Firecraft

FireCraft

March 21–22 | Forest City, Illinois

This course runs rain, snow, or shine and will only be canceled for true safety concerns. If the weather is bad, it just makes for better training.

Do you struggle to make fire when conditions aren’t ideal?Can you get a flame going, but want to be faster, more reliable, and more versatile?

FireCraft is a hands-on, 1.5-day immersive course focused on building, sustaining, and using fire across a wide range of methods and conditions — with a strong emphasis on wet and adverse weather.

You’ll work alongside Certified Wilderness Skills Instructor Kevin Johnson and the River Valley Survival crew to push your fire skills beyond the basics and into real-world reliability.

Course Overview

• 1.5 days / 1 night

• Overnight camping is optional

• Hotels available within 20–30 minutes

• Camper/RV sites available within 10 minutes

• Moderate physical demands with hiking and timed skill segments

Expect to move, practice, fail, adapt, and succeed.

Skills Covered (Weather Permitting)

• Uses for fire

• Fire lays and fire prep

• Man-made tinder

• Natural tinder sources & bird-nest construction

• Ferro rod

• Flint and steel

• Cotton roll fire

• Lighters & matches

• Solar fire*

• Battery & steel wool

• Finding and using fatwood

• One-stick fire

• Making fire with saturated materials

• Signal fires

• Burn-in bowls & spoons

• Fatwood torches

• Bow drill*

• Soap making

• Smoke baths

*Subject to weather conditions

What’s Included

• Instruction and guided training

• Camping

• Lunch on Saturday

• Access to on-site facilities

Please bring your own additional food, snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks.

Logistics

• Expect hikes up to 1 mile

• Water access and primitive restrooms on site

• Large community campfire

• Individual fires allowed at campsites for cooking and warmth

• Dress appropriately for weather and terrain

Schedule

• Saturday, March 21Class begins 9:00 AM sharpEnds around 5:00 PM

• Sunday, March 22Resume at 8:00 AMConcludes around 1:00 PM

Cost

$150 per student

• Ages 13 and up only, unless arranged in advance

• Students under 18 must have a guardian present or a signed waiver

Required Gear

• Your preferred camping gear

• Food, snacks, drinks, medications

• Fire kit (lighter, matches, magnifying lens, ferro rod, flint & steel)Limited loaner gear available

• Hatchet or camp axe

• Knife (full-tang fixed blade recommended)

• Saw (folding saw or bow/bucksaw)

• 100 ft of cordage (paracord or bankline)