10) Need a shower about this time? How would you like to take a Steam Bath anywhere you want, in the Wilderness or at home? How many times have you been out for a few days or weeks and wished for, a hot shower? But the best you could do is a semi warm intermittent shower! Or just a cold dip in a cold stream on a cold day? Brrr!!! You get clean somewhat but also you have to endure some breathless moments. A nice hot Steam Bath in the middle of the Wilderness is so much nicer than a cold dip in a stream in the middle of the fall season where the water temperatures could be only some 40 degrees cold. After the Steam Bath you may want to jump into that cold stream because you feel so good and warm inside and out, and the idea of jumping into that cold stream actually seems very appealing and enjoyable! Believe me "It is"!!!

11) You will also learn how to make various traps and snares to enhance your chances of obtaining a steady food source from most conditions you may find yourself needing this knowledge to save you or others.
Tie a feather to a stick and catch fish? How to build fish corrals, fish snares. Fish are a main stay in any Wilderness Survival Experience. When you are in that kind of situation you want to obtain food with the minimal use of energy to obtain your food needs. If you use more energy than the food you are collecting then you are in the negative for calories used for calories gained. You can not sustain yourself that way for long periods of time. You will become weaker and weaker each day. Many of you who are reading this may remember the Movie "Into the Wild"? You may remember, the young man never caught fish in the movie. Instead he concentrated all his efforts on big game with a small caliber rifle. He used more energy than he was able to gain from hunting big game. He had fish right there for his taking but his survival skills lacked in his ability to catch fish! If he knew how to build fish corrals, fish snares... he would of had fresh fish daily that is high in protein and energy! You gain more calories from fish than you loss obtaining fish! I wish his ending was one of happiness for his family! I was moved upon watching this move to give people the knowledge that will keep this kind of tragedy from happening to anyone who finds themselves wanting a better way of life living with the Earth.