There is no fixed program length and there is no additional cost for students who need additional time. Students graduate when they are ready. The focus of this section is on the physical demands of living outdoors within a group. This stage requires persistence, determination, and cooperation. Students are challenged through a series of structured outdoor activities that include hiking, camping, leadership activities and other outdoor skills.
Students learn to make a backpack from a tarp and ropes.
They learn how to make primitive tools and equipment including wooden spoons, stone scrappers, digging sticks and various forms of shelters. The most difficult skill that must be mastered is the ability to make a fire using a hand made bow, spindle and fire-board. Students get better equipment as they demonstrate that they can take care of it. The program teaches various survival skills but does not expose students to dangerous survival conditions. The conditions can be adverse and require students to examine the quality of their lives at home.