It’s wise to be prepared for all kinds of emergencies, perhaps even those that are very unlikely to happen. A zombie apocalypse, for instance. That’s why a two-day Zombie Survival Training Course was conducted recently in Sandy, Oregon. Of course, the camp organizers do realize that zombie’s aren’t real; the course is actually oriented towards learning to survive outdoors and have some geeky fun while doing it.

The adult-only program involves camping out for an entire weekend, and some pretty useful survival skills like how to build a fire without matches or lighters, how to build a shelter for protection and how to hunt and gather food. The premise for being outdoors was basically that if zombies ever invaded Portland, Step 1 would be to take to the wilderness. Of course, once there you would need to know how to survive, and that’s where Training CampZ comes into picture. Tony Deis, founder, says, “You don’t have to be dour and boring. You can be a bunch of geeks.” The zombie element, he says, attracts people who wouldn’t normally be interested in an outdoor class.

Photo: Shannon L. Cheesman/KATU.com 

Instructor Jamey Espinoza is equally enthusiastic about the concept. “Everybody wants to play zombies,” he said. Participants aren’t to be left behind; they have a whale of a time too. Sechin Tower, a participant who drove in all the way from Seattle said, “I’m really enjoying it. I don’t have much opportunity to get out to the wilderness, living in an urban place. It also kind of opened my eyes to how under prepared I would be for a more realistic disaster, like an earthquake.” Some of the things that are taught at the class include – avoiding infections, finding clean groundwater, stealth, using hatchets, and also cooking on smokeless fires. But most importantly, you can apparently learn how to dodge zombie puke that could turn you into an undead corpse. Sounds like a super-fun camp to attend.

via KATU.com