Learning ‘Survivor’ Tactics on Vacation

Everyone’s watching them, but few know how to repeat their feats. “Cast Away.” “Survivor.” “The Blair Witch Project.” Recent blockbuster films and TV shows tap into our latent fear of the outdoors and challenge our uneasy addiction to consumerism, even on vacation. But emerging fast are courses to teach us how to shake these attitudes and prepare for adventurous forms of travel.

Each course offers the added benefits of a vacation of sorts--a stint in the brisk outdoors. And while many charge decidedly upscale prices, others will show you how to return to your cave-dwelling roots without having to mortgage your home.

Some typical examples:

* Outdoors endurance: BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) is one of the oldest survival-training academies in North America, offering a range of courses that draw from a variety of survivalist theories. It was created in 1968 to teach “an ever-softening population mental toughness,” says president Larry Dean Olsen.

The focus of BOSS courses is on integrating the individual and nature. Its most notable training credits include the screenwriter of the Tom Hanks epic “Cast Away.”

BOSS’s prices tend to be higher than those of its grass-roots competition, averaging a little more than $100 a day; I include it here because of its stature. Typical weeklong courses, such as its overview “earth skills” courses, cost $895; 10-day courses, which take you to specialized environments like mountains or snowy forests, are usually $1,295.

Information: Telephone (800) 335-7404 or (303) 444-9779, Internet https://www.boss-inc.com.

* Primitive living: More free-flowing training comes from Hollowtop Outdoor Primitive School in Pony, Mont. Thomas J. Elpel, who runs many of its “primitive living skills” excursions, is an old hand at this and is careful not to push his clients too hard. For him, the point is enjoying nature first and learning to adapt to it second.

Elpel schedules a few special events each year, such as a learn-as-we-go canoe trip down the Jefferson River May 8 to 17, and food foraging Sept. 5 to 12.

Hollowtop charges $50 a day or, in Elpel’s words, “whatever you can afford.”

Information: Hollowtop, P.O. Box 697, Pony, MT 59747-0691; tel. (406) 685-3222, https://www.hollowtop.com.

Hollowtop has a list of North American wilderness schools at https://www.hollowtop.com/schools.htm. Don’t miss the site’s Food Insects Newsletter, with “Fried Grasshoppers for Campouts or at Home.”

* Desert training: It takes 40 minutes in a 4x4 vehicle to reach Reevis Mountain School, three hours east of Phoenix. Reevis focuses on edible and medicinal plants, with light survival training, but the only thing that’s in your face will be the aroma of desert flora. It’s run by herbalist Peter Bigfoot and two staffers, who share the retreat’s organic farm with you. A stay is $50 a day, including meals, with nominal fees for additional courses in herbal remedies and so on. Seven-day “Vision Quest” treks go for about $680.

There’s no phone, but Bigfoot checks messages about twice a week at (520) 467-2675. Contact HCO2 Box 1534, Roosevelt, AZ 85545; https://www.reevismountain.org.

* Enduring mountains: Mountain Shepherd Wilderness Survival School near Lynchburg, Va., emphasizes positive attitude and offers short courses for younger students and weekend survivors. Its one-night, two-day Wilderness Survival Course accepts pupils as young as 9 (with an adult) and costs $95. The tougher “Humble Thunder” trekking program for adults ($195) challenges students for three nights and four days with obstacles such as sleep deprivation and limited rations.

Information: Mountain Shepherd, 220 Regal Oaks Way, Amherst, VA 24521; tel. (804) 929-5309, https://www.mountainshepherd.com.

A list of worldwide survival-training schools and private instructors can be found at the nonprofit online resource Equipped to Survive, https://www.equipped.org.

Whichever company you choose, get references and, if you can, check them out with the Better Business Bureau, camping experts or park rangers. The companies I’ve listed offer respected instructors and time-tested programs, but anyone with a camping knife and a pair of moccasins can claim to be a survivalist. Don’t forget that you’re putting your safety in someone else’s hands.

Finally, don’t discount the pleasant side effects of survival training. After you learn how to hunt for edible plants, bathe in chilled mountain springs and make fire with twine and sticks, you’ll be able to withstand any budget lodging, no matter how plain. Think of what you’ll save.