For women interested in the classic 14-day BOSS Field Expedition, we offer a version of the course led and staffed by women and designed for an all-women group. It preserves the same travel style, gear list, and wilderness skill progression as the standard expedition. The difference is simply the composition of the group. The goal remains unchanged: deep immersion, real self-reliance, and a transformative wilderness experience. No tents, sleeping bags, stoves, or backpacks, and definitely no watches, GPS, or cellphones. You will be physically and mentally challenged as your small group travels through some of the most beautiful land in the country while learning technical wilderness skills, environmental knowledge, and critical survival behavior.
A two-week journey deep into the remote backcountry, this expedition allows for deeper engagement with wilderness survival. You’ll learn advanced skills such as compass navigation and large animal processing, all while hiking and living with minimal resources, and extended time with your group and in your solo experience.
Course Phases
Orientation — Your welcome to BOSS, introduction to your guides and the course, 1.5-mile timed run, lunch, gear check, and last-minute gear purchases/swaps. Learn how to pack your gear to prepare for departure.
Impact — A fast-moving hike with minimal equipment and information through the wilderness with hot days, cold nights, and no food except what you might find. Learn as you go, including how to stay warm, how to make fire, best practices for wild water, and more.
Group Ex — Continue your journey with additional gear (including blanket and poncho), with on-the-trail instruction as our staff teach you the skills you need to navigate and survive in the desert. Take your turn leading the group through unknown terrain.
Survival Camp — Participate in large animal processing taught in the context of a traditional living camp, using as much of the animal as reasonably possible in the time you have.
Solo — Put your skills to the test and enjoy some solitude in your own site during the stationary solo phase of your course.
Student Expedition — Leave the support system of your instructors behind as you and your group route-find and travel to your specified destination.
Final Challenge — Just when you think it's over, it isn't....
Course Closing Celebration — You've earned it.
Skills covered
What you'll learn
- Desert Ecology — Experience desert ecosystems and appreciate how to safely navigate arid environments.
- Survival Attitude & Behavior — Develop the resilience needed to handle extreme conditions and circumstances with minimal gear.
- Campsite Selection & Shelter Building — Learn to choose optimal locations and construct effective shelters.
- Fire Construction — Learn to build and manage a fire in the wilderness safely and effectively.
- Water Location & Purification — Learn methods for finding and purifying water.
- Wilderness Hygiene — Establish healthy hygiene habits in remote settings, and learn to use natural materials instead of toilet paper.
- Knife Use & Safety — Safely use knives for multiple survival tasks.
- Large Animal Processing — Learn how to respectfully process a large animal for food and tools.
- Backcountry Navigation — Learn to navigate with a map and compass, including concepts like declinations and bearings where appropriate.
- Primitive Traps — Construct and use small game traps, including small animal processing.
- Basic Plant Identification — Identify useful plants in the wilderness.
- Problem-Solving When Lost — Develop the mindset and strategies to manage stress and safely navigate when you’re uncertain of your location.
- Low-Impact Wilderness Travel — Practice BOSS’s low-impact travel techniques to navigate through the landscape while minimizing your environmental footprint.
- Route Planning & Travel — Understand how to plan your route, select trails, and adjust travel based on terrain.
- Compass Use — Achieve competency in compass techniques for setting declination, taking bearings, triangulating your location, and maintaining your direction of travel.
- Trapping & Fishing — Build advanced traps and learn techniques for catching fish.
- Friction Fire — Practice making a fire using a bow drill.
- • #shopify-section-template--17719027728523__image_banner_em9c89 { padding-top: 3.2rem; padding-bottom: 3.2rem; } @media screen and (min-width: 576px) { #shopify-section-template--17719027728523__image_banner_em9c89 { padding-top: 3.2rem; padding-bottom: 3.2rem; } } @media screen and (min-width: 990px) { #shopify-section-template--17719027728523__image_banner_em9c89 { padding-top: 3.2rem; padding-bottom: 3.2rem; } } @media screen and (min-width: 1200px) { #shopify-section-template--17719027728523__image_banner_em9c89 { padding-top: 3.2rem; padding-bottom: 3.2rem; } } @media screen and (min-width: 1440px) { #shopify-section-template--17719027728523__image_banner_em9c89 { padding-top: 6.4rem; padding-bottom: 6.4rem; } }.banner__overlay { background-color: rgba(var(--color-overlay), 0.4); }
Prerequisites
• No prior camping or outdoor experience is required. • All applicants must complete a Health and Physical Exam packet with a physician, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner and obtain their signed approval before enrollment. • A 1.5-mile timed run (or equivalent endurance test). • Participants must be 18 years or older. • A high level of fitness preparation is required.
Newsletter
A short Friday email with classes near you. Free.