Wilderness Skills Sampler Summer Camp
Schedule
Mon, 29 Jun, 2026 at 08:30 am to Fri, 03 Jul, 2026 at 04:00 pm
UTC-07:00Location
Lake Sammamish State Park - Hans Jensen Group Camp, 4460 East Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, Issaquah WA 98029 | Issaquah, WA
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You asked, and we answered, with this low-barrier overnight camp we nicknamed the “Bite of the Wilderness” that introduces literally all the skills in which we specialize here at Wolf Camp. During this great week to kick-off summer break, your overnight camp group will work in tandem with our Wilderness Skills Sampler day camp, and then remain overnight at the beautiful Lake Sammamish Hans Jensen Group Camp to get more familiar with the variety of wilderness skills Wolf Camp offers: wilderness survival, wild foods, herbal medicine, wildlife tracking and all the other the practical outdoor skills in which we specialize. Now more than ever, young people need real outdoor connections, and the Wilderness Skills Sampler is the perfect way to do it.
Learn the skills your ancestors knew, opening a world of understanding and confidence for you in the wilderness. Bond with new friends as you work together to learn nature and survival skills throughout the week, emerging ready to embrace anything life throws at you in the future. Some of the skills will include:
Monday Itinerary:
Morning: Wildlife Safety, Nature Awareness Skills & Games – increase your senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing to get your bearings in the wilderness. We’ll also practice what to do in case of encounters with bears, mountain lions, and other scary critters, as well as provide you with a foundation of outdoor risk management skills.
Afternoon: Firemaking – getting to know the trees and practicing the best way to make a fire with a variety of materials for tinder, kindling, and wood for cooking.
Evening: Waterproofing Tents, Tying Tarps, Hanging Hammocks; Knots, Campfire Songs & Stories;
Tuesday Itinerary:
Morning: Voices of the Birds – learn to quickly identify birds and how birds communicate, both with one another as well as with other animals and humans, getting to know where those big animals are moving through the forest.
Afternoon: Wildlife Tracking – recognize tracks and signs of the big and little animals living in the wildlife preserve where camp is being held; start with an investigation of a “tracking scenario” consisting of track “cut-outs” to solidify your understanding of track identification and interpretation of what animals are doing; practice how animals move with “animal forms” which is critical to really understand how tracks get laid on the ground;
Evening: Tracking Experience – embark on a real-life tracking foray into the depths of the park, trailing what we find.
Wednesday Itinerary:
Morning: Wilderness Survival and the 10 Essentials – get all the skills needed for any short term survival situation, whether that is a day hike gone wrong, and start building a survival shelter you can sleep in tomorrow night if you want.
Afternoon: Natural Navigation & Compass Training – start with the Top 10 ways to navigate and our practice the special Wolf Camp 4 Step Method of using map and compass.
Evening: Navigation Challenge & Campfire Knife Skills
Thursday Itinerary:
Morning: Wild Edible Food Plants – practice honorable harvesting methods and as we select plant parts we need for nutritional value; learn when and where to look for the Top 10 Edible Plants of our region, and how to prepare at least one of them.
Afternoon: Wild Plants for Natural First Aid – discover the myriad wild medicinal plants and garden herbs for herbal medicine, processing at least one to add to your first aid kit.
Evening: Survival Shelters & Knowing the Dark
Friday Itinerary:
Morning: Nature Artists & Artisans: Wildcrafting Plants & Animals – discover natural resources used for rope, baskets, musical instruments, natural paints and dyes, processing sinew and bone tools, rawhide, leather, and other crafts for natural living.
Afternoon: Trade Circle & Closing Presentations
Your instructors have years of of Outdoor Leadership and Search & Rescue experience, plus a lifetime of hiking, camping, and enjoying nature to share with you. Camp Directors Kim & Chris Chisholm teaching groups and directing professionally-trained staff instructors at our hallmark 6-1 average student-teacher ratio that’s critical for safe and profound outdoor experiences. Read our FAQ’s for more details and check out camp testimonials dating all the way back to 1997.
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Where is it happening?
Lake Sammamish State Park - Hans Jensen Group Camp, 4460 East Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, Issaquah WA 98029, 4460 E Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, Issaquah, WA 98029-6230, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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