Buck Westfall – Vancouver, WA

I am a professional manager (CEO, director and management advisor). I enjoy hunting, fly-fishing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, hiking and backpacking. I competed in rodeo for many years. As my sons have gotten older we've pushed further into the backcountry, and they've begun adventuring more on their own. I wanted them to have the knowledge and skills to sustain themselves without having to depend on me. Also, having been in a “real” wilderness survival situation on an Idaho elk-hunting trip and a “could’ve been” on Borneo, I wanted to be better prepared for the “next” time if it should happen. Finally, my younger son was considering serving as an Army officer, and I thought this training would be helpful.

Growing up in extreme northern California, I was in Boy Scouts for a year and a half, and my parents had a cabin in the mountains where I spent a lot of time. I’ve been an Army officer (Armored Cavalry), had some classes from the Seattle Mountaineers, and picked up skills by self-study.

Seven Day Summer Course:

I added a number of important skills and attitudes: the importance of signaling, confidence in the metal match, the usefulness of Camelbaks (hydration and survival gear), functioning on limited food which made it easier to eat some things I’d never eaten before, and more confidence in high places (thanks to the ropes course). I also saw my son demonstrate the skills that make him a full partner to me in the backcountry now. I also learned what I did “right” in my own survival experience and what I would do differently.

Winter Course:

I learned much about shelters (especially snow caves and my prior concern about claustrophobia), and got a lot more “hands on” fire building practice in wet/cold conditions (which are the conditions we have during elk hunting). The importance of having a knife or axe/hatchet to be able to spit to dry wood was driven home. Again, I was very pleased with how my son handled himself.

The Advanced Wilderness Navigation class:

This was the most fun. I picked up lots of little things and some big things, and mostly being able to put it all together. The most important lesson was about myself. Since I’m good at navigation I tend to be over confident and move out quickly, sometimes making careless mistakes. I now know I need to be just a little more deliberate if I’m in unfamiliar country. A more thorough route analysis would probably have prevented my “real” survival experience.

I go into the backcountry (or anywhere for that matter) with much more confidence that I can handle almost any situation that comes up because of my greater knowledge and skills. For example, shortly after the summer class when we were fly fishing on the Deschutes River in Oregon a rattlesnake buzzed behind me. Before the class my reaction was usually ‘Oh shoot!’ but now it was “You’re lucky I’m not hungry!” I’m more likely to be wearing a Camelbak with a knife, metal match and other survival equipment, even downhill skiing. I’m a believer in a large knife or small axe during wet weather. I’m much more likely to sleep under the stars or with a only tarp instead of a tent, traveling lighter, simpler and more confidently. It’s a lot easier to stay found because I’m even more observant as I travel. I’ve been more motivated to improve my physical fitness both as survival preparation and to continue to play with my sons in the backcountry. It was great fun to complete these courses with my son.

About the staff:

Greg Davenport and his staff are excellent instructors - very knowledgeable, skilled at teaching, organized, making sure everyone “got it”, and tailoring the material to meet students’ needs. They present good, solid, practical material and wove the survival priorities throughout the classes. They are safety conscious. It is not a boot camp environment but they push students out their comfort zones and put some stress on them to grow. It was my pleasure to get to know Greg and his team during all of our field time. They are all very knowledgeable, professional, good people who are fun to be around. The best recommendation I can give is that I want my other son to take all of these courses, too!