Tracking • Wilderness Survival • Plant Uses • Traditional Skills • Earth Philosophy

2008 Class Descriptions

Below are the descriptions of the classes offered at Earth Skills. You can also download the information here. (Includes the summary schedule and the enrollment form)

TRACKING
SURVIVAL
TRADITIONAL SKILLS
EARTH PHILOSOPHY

Note about prerequisites: We may be able to accept prerequisite classes from similar schools; inquire if you have questions.

Tracking

Basic Tracking & Awareness

(No Prerequisite)

• February 2 (Saturday), Malibu Creek State Park
  
• March 29 (Saturday), Malibu Creek State Park
• April 11-12 (Friday night-Saturday) Tracking in Joshua Tree, see below
  
• June 20 (Friday)*, Windy Springs Preserve
  
• October 4 (Saturday), Malibu Creek State Park
• November 14 (Friday)*, Ft. Tejon State Park
  

All classes except April 11-12 are from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

* May be taken by itself or in conjunction with Advanced Tracking.

$68 / (+$15**) for all one-day classes

Basic Tracking gives you a solid introduction into mammal track and sign identification, as well as nature awareness techniques that will make your future outings exponentially richer. Working closely with the instructors, you will practice identifying and interpreting tracks from clear prints and patterns, and will learn how to read signs and what they say about animal feeding, breeding and behavior. We show you how tracks are "windows" to animals' body language and biology. Finally, you learn methods to slow the mind and body so that you see, hear and experience more than you ever have -- a building block to become "the complete tracker."

** One copy of The Tracker's Field Guide is also available to each Basic Tracking enrollee at a discounted price of $15.00 including tax (reg. $19.95 + tax); see enrollment form.

Basic Tracking in Joshua Tree

(No Prerequisite)

April 11-12 (Friday night - Saturday), Joshua Tree National Park

$75

This will be a Basic Tracking class as described above, that takes advantage of a splendid location, a private campground in Joshua Tree. We will be introducing track identification and interpretation at a Friday evening lecture, and then spending Saturday in the field tracking jackrabbits, foxes, bobcats, coyotes and other desert animals. We will cover mammal signs, track interpretation and awareness skills. This class will offered through the Desert Institute. To enroll, call the Desert Institute at 760-367-5535 or go to www.joshuatree.org/survivalclasses.html.

This class counts as a Basic Tracking class, but is also open to those who have already taken Basic Tracking.

Advanced Tracking

(Basic Tracking Required)

June 20-22* (Friday evening - Sunday afternoon), Windy Springs Preserve
November 14-16* (Friday evening - Sunday afternoon), Ft. Tejon State Park

* May be taken by itself or in conjunction with Basic Tracking.

$210

Becoming an advanced tracker means above all being able to see nuances the novice would miss: spotting tracks in pine needles, leaves or on hard-packed ground; noticing subtleties in track aging; being able to follow an animal across difficult terrain. The advanced tracker also gains confidence in reading tracks for motion and in distinguishing tracks of individual animals of the same species. Finally, he or she learns to be less obtrusive and more alert to the rhythms of nature. As real students of how people learn, we instructors know that the complete tracker must draw on the different talents of analysis, perspective and intuition. Thus the Advanced Tracking class gives you practice in all of those things. You will track animals across challenging terrain, practice reading soil movement or “pressure releases” in tracks, learn to read patterns of animal movement on the landscape, and stalk quietly at night. In teams, you will track the instructors as a final exercise. Advanced Tracking is a prerequisite for some of the Dirt Time workshops.

There are two Advanced Tracking classes in 2008: A summer weekend in the Sierras near Kennedy Meadows, where the tracking is fantastic, and a fall program at Ft. Tejon between Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

Tracking 201: Winter Tracking Near Gorman

(Basic Tracking Required)

March 1 (Saturday), Gorman area

* May be taken by itself or in conjunction with Plant Uses 201 the following day.

$55

If it’s late winter and you’re itching to go tracking, we know just how you feel, so why not join us? Think snow, because if we’re lucky we’ll do some snow tracking in the local mountains near Gorman, following animal trails as far as we can. Even if there’s no snow, we will hit the muddy washes and seasonal creeksides locally that attract coyotes, foxes, bobcats and deer, making plaster casts when we can and interpreting and following trails. This will be good practice if you want to shake the rust out of your tracking skills. Enjoy the brisk air with us and be prepared to learn a lot!

Nature Awareness

(Basic Tracking Required)

July 12-13 (Saturday-Sunday), Los Padres National Forest

$210

The Nature Awareness class emphasizes quiet sits, stalking and camouflage, so if you’re drawn to sneak around in the woods and watch animals, this is the weekend for you. Our base camp is a rich mountain habitat at 8000 feet. You extend the fine-tuning of your senses many-fold from what you learned in Basic Tracking. You practice reading incredibly fine details in the “concentric rings” of the forest. Then, you learn to walk with a mind and feet so quiet that you move like a shadow. You travel in scouting parties and disappear quickly through simple camouflage. This is one of our most fun classes, and it will profoundly change your future experiences in the outdoors.

Dirt Time Workshops

Because dirt time is so varied, we offer Dirt Time Workshops that will enable you to get out in the field to learn from different approaches in different locations. These workshops are one-time only, or at least will not be repeated often. Some require only the Basic Tracking class as a prerequisite; others require Advanced Tracking. (Please don’t ask us to make an exception to the prerequisites, as they are there for a reason.)

For 2008 we are offering:

Kit Foxes & Antelope: Tracking on the Carrizo Plain

(Basic Tracking Required)

May 2-4 (Friday night - Sunday afternoon), Carrizo Plain

$210

At 250,000 acres, the Carrizo Plain National Monument, between the Coast Range and the Central Valley, provides habitat for the largest herds of Pronghorn in southern California as well as for the endangered San Joaquin kit fox, badgers, tule elk and many other mammals. We will spend our time discovering the threads between the tracks and signs we identify and interpret, and the animals’ biology. We’ll look for fox dens and hunting areas, and pinpoint travel routes of pronghorn – the fastest land mammal on the planet. It’s a chance to hone your tracking skills as well.

Animal Movement Workshop

(Basic Tracking Required; Advanced Tracking recommended)

October 18-19 (Saturday - Sunday), Frazier park area

$210

Two days of watching animals move and then studying their tracks will most definitely boost every tracker’s skills exponentially. In a repeat of a workshop we last held in 2006, we will spend day one with horses and dogs, learning nuances of different gaits and their resulting track patterns. Day two will be spent at Working Wildlife in Lockwood Valley, where handlers of captive wild animals will lead their cougars, wolves, bears and other animals through tracking boxes so that we can study the body language left in fresh prints. This workshop will likely fill up quickly, so enroll early! (Note: Preference will be given to enrollees who have not taken this class previously.)

Wilderness Skills

Wilderness Skills

(No prerequisite)

July 18-20* (Friday 9:00 am-Sunday 3:00 pm), Los Padres National Forest

* Held in the Frazier Park area; may be taken by itself or in conjunction with Plant Uses the previous day.

$260

A full three days of projects involving shelter, water, fire and food will give you a solid background in wilderness survival priorities, and what it is like to set up a “survival camp.” Individual and group projects include debris huts, bow drill firemaking, cordage, survival basket weaving, stone tools, traps, and primitive hunting tools among others. Many novices as well as experienced outdoorspeople have taken this class, and it is likely that one or more of the skills will become a longtime pursuit for you, increasing your confidence and enjoyment in future wilderness travels. The purpose of the class is not to test how tough you are; however, there is a fair amount of physical work. We hold the class at a car campsite, enabling us to bring in a variety of materials for practice and demonstration.

Plant Uses

(No Prerequisite)

• March 30 (Sunday)
  
• July 17* (Thursday)
  
• October 5 (Sunday)

All classes except July 17* are at Malibu Creek State Park
9:00 am to 4:00 pm

* Held in the Frazier Park area; may be taken by itself or in conjunction with Wilderness Skills immediately following.

$68

In our study of wilderness skills, we have learned a lot from the “plant people” as well as the native peoples who used them for shelter, food, clothing, tools and medicine. When you make baskets, bows, arrows, rope, smudges and firemaking apparatus among many other things from plants, you begin to know not only their names, but their personality and how and where they grow. In this one-day class, you will get to know intimately the local plants with multiple uses as you work on projects including making cordage and processing and preparing edible plants. This class combines the perspective of the survivalist with that of the ethnobotanist. A thorough written summary of local plant uses which we have prepared is included.

Plant Uses 201: Plant Gathering and Cooking

(Plant Uses required)

March 2 (Sunday), Frazier park area

*May be taken back-to-back with Tracking 201 the previous day)

$55

Plant-wise, early March in the mountains near Frazier Park is the time of green growth and an opportunity to collect wild edibles. This we will do, making a salad and cooking up wild plants like stinging nettle and curly dock from what we collect in the field. You’ll also gather a few medicinal plants for your personal use and learn how to dry and store them.  This class may be taken back-to-back with Winter Tracking near Gorman the previous day.

Traditional Skills Weekends

In the Traditional Skills Weekend, which we have taught since 1995, we honor the Old Ways by working on many traditional hands-on projects including the preparation of indigenous foods. Every class has a different theme and most rely on Native American co-teachers. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.

Southwest Indian Food, Culture and Crafts

(No prerequisite)

September 6-7 (Saturday - Sunday), Mt. Kare Camp in Wrightwood

$210

Cost includes camping accommodations; bunkhouse or cabin accommodations available at a surcharge

Immerse yourself into the world of the indigenous Southwest as teachers Jeanette Castillo (Diné) and Jacques Condor (Tsimshian/Abenaki/Naskapi) make the culture of the Navajo and neighboring tribes come alive through food, craft projects, stories and dance. We will make traditional Pueblo wood dolls and Navajo (Diné) rain prayer wands, participate in a Diné weaving dance and listen to stories. We’ll help prepare roast leg of lamb, Navajo chili with hominy and corn, piki bread and Navajo stick tea. Robin Cornett (Blackfoot),  Barbara Drake (Tongva) and Jimi Castillo (Tongva) will also join us. These Traditional Skills classes are always popular, so if you are new to them or to Earth Skills, enroll early; you will be most welcome and will be in for a fantastically rich weekend.

Stone Tools in the Field

(Wilderness Skills recommended)

September 27 (Saturday), Frazier Park area

*May be taken back-to-back with Seeds & Seed Beaters the following day)

$75

How could you survive without the most basic tool, a survival knife? The same way our ancestors did for tens of thousands of years, with stone tools! Yes our local terrain has no obsidian (it having been traded for from the Great Basin), and local chert is scarce, but the adaptable survivalist can still make choppers, hand axes, spoke shaves, scrapers and abraders from local stone, and he/she can use stones to fashion a primitive bow, traps or a friction fire apparatus among other survival essentials. In this one-day class, we will be in the field with Paul Campbell, author of Survival Skills of Native California, finding, grinding and knocking rocks to make tools as we go along. This is an excellent addendum to the Wilderness Skills class if you have taken it or plan to in the future. Note: This is a one-time only class, so make sure you get this one in! May be taken back to back with Seeds & Seed Beaters the following day.

Seeds & Seed Beaters

(No prerequisite)

September 28 (Sunday), Frazier Park area

*May be taken back-to-back with Stone Tools in the Field the previous day)

$75

Our friend Justin Farmer (Ipai), a fine Northern Digueño basket weaver, will teach the manufacture of a traditional seed beater from local sumac in this one-day class. Justin accumulated the largest collection of southern California “Mission” baskets in the world, and has been a real student of local Indian basketry and culture. You will learn details about gathering basketry materials and about using your completed seed beater, thereby tapping into a food gathering tradition many thousands of years old. All materials are included. May be taken back to back with the Stone Tool workshop the previous day at a nearby location.

 

Bow-making with Gary Baugh

(No prerequisite)

To be announced; contact us to show your interest.

$165

We intend to offer a two-day bow-making class with bowyer Gary Baugh, as soon as the instructor become available. Gary is a fine archer with much experience in making excellent bows with many local woods. A real student of the history of bowmaking throughout the world, he will convey a thorough understanding of bow physics as each participant makes a shootable bow. The class is limited to five students. If your name is on a waiting list, it will speed up the scheduling of a class..

Earth Philosophy Series

Many of our students ask us how they can bring the peace, simplicity and powerful balance they experience in nature into the rest of their lives. The Earth Philosophy classes do just that, providing concrete techniques that can be used in a world that is often fast moving, chaotic and challenging. We teach the skills that Tom Brown, Jr.'s, mentor, Stalking Wolf, perfected from his Lipan Apache training as a scout and shaman.

No matter what experience you bring to these classes, we are confident that the simple and direct techniques from "the old ways" - based on continuing and dynamic interaction with the natural world - will become useful and highly versatile tools for you. We have taught them to more than 350 students with excellent results.

Earth Philosophy Introduction*

(Any Earth Skills class serves as a prerequisite)

May 30 - June 1 (Friday noon - Sunday afternoon), Los Padres National Forest

$210

Step 1 of the Earth Philosophy series emphasizes the discovery and validation of your intuitive skills. (Yes, in our experience everyone has strong intuitive talents, even though they may not have been recognized or used to their full potential!) You will learn effective "triggers" to quiet the busy mind and thereby access your intuition. We spend relatively little time on theory, focusing instead on many exercises and assignments that are direct and practical. As you learn within the natural environment where we hold the class, you will discover why indigenous people consider the ability to communicate with plants, animals and other things in nature to be a quite normal human talent. The skills also enhance tracking and survival, and when taken home allow you to balance and ground yourself no matter what environment you find yourself in.

*Formerly called Earth Philosophy Intensive

Earth Philosophy Applied Skills*

(Earth Philosophy Introduction** required)

April 19-20 (Saturday - Sunday), Frazier Park area

$210

The listening and grounding skills learned in the introductory workshop naturally lead you to discover and empower your personal gifts, whether already known, not realized, or merely underutilized. Some Native Americans called these gifts your “personal medicine,” which they believed must be honored and nurtured for your own good as well as the larger community’s. In Step 2 of the Earth Philosophy series, the Applied Workshop shows how to bring the awareness and visualization techniques learned in the first workshop into the realm of family and work: for example, you learn how to go to your center or core self to answer questions and achieve balance (that is, how to “walk your walk”), and you learn how to “read” situations around you like you would in nature, as a tracker and scout. Many specific exercises and assignments carry over beyond the class so that the skills become practical.

*Formerly called Earth Philosophy 3
**Formerly called Earth Philosophy Intensive

Earth Philosophy "Razor's Edge" Workshop*

(Applied Earth Philosophy Workshop**required)

September 19-21 (Friday evening - Sunday), Los Padres National Forest

$210

In Step 3 of the Earth Philosophy series, the student receives strong guidance in applying the skills of awareness and focus dynamically in challenging environments — which is why we call this a “razor’s edge” workshop. The student takes increased responsibility for his or her gifts and learns how they contribute to a larger community’s health. After the workshop you join dozens of other advanced Earth Philosophy students who keep in touch through gatherings and email, and share information and tasks.

*Formerly called Earth Philosophy 4
**Formerly called Earth Philosophy 3

 

Solo Spiritual Quest

(No prerequisite)

August 2-9 (Saturday - Saturday) Call or email us for details

Note on Solo Wilderness quest cost: We set the price to cover direct expenses only. Some scholarships are available.

For the twelfth year, we are excited to offer the Solo Spiritual Quest, an experience for answering deep personal questions, balancing and grounding one's life, and empowering one's personal gifts. Our past quest participants have ranged in age from 18 to their 60’s, with extraordinarily varied backgrounds.

While the quest has roots in ancient ceremonies that have occurred in many cultures around the world, it maintains its relevance and power for us modern people. This is because the very act of being alone for four days and nights, and fasting within the rhythms of nature, brings you to a threshold of teaching and centering. The unessential tends to be stripped away, allowing you to discover what is real and necessary for you at this time. Some have quested to sort out important decisions, some to empower underused gifts, and some to shed the complicating “chaff” that modern life bestows. Some of our questers repeat the quest every few years.

Like most significant learning events, the quest does require sacrifice and usually has challenges that tend to be unique for each quester. It is not an experience to undertake out of mere curiosity because it requires a significant commitment. However, the strength you find within yourself, and your willingness to go to the edge of the unknown to learn, create an experience that you can draw on for a lifetime.

Our Solo Quest borrows from no specific tribal tradition. It is a four-day fast, during which you drink ample water. Though others will be questing at the same time, you will be alone in your personal quest circle in a pine/oak woodland. You will have no distractions (journals, cell phones, music, etc.) but will have a sleeping bag and sufficient clothing. You leave your circle only to use your personal latrine and to leave a marker for the facilitators once a day. You will see no one during your fast, though we do set up a communication system for your safety. There is a day and a half of orientation and preparation before you begin your quest, and there is a day of transition after you come out. We feed you before and after your fast and watch over the area 24 hours a day during it. The 2008 quest will be held on 320 acres of private land in the southern Sierras at about 7000 feet elevation.

To participate in this year’s quest you must ask for an application and return it to us by June 15, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact Jim or Mary at any time and we would be happy to talk to you.

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