Introduction to Modern Hunting

This weekend is a hands-on introduction to the basics of hunting and the necessary knowledge for harvesting game in the wilderness of Washington State. During this three-day course, you’ll learn how to ethically harvesting game, while deepening your connection to nature. Come prepared to crawl around in the bushes while becoming familiar with both modern and ancestral hunting practices in an engaging format.

What’s Covered?

Throughout the course of this program, you’ll learn:

• To scout hunting locations on the ground and navigating with maps
• To move through the land while hunting using wind, terrain, deer sign, etc.
• An overview of firearms and bows as hunting tools
• Important laws and regulations
• The roles of gear (camo, lures, game bags, etc.)
• Hands-on practice butchering an animal
• How to use different pieces of animal (liver, hide, tendon, etc.)

Program Logistics

Class will take place at our school’s 40-acre property from Friday-Sunday. Friday evening will run from 6-8pm with 9am-5pm hours on Saturday and Sunday. Food is not provided, camping is optional.

Participants will be out in the field all day and will need to dress accordingly. While the class isn’t overly strenuous, we will be hiking about 1-2 miles over the course of the weekend. Students will need to be able to carry food, water, and gear with them throughout the day – preferably in a backpack with a hip belt.

A knife is required for the class. Fixed blade knives may be purchased during registration ($20-35 depending on the model).

Please note that all classes at Wilderness Awareness School will require staff and participants to wear face coverings, practice social distancing, and have a health check at the start of each day. With all of this, we’re still confident that these workshops will remain potent experiences that deliver new skills, enrich perspectives, and deepen a connection to the natural world around us.

Meet Your Instructor

Chris grew up among the wild forests of the Olympic Peninsula, and was exposed to his passions of tracking, birding, naturalizing, and teaching from a young age through WAS programs. After completing Kamana 4 in high school, he continued to build on his naturalist knowledge at Humboldt State University, where he got to be a part of an amazing group of nature nerds for 4 years.

After graduating in 2010, he spent 4 years traveling the world while doing wildlife field work, including working with baboons in Namibia, tropical birds in Peru, falcons in Mongolia, shorebirds in Alaska, Purple-crown Fairy Wrens (yes they exist) in Australia, and Hihi (Heehee) in New Zealand. In 2013, Chris returned to Humboldt to get a masters degree studying bird communities in Kenyan coffee farms, and soon after graduating, started to turn his life towards working with both people and animals. Most recently, he has been teaching field ecology courses in Australia, Mongolia, and Costa Rica, but has always managed to continue to instruct at a few WAS summer camps most years, including his favorite, Teen Wolf Tracking. Chris is currently one of our year-round Youth Program instructors.

When not instructing, Chris can be found sitting at his sit spot, birding, tracking, rifle hunting, throwing a frisbee, backpacking, sticking his head in field guides, or working on his tiny house.