Yost Survival Skills School in Madison, Wisconsin

After an incredible season in 2023, we are excited for the 2024 season teaching more outdoor survival skills in the Madison, Wisconsin area!

While teaching high school science, John started a wilderness survival skills school over 25 years ago in Wausau, Wisconsin. Since then, he has learned and taught outdoor skills all over the world. His knowledge of primitive skills is vast and comprehensive.

John teaches at the big wilderness skills gatherings in the western United States and is often invited as a guest at other instructor’s schools.

You can learn outdoor skills and survival skills at Yost Survival Skills in the Southern Wisconsin area. Join outdoor skills expert John Yost as he teaches survival skills in a variety of places around Madison, or he can travel to an area of your choice.

You’ll get the opportunity to learn from somebody who has lived this lifestyle for real, and not someone who dabbles on the weekend or regurgitates what they saw someone do on YouTube. John has a great working knowledge of many primitive skills and loves sharing the joy he gets with others.

Yost Survival Skills School Offerings for 2024 around Madison

***A Note from John in 2024

The folks at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association asked me to teach bushcraft skills at the MREA Fair in Amherst Junction again this year. You can catch me there, but I expect the classes there to fill up quickly. I will also be teaching a few primitive skills at RabbitStick in Idaho in September 14-22 as well as gatherings in Montana and California in September. And since I hate the cold, I’ll continue to teach outdoor skills in South America between paragliding and kitesurfing.

 Usually people decide what they want to learn, and we do whatever you are interested in. This is the best way to learn from me. And it’s a lot of fun and you get exactly what you want with personalized instruction. There are some ideas of what we can do a little further down the page.

The best thing to do is to reach out to me on my contact page and let me know what you are interested in. If you see something that interests you on my site, let me know. We can probably make the logistics work so you can come learn with me.

Personalized Outdoor Skills and Survival Training in the Madison, Wisconsin Area

This is by far the most popular way to get to spend time learning with me and what most people do.
If you want a day, a couple of days, a weekend, or week tailor-made for you or your group, contact John directly here.

Also, if you are visiting the South Central Wisconsin and are interested in learning outdoor skills in Madison, Wisconsin, Please contact John to see if we can get together.

Note that I will travel to land near you and we can explore and learn the skills you want to practice on public or private land that you can visit over and over.

There might be a few special classes throughout the year, but not very often if I even have time for any of these classes. If you really want to learn primitive skills, it’s best to just book time with me by sending me a message through my contact page. However, if I do have any special classes, they will probably be for fire-making, basket making, and possibly edible plants. If you want to join a list of people who get notified when these classes are coming up, please sign up on this page for the Special Classes list.

More notes…

I love teaching parents and their children. I usually teach children’s classes when I teach out West. These are great opportunities for making strong, long-lasting connections with your kids and create life-long memories.

Some outdoor survival skills to choose from…

Below are some ideas of what you can choose to dive into when you book a private workshop with me. Remember, we aren’t limited to these things. We can do pretty much anything you see on the site here or anywhere else for that matter. Just ask me in your message.

People usually have time for 3 or 4 things each day.

Yost Survival Skills School offers a variety of topics for beginning to expert primitive skills practitioners. Many of my students don’t have experience outdoors when we meet up for the first time. It’s really fun for me to introduce people to nature and these skills, and people are always amazed at what they can do.

My focus is on providing individual attention and student success as you learn or master a variety of outdoor survival skills.

All of the ideas here are designed to show you the basics and inspire you to learn more on your own or in later outdoor skills classes around Madison, Wisconsin.

Here is a quick list of possibilities, some of these are summarized below.

Fire making.

Edible plants.

Basket making.

Finding and processing water.

Deadfall traps and snares.

Shelter building.

Finding and Purifying Water.

Making cordage. (I highly suggest people do this)

Wilderness Awareness- understanding what is going on in the area

Making a bow. This class is better if we have at least 2 days to make a bow. ( You can either bring a blank stave or have me order one for you. If I order one for you, you just have to pay me back for it. They range from $250 to $500.)

Making Atlatls and Aluminum Atlatl Darts (extra $30 per person)

Making Arrows (extra $50 per person)

Tanning fish skins (extra $20 per person)

Tanning deer hides (This is a 3 day class. You’ll have time to a lot of things besides tan hides If you buy a hide from me, it is an extra $50 per hide.)

Wilderness First Aid for Emergencies.

Wilderness Navigation. Note that I will teach you how to give yourself the best chance of finding your way out of a situation where you are lost. This is not a compass and map type thing.)

If there is something that isn’t on this list, ask me and we can probably do it.

Things that kids love to do or make:

Fire-making. I have yet to meet a kid who didn’t want to make a fire!

Cattail dolls

Whistles

Animal figurines

Birch bark baskets made from a bark tube

String from plants

Make paint with rocks that we find in the area and paint pictures with their new “rock paint”

Fish for easily caught bluegills

Shoot kids’ bow and arrows

Pick and cook edible plants

Fire Making

Fire Making:
You will make fire from sticks! First you will make a tinder bundle and use a ferro rod to get it to ignite. The you will make a coal with a friction fire set and blow it into flames. There is something magical about creating fire without matches or other modern tools. You will feel that magic and take it with you!

If you are interested in learning to make fires, click here to send me a message.

Edible and Medicinal Plant Walk

Edible Plant Walk:
Imagine being able to walk the land and know exactly what plants you can use to keep poison ivy from setting in, disinfect cuts and scrapes, or make salads and vegetable dishes with. In this adventure you will learn to identify edible (and a some medicinal plants) and prepare them for food or medicine.

If you are interested in going on an edible plant walk, click here to send me a message.

Finding And Disinfecting Water

Finding and Disinfecting Water:
Water is the provider of life. You will learn how to locate water and purify water. The land and animals give many clues to where to find good water and you will discover how to read those signs. Once you find water, we will disinfect it by boiling it or with a filter, the two simplest methods in my opinion.

If you are interested in learning how to find and disinfect water, send me a message.

Primitive Traps and Snares

Primitive Traps and Snares:
*Note that I no longer use natural cordage snares like the one in the picture. Modern wire snares are much more humane and cause as little suffering as possible.*

This option is all about learning to harvest animals as humanely and effectively as possible. There are hundreds of traps, snares and deadfalls you will find online. Most of them don’t work well enough to rely on. I’ve tried hundreds of them.

I’ll teach you to make the 2 most effective traps I’ve come across. These are the ONLY 2 that I rely on when I go on an extended survival stay. You’ll also learn how to set wire snares effectively. No matter where you go, using one of these proven deadfalls or snares will most likely provide you with food (you still have to set them in the right place, which I can show you too!).

If you are interested in learning to set snares and deadfalls to harvest animals, click here to schedule a time for your training.

Cattail Basket Weaving

Cattail Baskets:
Using a unique style of weaving cattails learned from Laughter Medicine and Starlight in Arizona, you will make a twined cattail basket. This course is perfect for absorbing the fundamentals of basket making so you can easily make your own baskets with a variety of materials. This is one of my favorite topics because we take something that you can gather anywhere in the world, something that most people don’t even notice, and make a beautiful container that will last for years.

If you are interested in learning to make a cattail basket, click here and schedule a time for your workshop.

Weaving With Willow

Willow Basket Making:
You will weave a beautiful basket from willow found in the Madsion area. This is the perfect thing to do if you want to learn a variety of weaves to use with different kinds of material. The beauty of willow is that the techniques you learn can be used to make baskets of all shapes and sizes. You will go home with a basket of your own making and lots of ideas for making even more!

If you are interested in learning to make a willow basket, click here and book with me.

Making Coiled Baskets

Coil Basket Making:
Using native plants you can gather for free, you will discover how to make one of the most useful and beautiful containers ever made. You’ll discover different coiling techniques and new ways to work with grasses, pine needles and other materials to create baskets that are perfect for your home or for gifts. These baskets take about 60-80 hours to make, so you won’t finish your basket in the class, but you can take it home with you to finish.

If you are interested in learning to make a coil basket, click here.

Hide Tanning ($50 extra per hide you get from me and this is a 3 day commitment)

Hide Tanning:
This is a must-do for anyone serious about long-term primitive living. And even if that isn’t your thing, buckskin clothing and accessories are really cool! You will tan a deerskin in this class and take it home with you to make clothes, pouches, quivers or bags with. This is a really practical class as most hides go to waste and you can usually get hides for free during deer season. This is a 3 day workshop and limited to 4 people.

If you are interested in learning to make buckskin, click here to send me a message.

Bow Making (You can bring your own stave or I can buy one for you and you just pay me back for the stave and shipping. Staves are between $250-$500.)

Bow Making:
Making your own bow for hunting or target practice is one of the most satisfying survival skills. In this 2 day immersion you will make a bow from native wood. Starting with a sapling or a wedge from a tree, you will shape and tiller your bow so it is perfectly balanced. I can only accept 3 participants in this class at a time.

If you are interested in learning to make a selfbow, click here to send me a message.

Arrow Making

Arrow Making:
In this 2 day journey you will make arrows from the same materials Native Americans used hundreds of years ago. They refined and simplified the techniques that we will be using to make one of the most important survival tools.

If you are interested in learning to make arrows, click here to send me a message.

Tailor-Made Bushcraft Skills Courses in the Madison, Wisconsin Area

If you are excited about learning any of the skills here, just reach out to me!

I’m available for a day, a couple of days, a weekend, week, or even longer. You get tailor-made training for you or your group. Contact John directly here.

Also, if you are visiting the South Central Wisconsin and are interested in learning outdoor skills in Madison, Wisconsin, Please contact John to see if we can get together.