A Reflection on 30 Years of Service
September of 2025 marked my 30th anniversary of running wilderness survival programs for the public.
It all started with a series of local Boy Scout classes in the fall of 1995, which turned into repeated requests from other Troops, school groups, church groups and the like. I was 24 years old and largely self-taught in survival skills and outdoor education when I ran that first class. It grew into a small business in early 1997, when I offered my first class that was built for adult students. It was the 3-day Primitive Skills class which I ran for a group of 4 students. I still run (and love) that particular class. The format and content haven’t changed much in 28 years, but I have.
Over a span of decades, I’ve worked with thousands of people, running the gamut from special needs kids to Special Forces operators. I’ve written over a dozen books and more than one thousand magazine articles on survival and self-reliance. I’ve trained TV survivalists and been on television myself as a subject matter expert in survival. What have I learned from it all?
I’ve learned that there is no graduation day when it comes to self-reliance skills and the outdoors where we practice these skills. No one can ever learn it all. I’m still earnestly studying and practicing survival skills, and have been since I was a teen. After so many years, it feels like I’ve barely scratched the surface.
This may sound discouraging to a beginner. If the guy who has been studying survival for more than 40 years feels like he’s a beginner, what hope do I have to ever achieve anything? But that’s just it - it’s not about checking boxes or mastering anything. It’s about accepting the fact that we should all be perpetual students. The learning shouldn’t ever stop.
Do you want your doctor to be content with the information and treatments they were taught in medical school 20 years ago? No, you’d want them to keep up with the latest treatments, practices, and knowledge.
Any professional worth their salt should understand that the learning never stops, and the information should come from many different sources. Whatever subject you study, you should care enough to keep learning.
Now I can’t teach you to be a doctor, but I can teach you how to feel more “at home” in the woods and how to be safer and more capable while you’re out there. You can then continue learning - on your own, from books, from the internet, or (best of all) from in-person instructors. However, I won’t be available forever. Decades of working outdoors have exacted a heavy toll from my body. I’m worn out. You may have noticed that the 2026 schedule of classes is lighter than previous years. It’s a test run of being semi-retired. At the end of 2026, I will assess whether the pace is sustainable or whether I should fully retire.
If you’ve been waiting for a “sign” to get off your ass and learn something new, this is it.
If 2026 is my last year teaching, let’s go for it with all the enthusiasm and strength we can muster.
Sincerely,
Tim MacWelch
11/10/2025