Wild Women on the Water

Wilderness Living and Ancestral Skills Course with Callie Russell

August 17th-23rd 2025

Kalispell, MT

Limited to 15 students

Tuition $2,222

Join Callie and friends, for a week full of wilderness living skills, adventure, connection, and rejuvenation. We will make camp on the beautiful Flathead River in Northwestern Montana and explore a variety of essential wilderness living skills and ancestral skills such as:

• how to select a good camp 

• many methods of fire making

• tending and cooking on fire

• purifying water

• cordage making and knots

• shelter building

• fishing

• edible and medicinal plants

• tracking and trapping

• archery

• all things goat, milking, cheese making, and walking with goats

• Paddle boarding, canoeing, and kayaking

• and more!

We will have plenty of hands-on time to practice skills, and we will also have time for self care, soaking up the experience, and practicing personal growth skills too:

• movement practices

• journaling

• silent time on the land for meditation and reflection

• exercises to tap into your own intuition and creativity

• swimming

• playing games

• and more

After learning, laughing, and practicing skills with our newfound sisters, we will leave our base camp and head out for a river adventure. We’ll pack up some gear and get in our kayaks and canoes and float down the river. We will make a wild camp, and spend one night away from our base camp. We will have a chance to test our skills with minimal gear in a new location. In this course we will adapt to the weather and what learning opportunities nature presents, versus rigidly sticking to an exact list of skills we plan to cover.

After this class you will: 

• feel empowered and inspired!

• have skills to live more comfortably outside and in the wilderness

• feel nourished by your connection with nature and new women friends

• be more in touch with yourself and your own intuition and creativity

• will likely have new life long friends

Meet the Crew

More Info

Who is this course for

This course is open to Women of all ages. While we love working with children, this course is designed for adult women.

This course is beginner friendly. If you hav little to no outdoor experience that is okay, you will gain confidence in this supportive environment. We will be covering the basics of outdoor living and survival. However, it is still appropriate for those that have lots of outdoor experience, and want to get more comfortable with survival and ancestral living skills. For example, you have camped and backpacked, but mostly used a gas stove and a tent, but would like to cultivate your relationship with fire and learn how to rig up a tarp shelter instead of relying on a tent. Another example, you are a hunter or avid day hiker, and want to learn how to handle a situation where you get lost and are caught out over night without the gear you are used to having.

Physical Fitness: This is a front country course and our base camp is easily accessible by vehicle, we will not be hiking over mountains in this course. We will be base camping and then spending two days paddling the river. We ask that students are physically fit enough to camp for the week and paddle the river for two half days and “rough it” for one night at a “wild camp”on the beach by the river.

Camp Facilities: Our base camp is right on the beautiful Flathead River. There are no buildings, no electricity, and no running water except for the river of coarse. Our camp infrastructure consists of an outdoor kitchen, and canvas tarps and tents for shade and a refuge from the bugs if we need it. There are no flushing toilets, there is an outdoor, but with privacy, “soilet”which is our homemade composting toilet and there will also be a “porta-john”. We will use the river water for wash water and have well water available for drinking. Our over night on the river will be a “primitive” camp or “wild” camp, we will cook on the fire and dig “cat holes” for going to the bathroom, if you don’t know how to do this, we will teach you how :)

Tuition

Tuition $2222 (there is an alumni discount, email me for the code if you are a returning wild woman :)

The tuition includes:

• A full week of learning and fun!

• Camping right on the Flathead River

• 3 meals a day, simple camp fare, but delicious and made with whole foods

• use of life jackets, kayaks, paddle boards, and canoes

• pick up/drop off from the airport if you need it

Tuition does NOT include:

• Travel expense (airfare/train/driving) to and from Kalispell

Trades - cash is appreciated, however we are open to certain trades as well. Callie would be willing to trade for cured, high quality basketry willows, or goat sitting by someone who has experience with animals or is willing to take the time to learn. Callie is also looking to up her game in the digital realm and seeking a video editor and a web extraordinaire.

Scholarship Fund - I take a percentage from every class I teach and put it into a scholarship fund, for this course we will be able to provide one student full tuition! (the scholarship completely covers the tuition of the course, however travel to and from and other expenses are still the responsibility of the student). If you need a scholarship to be able to participate in this workshop please email me at callie@caprakhan.com with a paragraph or two about why you want to come to the class and why a scholarship would make it possible, feel free to write a poem or get creative in whatever way you feel inspired! Scholarship submissions due by April 1st. Selections will take place within a week of the deadline.

Scholarship submissions are due by April 1st.

Start and end times:

Sunday August 17th is arrival day. Opening circle is at 4pm and our first meal together is dinner on this day. You can arrive anytime after 1pm to set up camp and settle in before Opening circle.

Closing circle ends at 10am on Saturday August 23rd, our last meal together is breakfast on this day. We will be all wrapped up by 10am on the 23rd, and you are free to go, however you are welcome to take as much time as you would like to pack up and leave anytime on the 23rd. If you have extra time, this would be a great day to venture into Glacier National Park with some of your new friends :)

Airport and Rides

If you need a ride from the airport (FCA - Glacier International Airport) let us know we’ll pick you up and drop you off. 

Gear

If there’s any camping gear that you don’t have, let us know, we may have something you can borrow (on a first ask first serve basis) or be able to offer some alternative options.

Once registered for the class you will be provided with more information, including a packing list, exact location/directions, ect.

Sold Out?

If the class is sold out and you would like to join the waitlist send an email to waitlist@caprakhan.com and include the name of the class in the subject line.

Refunds

Full refunds (excluding transaction fees, which is 3% the credit card processor takes) are available until 42 days prior to the class.