We help You Go Into The Wilderness

Explore With Confidence!

We have courses, classes, and wilderness expeditions that teach you to go beyond survival and thrive.

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Learning Opportunities At Wilderness Wild

At Wilderness Wild Survival School, we go beyond survival—we teach you how to thrive in the wild. Whether you're looking to master primitive skills, build confidence in the outdoors, or push your limits, we have the perfect course for you.

Our Pathway Program Courses offer in-depth training for those seeking to develop advanced survival skills, while our Youth Wilderness Skills Program introduces teens to hands-on, practical wilderness knowledge. We also offer day classes, camps, and specialized courses, including winter survival, bow making, and wild plant workshops.

Join us and reconnect with nature—one skill at a time.

Your Intructors

- Kyle Thomson

Kyle Thomson is a modern-day minimalist and wilderness enthusiast whose life is deeply rooted in the timeless skills of living off the land. Raised in a way that emphasized self-reliance, simplicity, and a deep respect for nature, Kyle developed a fascination with the ways mountain men and Native Americans thrived in the vast, untamed wilderness of America. This passion grew into a lifelong pursuit of understanding and practicing the skills that once defined their way of life.

Kyle’s outdoor adventures are anything but ordinary. Armed with a blanket pack and only the bare essentials, he explores both desert and mountain terrains, putting his knowledge and resilience to the test. For Kyle, the wilderness is more than a place to visit; it’s a classroom, a proving ground, and a source of profound connection to the natural world.

Kyle’s expertise comes not from theory but from years of “dirt time” and field experience. He has spent countless hours honing his skills in fire-making, shelter-building, tool-crafting, and other essential techniques, refining them through real-world practice. His approach to living minimally in nature isn’t just about survival—it’s about thriving with a deep understanding of what the land provides.

Through his Pathway Program, Kyle teaches others how to embrace the wilderness with the same minimalist philosophy, instilling confidence and competence in his students. His teaching and personal practice are driven by a desire to preserve and pass on the wisdom of the past while inspiring others to find fulfillment in the simplicity and challenges of the wild.

I look forward to sharing the adventure of wilderness thrival with you!

Pathway Courses

How To Get Started

1. Join a Course

Come out to a class or course where we will be ready to share the fire with you and other students.

2. Pathway Program

Follow our specialized training to prepare you for each step of your journey to self reliance.

Survive & Thrive

Complete the Pathway Program by joining us on a primitive gear trip into the wilderness to live as a tribe and put your skills to the test.

A Path To Self Sufficiency

Our Pathway Program is designed to help you on your journey into wilderness skills. As you complete each course in the pathway program your knowledge and experience grows. This program strengthens your survival instincts and deepens your connection to the skills our ancestors used. Starting from step one the Pathway Program instills a deep confidence in students as they progress and helps them become confident at each increase in learning.

Courses and Classes are filling up.

Don't wait to start learning this year at Wilderness Wild!

Survival Basics

8 spots remaining

Learn the basic skills of survival needed to feel comfortable in the wild.

By learning the basic essential skills for survival you'll feel prepared every time you go out. Most people who die in a survival situation are under prepared! The Survival Basics course not only prepares you with the essential knowledge & skills, but also helps you create a minimal gear kit that will enable you to thrive! This course is designed to give you the skills and knowledge to survive the first couple days with minimal gear.

When mastering survival the key is to understand, learn, and gain experience in basic survival skills. This introductory course will take you on a journey to learn fire making, build shelters that keep you warm and dry, locate & disinfect water, and signal for rescue using the best rescue techniques.

Don't just rely on gear, Gear Up with these essential skills to boost your confidence and allow you to explore with ease of mind.

Survival Kit: Stay Prepared by learning to build and carry a minimal survival kit that will get you through harsh weather and keep you alive.
Fire: Learn how to find the right materials to make fire & discover several ways to make a fire that will keep you warm and dry.
Shelter: Learn essential shelter skills to keep you warm and protected from the elements.
Water: Learn how to locate water in the wild and safely disinfect it with minimal gear.
Signaling & Rescue: Don't miss a chance to get rescued! Learn how to properly signal and communicate with rescuers to increase your chance of being found.

Learn More >

Learn More About The Survival Basics Course

Mountain Trekker

Navigate the wild to access essential resources

8 spots remaining

Learning to navigate the wilderness is the key to unlocking valuable resources for survival. Many times folks die in survival feet from a resource that could have kept them alive. During this course you'll tap into local resources by learning to navigate with a map and compass as well as learning to read the terrain.

This class is a great adventure that builds on the basic of survival while adding new skills to your mental gear kit. As we explore the local area we will tap into some of the local wild plants for food and medicine, make fire by friction, and discover the thrill of exploring the wild.

Gain more confidence in the wild as you master the art of land navigation, friction fire, new shelter skills and advanced water disinfection techniques. This course will be fun, while also a challenging experience, and we promise to be there every step of the way. Tap into the primal side and make your ancestors jump with joy as you learn the skills of the Mountain Trekker.

Land Navigation: Learn basic map and compass skills to be able to navigate across country and even find your location.
Fire: Learn how to build a bow drill kit from locally sourced material and then make fire from the land.
Shelter: Up your shelter game with advanced Bush craft skills for making shelters in the wilderness.
Water: Learn to disinfect water with new advanced water disinfection techniques.
Wild Resources: Learn to identify local plants and vegetation for resources.

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Learn More About The Mountain Trekker Course

hunter Gatherer

8 spots remaining

In the Hunter - Gatherer Course you'll dive into how our ancestors hunted and gathered while immersing yourself in Utah's beautiful wilderness areas. Kyle will guide you through every step of the way, from making cordage for your traps, to identifying local plants for cuts and bee stings this course will guide you on your next steps at living self sufficient in the wild. Mastering these ancient hunter gatherer skills will help you explore more confident and with less gear knowing you have the skills and experience to get vital nutrients in the wild.

Step into the untamed beauty of nature and awaken your primal side with our Hunter Gatherer Course. This is more than a class—it’s a transformative journey that taps into your primal hunter side and reconnects you with the land.

Passive Hunting Systems: Learn to make and use primitive traps and snares to harvest food giving you more time for other tasks.
Active Hunting Skills: Learn how to make traditional throw sticks for hunting small small and fowl. Learn stalking skills to get close.
Track & Sign: Lean how to identify animal tracks and sign to find the best locations for setting traps and active hunting.
Wild Plants: Learn to identify wild plants for food and medicine. Learn how to make cordage (string) from plant fibers.
Wild Resources: Learn to identify local plants and vegetation for resources to use for trap baits or materials.

Learn More About The Hunter - Gatherer Course

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Primitive Survival

8 spots remaining

Ready to take your wilderness skills journey into the past and get primal? Our Primitive Survival Course takes things to a new level in our most advanced course yet. In this course you'll learn the skills to survive and thrive with no modern tools through the expert instruction led by Kyle Thomson.

In the Primitive Survival Course you'll connect with your ancestors using the same skills to live in the wilderness as they did. During this advanced survival skills course you'll tap into your primal side to survive. Kyle will guide you through every step of the way while making stone tools, mastering hand drill fire, building a shelter without modern tools, and disinfecting water without pots. To truly live minimally these skills are vital and make the difference in Survival or Thrival.

Stone & Bone Tools: Learn to make and use stone & bone tools. Making your own tools from the land opens doors to boost your confidence.
Hand Drill Fire Off The Land: Learn how to make a Hand drill kit using your stone blade. Then learn how to make fire with the hand drill.
Primitive Shelter: Learn to make shelter that will keep you warm and dry without the aid of modern tools or cordage.
Water Disinfection: Learn how to disinfect water with primitive tools without the aid of metal pots, bottles, or filters.

Learn More About The Primitive Survival Course

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Survival 2 Thrival

10 spots remaining

Are you ready to put all your skills to the test? Join the Survival 2 Thrival Field Expedition Course in the ultimate challenge on this cross country survival expedition. In this course you'll travel remote wilderness of southern Utah using your blanket pack kit and the skills learned in the pathway program.

Students spend the first few days making a bow and arrow, gourd canteens, and using their skills to procure food, make shelter & disinfect water all while embarking on a trip into the wilderness. By day 3 students will have their bows completed and will start to spend time bow hunting as a tribe for small game. By the end of this course you'll have gained first hand experience living primitively and traveling remote areas.

Bow Making: build a bow similar to what local tribes used in the area & make 2-3 arrows and arrow points from local materials while we travel.
Blanket Kit Travel: Travel some of Utah's scenic landscapes, explore old ruins, and live comfortably from your blanket pack kit while putting your skills to the test.
Hunt & Gather Food: Use your skills to harvest wild plants, make digging sticks, and set primitive traps for food.
The Ultimate Test: Use your skills to find water, make tools, and live and thrive with your group as you explore and live in the wilderness

Learn More About The Survival 2 Thrival Expeditions

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Did You Know?

Tule is an aquatic plant similar to cattails. The inner portion of Tule has a foam-like core that provides excellent insulation. Traditionally tule was used as sleeping mats, and a natural like tarp to cover indigenous wigwam or yurt shelter. I have personally used Tule mats for sleeping and even as a insulated poncho to keep warm. For a limited time we offer a day class every February 8th that teaches you this amazing primitive skill. Learn more by clicking below.

View The Limited Time Class >

Youth
Wilderness Skills Program

Are Your Youth Interested In Survival Skills?

For the ultimate survival education, our 6-Month Wilderness Skills Program combines monthly immersive classes from May to October.

This program is a great way to get into wilderness survival while learning a variety of different skills and getting hands on experience. We highly recommend this program prior to taking field courses.

Read What our students have to say!

"Thanks so much for an amazing weekend! We learned so much more than I thought we would! I feel more prepared and ready!"

- James Flegal

"Kyle truly has a passion for teaching these skills. I spent allot of time trying to learn the bow drill from other instructors. Kyle Helped me succeed in one day! He truly knows his craft!

- Eduardo Aragon

"I just wanted to say thanks again for an incredible weekend. I learned more than I imagined and had so much fun."

Nick Delgreco

Kyle is an amazing and patient teacher! We tried other schools like Making Tracks, but they just didn't offer what we wanted. After taking Kyle's survival program we fell in love with his classes because his easy going personality and vast wealth of knowledge.

Brittany Bartley

This program was exactly what we were looking for. My kids loved every class and can't wait to take more. My oldest would come home excited to teach me what he learned and the kids would be using the primitive items they made throughout the week. He would ask me if Kyle could be their young mens leader so they could do survival stuff.

Matthew Davis

Kyle is so patient with all the kids and I can't believe how much he knows. He would always stop teaching to share a new plant, show a cool survival trick or tell a story or kid friendly joke. He is an amazing teacher and quickly makes you feel like you've known him for a long time. My kids loved every class and my oldest is looking to take his Pathway Program.