Survival

Kamp Snapshot

This two week training course matches the U.S. Army Special Forces "SERE School” survival, Kanakuk style! Build character and learn spiritual lessons through using only what God has provided in the woods.  This camp will push campers to the limits of their physical and mental endurance.  We will teach them to go into the woods with nothing and survive.  In fact for the final test campers will be dropped off by themselves for a two day solo survival trip.  Not to worry, before they go we will teach them to do the following:  start fires by making a bow and drill from wood collected from the forest; build a wind proof and water proof shelter from limbs, branches, leaves and bark; strip bark from trees, pull weeds from fields, dig roots from the ground and weave baskets from all these materials;  make cutting edges by flint-knapping rocks to make a knife blade; set deadfall traps and take small game, skin them out, tan their hides, use the meat to make survival food and animal fat lamps; make charcoal water filters, cups, bowls and eating utensils by burning them from wood; fashion fishing lures from sticks and bone;  make string and rope from grass and bark; navigate without the aid of a map or compass and more... they will learn it all by doing it. There will be several survival campouts, each one becoming progressively more difficult.

Survival Camp is divided into Training Week and Survival Week.  During the first week campers will spend a lot of time learning all their survival skills.  There will be two campouts during the first week just to get them use to sleeping in a shelter that they have constructed, cooking over campfires and practicing their newly acquired skills.  They will also learn how and where to find food in streams and rivers.  Just so they are not bored we will rappel off a three hundred foot bluff during the second campout.  The second week will be spent survival camping.  We break this week down into three scenarios; lost backpacker, lost hiker and airplane crash.  On the first campout,”lost backpacker”, they will land navigate with only a compass but no map.  They will terrain navigate to find water and to select a suitable survival campsite.  This is where they will be given live rabbits to dispatch, skin, clean and tan the hide.  They will cure the meat and make survival food known as pemmican.  The second survival campout, “lost hiker”, the campers will navigate using a map but no compass.  In order to obtain food they must set deadfall traps that they build from natural materials.  Because they will have only the items a day hiker would have the level of difficulty becomes much greater on this campout.  The final survival campout, “airplane crash”, simulates a pilot who has crash landed.  Before the crash the pilot noted that a river was close by the crash site.  We take campers, one at a time, to an isolated spot and give them a compass heading to the water source however we do not give them a compass.  They are given only a multi-tool and the materials they fashioned during training.  This two day campout will test all the skills they have learned.  All campers are closely monitored; however they will not be aware of anyone.  This is a time of learning to deal with fear, determination and reliance on God.  Survival Camp was described by past campers as “the hardest thing I have ever done but, the most awesome thing I have ever done”.

Pricing

Kanakuk's Survival Kamp offers you the opportunity to test the limits of your endurance. 

Imagine high adventure, lifetime skills, and solid Biblical discipleship - along with more fun than you can imagine!

*Kamp Store Credit of: $65 for 14-Night Kampers will be added to your final tuition. Merchandise and personal care item purchases will be deducted from this credit and the balance refunded. To increase this amount or set a maximum spending limit for your child please login to your account.

Area Lodging

Find out where Kanakuk families love to play, stay, and eat while in Branson! Many of our Kanakuk families like to stay in the Branson area either right after they've dropped off their Kampers, or right after pick-up. Over the years, they've let us know about many of the places where their family prefers to relax and unwind, spend quality time together, or enjoy a great meal where "someone else does the cooking". 

We'd like to share a few of these recommendations with you- just click the picture below and you'll be taken to the Lodging and Attractions page of our website. Of course, if you choose to visit any of these establishments, we'd love it if you'd let them know that the Kanakuk family recommended them to you.

Enjoy! Visit the Lodging and Attractions page.

Closing Ceremonies

Survival Camp Graduation/Closing Ceremony will be held at Dogwood Canyon, located on Hwy 86 west of Hwy 13 (about 2 miles before reaching the Kanakuk Kamp sign). The cookout/ceremony will start at approximately 6:00 pm. Parents should enter the Dogwood Canyon property and go to the registration building. There, you will be directed to the site where a BBQ picnic dinner will be served. Following the dinner you will be led into another location for a special graduation ceremony unlike any other at Kanakuk. Unless there is rain, the ceremony will be in a heavily wooded area with campfires. Please dress accordingly.