Bug Out Weekend 2025

This class is combination of three popular classes, offered back-to-back to maximize efficiency and immersion (each of the three days is also available as a one-day class).

Join us for the 2-day version of Bug Out Weekend (Saturday and Sunday) which consists of our Disaster Crash Course and Offgrid Cooking class.

You can also upgrade for the 3-day version of Bug Out Weekend (Friday thru Sunday) which includes Food Storage and Preservation on Friday, Sept 5th, 2025 - Disaster Crash Course on Saturday, Sept 6th, 2025 and Offgrid Cooking on Sunday, Sept 7th, 2025.

See the individual descriptions for the daily class content. For those camping over, there will also be bonus class content in the evenings.

We encourage all students to camp out on-site using their own bug out bags to sustain them through the weekend, testing both their skills and their gear.

Immerse yourself in self-reliance!

Each day will run from 9 am - 5 pm.

Bug Out Weekend 2-day is on sale for $200 and the Bug Out Weekend 3-day is on sale for $300. These costs include camping and evening lessons, and are slightly higher than buying the one-day classes separately.

Fall 2025 Dates: Bug Out Weekend 2-day - September 6 & 7, Bug Out Weekend 3-day - September 5, 6 & 7.

Food Storage and Preservation class - Friday, September 5, 2025

There are plenty of scenarios that could leave you and your family going hungry. It's YOUR responsibility to take care of yourself and your family. Let's get real. Food storage won't pay your mortgage and knowing how to make jerky won't keep you from catching a deadly virus; but these skills can save you some money and they WILL help you to feed your loved ones in a crisis.

So how do you begin? Storing food properly can be a challenge, and making mistakes in food storage can be an expensive waste of food!

We'll walk you through all of the details and help you build a personal plan. We'll even show you how to preserve your own food. In this class, you'll gain the skills to:

Package ordinary staple foods to last for more than 30 years

How to eat well on less than $3 per day

Use water bath canning to save acidic foods

Dehydrate fruits and vegetables, with and without power

Make delicious jerky

Build your own personal food security plan, an edible insurance policy!

One day Food Storage and Preservation class - On Sale! $95

Disaster Crash Course - Saturday, September 6, 2025

Crazy weather, unprecedented fires, rumors of war, financial resets... you can't flip on the TV without hearing about some kind of disaster - small or large scale. While we all hope that the world gets safer as we go along, a smart person will take the opportunity to "shore up their defenses" - and be better prepared for the next sucker punch.

If a crisis struck your area, and your family looked to you for protection and provisions, would you truly be ready to take care of them (and yourself)? Do you have the skills to extricate you and/or your family from life threatening scenarios? We all know that attitude, equipment and skills play a critical role in survival; but common sense will also tell you that there is a lot more to it than that. So how do you REALLY get prepared?

Our Disaster Crash Course removes the guesswork from emergency preparedness, and provides you with realistic, hands-on survival techniques.

In this class, you will gain the skills to survive in urban and suburban settings by learning how to:

• "Bug In" at home, at work, or even in a car during disasters and mayhem

• Find and disinfect safe drinking water when times get tough

• Turn your own home into a more efficient and secure shelter

• Provide your own food security with a surprisingly simple (and affordable) food storage plan

• Use household items for a myriad of useful (but unintended) purposes

• Identify EDC (Every Day Carry) gear and items for a "Get Home Bag"

Plus so much more!

You'll even receive a take-home copy of our training manual on disaster preparedness.

One day Disaster Crash Course - On Sale! $95

Offgrid Cooking class - Sunday, September 7, 2025

During a disaster, you may not be able to fire up your electric oven or use the microwave to cook your family's meals. If you don't have a viable and safe back-up plan, this could be a real problem. Don't worry, we have a wide range of solutions - for all weather and situations. In this fun new class, we will give you all the skills you need to cook excellent meals, both outdoors and indoors, even if the utilities are down. This class is structured similarly to our Primitive Cooking class, in which you spend the morning cooking a lunch and the afternoon cooking a dinner. In this class, however, we won't be using primitive cooking techniques. We'll create a lunch and dinner for ourselves, using an assortment of modern materials and off grid cooking techniques (frontier style up thru modern camp cookery).

Learn to make your own rocket stoves to burn a variety of fuels

Create and use solar ovens to bake bread and treats

Make meals with dutch ovens, and even use pots from a modern kitchen.

Learn the basics of cooking with staple foods

Find out how to maintain clean dishes and cookware

We'll even show you how to become a great fire maker!

Spend the morning preparing an off-grid lunch and enjoy an afternoon preparing our self-reliant feast!

One day Off Grid Cooking class - On Sale! $95

Course Location: Near Stafford, Va. Detailed directions are emailed upon enrollment.

Required Equipment: Food and gear for the weekend, including meals and drinks for yourself, appropriate clothing and wet weather gear for the expected weather, a pocket knife (any kind) and a pen to take notes.

Recommended Equipment: Some seating is available at camp, but please bring a camp chair if you have one.