Adventure Academy — Outdoor Survival Series by Matt Wilder

Activity Guides

Hands-On Field Exercises for Every Level

Trailblazer Activity Guides

Level 1 — 7 Hands-On Field Exercises

🧠

Survival Mindset Challenge

Objective: Practice calm decision-making under pressure using real survival scenarios.

What You'll Need

Scenario cards (print or write your own)
Pencil and notebook
Timer (optional)

Steps

Set the Scene

Read a survival scenario aloud — for example: 'You are hiking and realize you are lost. It's 3pm and you have 3 hours of daylight left. You have a water bottle, a pocketknife, and a jacket.'

Stop and Think

Before doing anything, practice STOP — Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Write down your observations and your plan.

Apply the Rule of Threes

Rank your priorities: air, shelter, water, food. Decide what to tackle first and why.

Make Your Plan

Write or discuss a step-by-step survival plan for the scenario. What do you do in the first 30 minutes? First 2 hours?

Debrief

Compare plans with a partner or group. Discuss what worked, what was missed, and what you'd do differently.

💡 Field Tip There's rarely one right answer in survival. The goal is to stay calm, think clearly, and act with purpose.

🏕️

Build Your Shelter

Objective: Construct a lean-to and a debris hut using only natural materials.

What You'll Need

Long sturdy branch (ridgepole) for lean-to
Smaller branches and sticks
Leaves, pine needles, bark, or grass
Paracord or natural cordage (optional)
Work gloves recommended

Steps

Choose Your Site

Find flat ground away from dead trees, ant hills, and low spots that collect water. Look for natural windbreaks like boulders or dense brush.

Build the Lean-To

Prop a long ridgepole between two trees or forked sticks at about shoulder height. Lean branches against it at a 45-degree angle on one side. Layer leaves and debris thickly from bottom to top like shingles on a roof.

Test the Lean-To

Sit inside and check for wind and light gaps. Add more material anywhere you see light coming through — that's where heat will escape.

Build the Debris Hut

Find a long ridgepole and prop one end on a stump or forked branch about waist height, the other on the ground. Create a ribcage of branches along both sides. Pile leaves and debris at least 2 feet thick over the entire frame.

Insulate the Floor

Pack at least 12 inches of dry leaves inside both shelters. This is your insulation from the cold ground — don't skip it.

Debrief

Which shelter was warmer? Which was faster to build? When would you choose one over the other?

💡 Field Tip If you can't see your hand through the debris pile, it's thick enough. Thin walls are the most common mistake beginners make.

💧

Water in the Wild

Objective: Practice collecting and purifying water using multiple methods.

What You'll Need

Tarp or large plastic sheet
Rope or paracord
Metal pot or can for boiling
Camp stove or fire (adult supervision required)
Basic water filter or DIY filter materials (sand, gravel, charcoal, cloth)
Collection containers

Steps

Set Up a Rain Catch

Tie a tarp between trees with a slight dip in the center and a small hole or spout at the low point. Direct the flow into a container. Even morning dew can be collected this way.

Find a Natural Source

Identify a nearby water source — stream, puddle, or seep. Remember: all wild water should be treated before drinking, no matter how clean it looks.

Build a DIY Filter

Layer cloth, crushed charcoal, fine sand, and gravel in a container with a small hole in the bottom. Pour water through slowly. This removes sediment and improves taste — but does NOT kill bacteria.

Purify by Boiling

Bring filtered water to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute (3 minutes at high altitude). This kills bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Let it cool before drinking.

Identify Dehydration Signs

Review the signs: dark urine, headache, dizziness, dry mouth. Practice checking urine color using a color reference chart.

Debrief

How much water did you collect? How long did the process take? Why is filtering before boiling important?

💡 Field Tip In a survival situation, water is your second priority after shelter. Never ration water — drink when thirsty and purify as you go.

🔥

Fire Starting Basics

Objective: Learn to safely build, light, and extinguish three types of fire lays.

What You'll Need

Dry tinder (dry grass, bark shavings, cattail fluff)
Kindling (pencil-thin dry sticks)
Fuel wood (thumb-thick and larger)
Matches or lighter
Water bucket nearby for safety
Clear ground or fire ring

Steps

Prepare Your Site

Clear a 3-foot circle of all leaves and debris. Use a fire ring if available. Place your water bucket within arm's reach before you start anything.

Gather Your Materials

Collect tinder, kindling, and fuel in three separate piles before lighting anything. Running to find wood after a fire starts is how accidents happen.

Build a Teepee Lay

Place a small handful of tinder in the center. Lean kindling sticks over it in a teepee shape. Add slightly larger sticks in a second teepee layer around the outside. Light the tinder at the base.

Build a Log Cabin Lay

Stack pairs of sticks in a square around a tinder bundle, alternating directions like a log cabin. This burns longer and more evenly — good for cooking.

Build a Star Lay

Arrange 4-5 larger logs radiating outward from a central fire like wheel spokes. Push logs inward as they burn. This is the easiest to maintain and control.

Extinguish Completely

Drown the fire with water, stir the ashes, and drown again. Hold your hand 6 inches above the ash — if you feel heat, it's not out. Never leave a fire unattended.

💡 Field Tip A small fire you can control is always better than a big fire you can't. Most wilderness fires are caused by fires that were 'almost out.'

🌿

Wild Food Foraging

Objective: Identify edible plants in your region and prepare a simple campfire meal.

What You'll Need

Local plant identification guide or app
Collection bag or basket
Gloves
Camp cooking supplies
Notebook for sketching plants

Steps

The Golden Rule

Never eat anything you cannot identify with 100% certainty. Review this rule before every foraging session — no exceptions.

Learn Three Edibles

Using your field guide, identify three common edible plants in your area. Common examples: dandelion (leaves and flowers), wood sorrel, cattail shoots. Sketch each one and note its key identifying features.

Learn Three Dangerous Look-Alikes

For every edible, find and study its dangerous look-alike. This is just as important as knowing what's safe.

Practice Identification

Walk a short trail and identify as many plants as you can — edible, inedible, and dangerous. Do not collect anything you're unsure about.

Prepare a Campfire Meal

Using safely identified edibles (or purchased wild-equivalent ingredients), prepare a simple meal over the campfire. Examples: dandelion green salad, cattail pollen pancakes, acorn flour flatbread.

Debrief

What surprised you about wild food? What would be hardest to find in a real survival situation?

💡 Field Tip When in doubt, don't. A hungry survivor who waits is better than one who eats the wrong plant. Your body can survive 3 weeks without food.

📡

Signal for Rescue

Objective: Practice multiple signaling methods to attract rescuers from the ground and air.

What You'll Need

Whistle
Signal mirror or any reflective surface
Brightly colored cloth or tarp
Rocks, sticks, or logs for ground signals
Smoky material for fire signal (damp leaves, green branches)

Steps

Learn the Universal Distress Signal

Three of anything means distress — three whistle blasts, three fires, three shots. Practice the whistle signal: three short blasts, pause, repeat. Count with a partner from 100 yards away.

Build a Ground-to-Air Signal

In an open area, lay out a large X or SOS using rocks, logs, or bright material. Make it at least 10 feet across — it needs to be visible from aircraft altitude.

Practice the Signal Mirror

Hold the mirror near your eye and catch sunlight on your hand. Aim the reflected light at a target (a tree, a partner). Practice sweeping it across the horizon in a slow arc.

Build a Smoky Signal Fire

Build a small fire in an open area. Once it's burning well, add damp leaves and green branches to create white smoke. Add rubber or plastic (in a true emergency only) for black smoke visible against sky.

Create a Bright Marker

Hang a brightly colored tarp or cloth high in a tree or open area. This works 24 hours a day unlike smoke or mirrors.

Debrief

Which method is most visible during the day? At night? In rain or fog? When would you use each one?

💡 Field Tip Stay in one place once you've signaled. Moving around makes you much harder to find. Rescuers search the last known location first.

⭐

Survivor's Camp — Full Challenge

Objective: Combine all five core survival skills in a complete overnight camp challenge.

What You'll Need

All materials from previous activity guides
Personal survival kit
Water bottle
First aid kit (adult supervisor)
Notebook and pen

Steps

Plan Before You Go

Write your survival plan before leaving: shelter location, water source, fire site, food plan, and signal strategy. Share your plan with your adult supervisor.

Build Your Camp

Arrive at your site with at least 3 hours of daylight. Build your shelter first — everything else depends on having a safe, dry base.

Secure Water

Locate your water source, collect water, filter it, and purify by boiling. Set up your rain catch as a backup.

Build Your Fire

Use the fire lay of your choice. Maintain it safely throughout the evening for warmth, light, and cooking.

Prepare Your Food

Cook a simple meal over your campfire using foraged or brought ingredients. Practice fire safety throughout.

Signal and Stand Down

Before dark, set up one visible signal (ground marker or bright cloth). Practice your whistle signal routine.

Morning Debrief

After the night, review your plan vs. what actually happened. What worked? What failed? What would you change? Write your answers — this is your field report.

💡 Field Tip The goal isn't perfection — it's learning. Every mistake in a practice camp is a lesson that could save your life in a real one.

Pathfinder Activity Guides

Level 2 — 8 Hands-On Field Exercises

🧭

Compass Confidence

Objective: Learn all compass parts and practice taking and following accurate bearings.

What You'll Need

Baseplate compass (one per student)
Open field or park
Marking flags or stakes
Notebook

Steps

Know Your Compass

Identify every part: baseplate, direction of travel arrow, rotating bezel, compass needle, orienting arrow, and degree markings. Quiz yourself — can you name them all without looking?

Take a Bearing

Point the direction of travel arrow at a distant target (a tree, a post). Rotate the bezel until the orienting arrow aligns with the red (north) needle. Read the degree number — that's your bearing.

Follow a Bearing

Set a bearing of 45 degrees. Hold the compass level and turn your whole body until the needle aligns with the orienting arrow. Walk in the direction the travel arrow points for 50 paces.

Return on a Back Bearing

Add 180 degrees to your bearing (or subtract if over 180). Set this new bearing and walk back. Did you end up where you started?

Understand Declination

Learn the difference between magnetic north (where your needle points) and true north (the actual North Pole). Find your local declination and practice adjusting for it.

Debrief

How accurate was your return? What caused any error — pace length, holding the compass level, or something else?

💡 Field Tip Always hold your compass level and away from metal objects — keys, belt buckles, and phones will throw off your reading.

🗺️

Map Your World

Objective: Orient a map, identify symbols, and plot a route between two points.

What You'll Need

Topographic or trail map of your area
Compass
Ruler
Pencil
Highlighter

Steps

Read the Legend

Spend 5 minutes studying the map legend. Identify symbols for trails, water, roads, elevation lines, and man-made structures. Quiz a partner on 10 symbols.

Find the Scale

Locate the scale bar. Using a ruler, measure 5 centimeters on the map and calculate how far that is in real life. Mark two landmarks and calculate the distance between them.

Orient the Map

Place your compass on the map. Rotate the map (not the compass) until the map's north arrow aligns with the compass needle. The map now matches the real world around you.

Find Your Position

Using visible landmarks around you, find your location on the map. Mark it with a pencil X.

Plot a Route

Choose a destination on the map. Draw a route using trails or safe terrain. Identify waypoints (notable landmarks) along the way.

Debrief

Could you navigate to your destination using only the map? What information does the map give you that a phone GPS doesn't?

💡 Field Tip A map is only useful if you know where YOU are on it. Always find your position before plotting any route.

⛰️

Reading the Land

Objective: Interpret contour lines and match terrain features from map to real landscape.

What You'll Need

Topographic map
Compass
Colored pencils (optional)
Your local terrain

Steps

Understand Contour Lines

Every line connects points of equal elevation. Lines close together mean steep terrain; lines far apart mean gentle slopes. The number on a line is its elevation above sea level.

Identify Five Features

On your map, find and color-code: a hilltop (concentric circles), a valley (V-shapes pointing uphill), a ridge (V-shapes pointing downhill), a saddle (hourglass shape), and a depression (circles with tick marks).

Match Map to Land

Stand at a known location and face a visible hill or ridge. Find that same feature on your map. Trace the contour lines with your finger and compare what you see to what's on paper.

Predict the Terrain

Look at a section of map you haven't visited. Describe what you expect to find — steep or gentle? Valley or ridge? Then go there and check.

Find the Easiest Route

Between two points on your map, find the route with the least elevation change. Compare it to the straight-line route. Which would take longer in real life?

Debrief

What terrain feature is hardest to read on a map? What surprised you when you compared the map to real life?

💡 Field Tip The most common navigation mistake is misidentifying which hill you're looking at. Always use two or more features together to confirm your position.

🌲

Landmark Navigation

Objective: Use natural and man-made landmarks to navigate and confirm your position.

What You'll Need

Map of your area
Compass
Notebook
Binoculars (optional)

Steps

Identify Landmarks

From your current position, identify 3 visible landmarks — a hilltop, a water tower, a distinctive tree line. Find each one on your map.

Use Landmarks to Orient

Without a compass, use two known landmarks to orient your map. Hold the map so the landmarks on paper align with the landmarks in front of you.

Confirm Your Position

Take a bearing to one landmark with your compass. Draw that bearing line on your map from the landmark back toward you. Take a second bearing to another landmark and draw that line. Where they cross is your position.

Navigate Landmark to Landmark

Plan a route that moves from one visible landmark to the next. At each one, re-orient and identify your next target before moving on.

Lose the Landmarks

Enter an area with no visible landmarks (dense forest, fog). Describe how your navigation strategy must change. What tools or techniques replace landmarks?

Debrief

How far off was your position estimate? What landmarks were most reliable and why?

💡 Field Tip Experienced navigators always keep at least one landmark in sight. Never move to the next landmark until you've identified it clearly.

⭐

Navigate by the Stars

Objective: Find direction using Polaris, the sun's position, and shadow stick methods.

What You'll Need

Clear night sky
Star chart or astronomy app (for learning only — no phones during the challenge)
Two straight sticks
Open ground

Steps

Find the North Star

Locate the Big Dipper. Draw an imaginary line through the two stars at the end of its cup — extend that line about 5 times its length. That bright star is Polaris. It never moves more than 1 degree from true north.

Confirm with Cassiopeia

Find the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia on the opposite side of Polaris from the Big Dipper. Both rotate around Polaris — if clouds cover one, use the other.

Shadow Stick Method

In daylight, push a straight stick vertically into level ground. Mark the tip of its shadow with a rock. Wait 15 minutes and mark the new shadow tip. The line between the two marks runs roughly west to east — the first mark is west.

Use the Sun's Arc

In the northern hemisphere, the sun is due south at solar noon (roughly midday). Practice estimating the sun's position and the direction of south at different times of day.

Night Navigation Walk

After dark, use Polaris to set a bearing. Walk 100 paces in that direction. Confirm with your compass. How close were you?

Debrief

When would celestial navigation be your only option? What conditions make it impossible?

💡 Field Tip Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky — that's Sirius. Learn to find it by the pointer stars, not by brightness alone.

🌿

Nature's Compass

Objective: Use natural signs — moss, trees, wind, and animal trails — to estimate direction.

What You'll Need

Notebook and pencil
Compass (for verification only)
Your local woodland or park

Steps

Moss Test

Find several trees with moss. Note which side the moss is heaviest on. In the northern hemisphere, moss tends to grow on the north side (less sun). Check 10 trees — what percentage match this pattern?

Tree Ring Method

Find a freshly cut stump. The rings are usually wider on the south side (more sunlight and growth). Estimate which direction is south, then verify with your compass.

Prevailing Wind

Note the direction the wind is blowing and compare to the local prevailing wind direction for your region. In much of North America, prevailing winds come from the west or southwest.

Animal Trails

Find an animal trail. Note which direction it runs. Many trails follow ridgelines (easier walking) or run toward water sources. Study the terrain to predict where the trail leads.

Snow and Sun Exposure

On a hillside, note which slopes still have snow and which are bare. South-facing slopes get more sun and lose snow faster in the northern hemisphere.

Debrief

How accurate were the natural signs compared to your compass? In what conditions would natural signs be unreliable?

💡 Field Tip Natural signs give you estimates, not exact readings. Use multiple signs together and treat them as clues to confirm — not replace — your compass.

👣

Dead Reckoning Trek

Objective: Track your position using only direction, distance, and elapsed time from a known starting point.

What You'll Need

Compass
Notebook
Pencil
Measuring tape or known pace count
Blindfold (optional for advanced challenge)

Steps

Calibrate Your Pace

Walk 100 meters on flat ground and count your paces (each time your right foot hits the ground). Do this 3 times and average the results. This is your personal 100-meter pace count.

Plan Your Route

Design a simple route: 100m at 45°, then 80m at 180°, then 60m at 270°. Draw it on paper before you walk it.

Walk the Route

Navigate each leg using only your compass bearing and pace count. Record each leg as you complete it. Do not look at landmarks — trust your data.

Estimate Your Position

After completing all legs, mark where you think you are on paper. Then use a map or landmarks to find your actual position. How far off are you?

Advanced Challenge

Repeat the exercise in terrain with obstacles (hills, brush). Notice how going around obstacles throws off your straight-line distance.

Debrief

What caused your error? How does error accumulate over multiple legs? How would you minimize it on a longer trek?

💡 Field Tip Dead reckoning error compounds over distance. Experienced navigators check their position against landmarks every chance they get to reset their calculations.

🏆

Full Navigation Challenge

Objective: Navigate a multi-leg course using map, compass, and landmarks only — no GPS, no phone.

What You'll Need

Topographic map
Compass
Notebook
Pencil
Water and snacks
Adult supervisor

Steps

Pre-Mission Briefing

Study your map before leaving. Identify your start point, all waypoints, and your destination. Note key terrain features and landmarks along the route. Write your plan down.

Leave Your Trip Plan

Before departing, give your adult supervisor your written route, expected waypoints, and estimated return time.

Navigate Leg One

Move from your start point to your first waypoint using map and compass. At each waypoint, confirm your position using at least two landmarks before moving on.

Navigate by Terrain

For at least one leg, put the compass away and navigate using terrain association only — match what you see to what's on the map.

Handle a Detour

Your supervisor will call a detour mid-route. Re-plan your route on the spot using your map. Update your trip plan.

Return to Base

Navigate back to your start point. Time your return. How close was your estimated time?

Final Debrief

Write a field report: route taken, errors made, corrections applied, what you'd do differently. This is your Pathfinder graduation exercise.

💡 Field Tip Before every navigation decision, ask yourself: where am I, where am I going, and how do I know? If you can't answer all three — stop and figure it out before moving.

🏥

Safety Ranger Activity Guides — Coming Soon

Level 3 activity guides will be available when the book launches.

🪓

Bushcrafter Activity Guides — Coming Soon

Level 4 activity guides will be available when the book launches.

Adventure
Academy

Built for the Trail. Designed for Life.

Your Path Through
the Academy

The Book Collection

Academy Resources

Matt Wilder

Safety Ranger Activity Guides — Coming Soon

Bushcrafter Activity Guides — Coming Soon

Safety Ranger Checklist — Coming Soon

Bushcrafter Checklist — Coming Soon

AdventureAcademy

Built for the Trail. Designed for Life.

Your Path Throughthe Academy

The Book Collection

Academy Resources

Matt Wilder

Safety Ranger Activity Guides — Coming Soon

Bushcrafter Activity Guides — Coming Soon

Safety Ranger Checklist — Coming Soon

Bushcrafter Checklist — Coming Soon

Adventure
Academy

Your Path Through
the Academy