Where the wild skills are

  • By Alejandro Dominguez Herald Writer
  • Saturday, September 10, 2011 12:01am
  • Local NewsMonroe

MONROE — They called it a hunt, but it was a little like playing hide-and-seek, and the prey was each other.

Five students in a unique class got a five-minute head start along the Skykomish River, and they got as far away as possible. Four other students tracked them, looking for footprints and other clues.

Just for fun, they all carried water guns.

They were practicing tracking skills during a week-long survival class offered by Alderleaf Wilderness College, a for-profit school in Monroe started in 2006 that aims to teach outdoor skills, wilderness survival and ecology. The school is capitalizing on an increased interest in such training sparked by reality television programs such as “Man vs. Wild” and “Survivorman.” Classes range from bowmaking to tracking to finding edible and medicinal plants.

Most students are in their 20s and 30s, trying to get in touch with nature, director and co-founder Jason Knight said.

“Most of them are here out of curiosity,” Knight said. “They want to know what to do if there’s an emergency.”

People are hearing about the school through word of mouth and the Internet. In the five-day survival class held last month, the nine students learned to make their own shelter, to make tools out of rocks and traps out of plants.

The youngest student was 11-year-old Isaiah Lono, who took the $600-per-person course with his parents, Vanessa and Floyd Lono.

The family from Shoreline had taken several courses at the Monroe school. Isaiah enjoyed making his own spear the most.

“It was fun,” Isaiah said. “I am looking forward to using it for fishing.”

The family wanted to experience the outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, having moved here from Hawaii in 2009.

“It was the best summer,” Vanessa Lono said. “It opened my eyes to another world. I feel enriched.”

Floyd Lono also enrolled in a nine-month wilderness certification course Alderleaf offers that started Tuesday.

“It’s good knowledge to have with all the natural disasters going on,” he said. “You don’t want to be caught with your pants down.”

The college, at 18715 299th Ave. SE, has 15 instructors. It offers two-day courses twice a year, the five-day course once a year and the nine-month certification course.

The current certification course has 40 students, the biggest Alderleaf has had, from all over the U.S. and Canada. The certification is for wilderness education and ecology, Knight said. Students can use the certification to become wilderness skills instructors, environmental field technicians and park naturalists, among other things.

Their survival classes are geared more for beginners than experienced outdoorsmen.

Luke Gentry, 30, said he knew something about being outdoors but after taking the course his knowledge “has quadrupled.”

“I feel like I have the understanding of basic survival skills,” he said. “All of which need more weeks of practice.”

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.