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Course Topic Outline

 
  Student Ryan Grindle enjoing a soak in Manatee Springs in Florida.

The following is a list of topics from which the ESSP will draw. As the instructors are constantly expanding their knowledge, this list will expand. Thus, the ESSP will likely include topics of instruction not on this list.


DRESSING FOR THE OUTDOORS

  • Mechanisms of energy transfer
  • General principles of different clothing materials with regard to keeping warm/cool
  • Clothing for wet weather
  • Clothing for the cold
  • Footwear for summer and winter conditions
  • Wet cold and dry cold footwear

FIRE SKILLS

  • Fire safety
  • Choosing a fire site
  • Understanding wood fire
  • Ignition
    • Fire by friction
    • Principles of wood selection
    • Bow drill
    • Hand drill
      • Floating the hand drill
    • Fire by percussion
      • Flint and steel
      • Tinder preparation
    • Fire by refraction
    • Fire by parabolic reflector
    • Fire by compression
    • Fire lighting with matches
    • Various commercial fire starting tools
  • Establishment of fire
    • The different kindlings
    • Twig bundle method of fire starting
    • Tipi method of fire starting
    • Making and using the fuzz stick
  • Burning properties of different woods
  • Purpose of fire/different fire lays
    • Fire for cooking
    • Fire for light
    • Fire for warmth
    • Signal fires
  • Extinguishing a fire
  • Techniques for minimizing the ecological impact of fire
  • Primitive lamps

SHELTER

  • Mechanisms of energy transfer
  • Basic concepts of shelter
  • Campsite selection and finding natural shelters
  • Shelter from natural materials
    • The open lean-to
    • The debris hut
    • The wikkiup
    • The hot coal bed
  • Snow shelters
    • Principles of snow as a shelter material
    • The quinzee
  • Shelters from survival kit components
    • The super shelter
    • The greenhouse shelter
  • Safe use of external and internal fires with shelter
  • Sleeping bag selection
  • Keeping warm in an inadequate sleeping bag
  • Bush beds of natural materials
  • Making mats for sleeping
  • Tipping trees so as not to harm the tree
  • Laying a bough floor

WATER

  • Water purification - boiling, filtration, chemicals, and the use of the still
  • Summer water sources
  • Winter water sources and melting snow
  • Avoiding dehydration
  • Transporting water

THE KNIFE

  • Choosing an appropriate knife for the outdoors
  • Sharpening the knife to a shaving edge
  • Safety in knife use
  • Cutting poles
  • Felling trees
  • Assorted carving projects

THE AXE

  • Choosing an appropriate axe
  • Axe safety
  • Sharpening the axe
  • Use of the axe

THE SAW

  • Choosing an appropriate saw
  • Construction of the bush bucksaw when only the blade is carried
  • Using the small folding saw

FIRST AID AND MEDICAL CONCERNS

  • Dealing with common outdoor medical concerns
  • First aid acronyms and their meanings
  • Managing cuts - short and long term
  • Understanding and treating hypothermia
  • Understanding and treating frostbite
  • Dealing with breaks, strains, and sprains - splinting and immobilization
  • Improvised traction splint construction
  • Construction of a stretcher for transportation of the sick and injured

NAVIGATION - BAREHAND AND AIDED

  • Use of a topographical map alone
  • Use of a compass alone
  • Use of topographical map and compass together
  • Use of Global Positioning System (GPS)
  • Understanding the movement of the celestial bodies
  • Telling direction from the sun
  • Telling direction from the moon
  • Telling direction from the stars
  • Constellations useful for determining direction
  • Telling direction from weather patterns
  • Shadow-stick compass
  • Shadowless stick compass
  • Ottomani sun compass
  • Star stick compass
  • Determining latitude by the stars
  • Traveling in a straight line in the woods
  • Traveling in a straight line in open country
  • Bush geometry and trigonometry
  • Determining distances
  • Myths of barehand navigation
  • Overview of history of navigation
  • Making and using simple navigational tools

CORDAGE, ROPE, AND KNOTS

  • Cordage raw materials; plants
  • Reverse wrap cordage
  • Leg rolling cordage
  • Use of the drop spindle to make cordage
  • Braiding
  • Preparing and using sinew
  • The seven essential bush knots
  • The flip-flop, Spanish, and Finnish windlasses
  • Net making
  • Selection of cordage to be carried when outdoors

TRAVEL

  • The Roycroft packframe
  • The Roycroft emergency snowshoe
  • Snowshoe use and principles
  • The travois
  • Net bags
  • The tumpline
  • Simple knapsacks
  • Carrying your stuff  

BAREHAND WEATHER FORECASTING

  • Understanding weather patterns
  • Understanding high and low pressure air masses
  • Clouds and what they tell us
  • Predominant winds, winds aloft, and local winds
  • Finding the center of a storm
  • Fronts and precipitation

ESSENTIAL FLORA

  • Edible plants - summer and winter
  • Other useful plants - summer and winter
  • Several methods of pressing plants
  • Making and keeping a plant collection

ESSENTIAL FAUNA

  • Using the entire critter
  • Safe conduct in bear country

SURVIVAL-RELATED TOPICS

  • Basic, intermediate, and advanced survival defined
  • Survival mind set
  • Traits common to survivors
  • Basic metabolic needs
  • The role of fasting in survival
  • Hydration
  • Survival kit components and their use
    • Mini kit
    • Maxi kit
  • Components to avoid

LIVING OFF THE LAND

  • Survival vs. living off the land
  • Hydration
  • Caloric requirements
  • Plant foods
  • Animal foods

 OUTDOOR COOKING

  • Meal planning and purchasing
  • Pot suspension systems
  • Cooking fires
  • Outdoor cooking gear; essentials
  • Pot selection
  • The Dutch oven
  • Hot rock cooking
  • Cooking in natural containers
  • Making and using primitive ovens
  • Sprouts and sprouting

SIGNALING

  • Audible signals and what they mean
  • Use of the signal mirror
  • Basic ground to air signaling code
  • The signal fire

CAMP SANITATION

  • Washing cooking and eating utensils
  • Dealing with human waste
    • Thermophylic composting of human manure
    • Building group latrines
  • Getting by without toilet paper
  • The construction and use of the bush sauna

BRAINTANNING

  • Skinning and case skinning game
  • Wet scrape buckskin
  • Dry scrape buckskin
  • Wet scrap--furbearer
  • Dry scrape--furbearer

SPINNING AND WEAVING

  • Use of the drop spindle to make yarn (1 ply) and cordage (2 ply)
  • Card weaving

FELTING

  • Making felt from raw wool
  • Using felt for clothing, bags, etc.

NATURAL BASKETRY

  • The coil basket
  • The twined basket
  • The plaited basket
  • The birch bark bowl, bucket, and basket  

PRIMITIVE POTTERY

  • Preparation of natural clays
  • Selection of tempers
  • Pinch pots
  • Coiled pots
  • Form-made pots
  • The ocarina or clay flute  

CANOEING SKILLS

  • Water safety
  • Adjusting trim for different situations
  • The various strokes
  • Poling and Snubbing
  • Ferrying
  • Reading the river
  • Basic river morphology
  • Portaging strategies
  • Considerations in canoe camping  

KAYAKING SKILLS

  • Water safety
  • Basic paddling skills
  • Crossing open water
  • Considerations in kayak camping
  • Navigation
  • Understanding tides and wind
  • Use of nautical charts
  • Use of marine chart instruments
  • Self and assisted rescue  

BACKPACKING SKILLS

  • Minimum impact camping skills
  • Setting up and using backpacking tents
  • Use of backpacking stoves

FLINTKNAPPING AND STONE TOOLS

  • Basic flintknapping
  • Making and using stone tools  

PROJECTILES

  • The atlatl
  • The baton de comandement
  • The sling
  • The fustibal
  • The arrow thong
  • The throwing stick

TRACKING

  • The tracker's eye
  • Recognizing tracks
  • Gait patterns
  • Sign tracking
  • Basic pressure releases
  • Use of the tracking stick
  • Use of the tracking box
  • Making plaster track casts

PRIMITIVE MUSIC

  • The didgeridoo
  • The ocarina
  • The drum
  • The whistle
  • The flute

CRAFTING

  • Making various natural crafts out of local materials


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