Age: 57

Hometown: Sandpoint, Idaho

Profession: Wilderness/Primitive Skills Instructor

Going backpacking at 6 months old strapped to her father’s back, it’s natural to say Karie Lee has a lifetime of experiences in the outdoors. Growing up in a small town, playing in the woods and making shelters, she dreamed of someday walking off into the mountains with just a knife to survive. That would take longer than she planned though as life swept her away to college, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in both Computer Science and Business Administration along with a minor in Psychology. After 10 years as a Systems Analyst Consultant in Seattle, she escaped the turmoil of the corporate world, moving to Sandpoint, Idaho in 1997.

Now you can find her happily teaching wilderness and primitive living skills at gatherings around the country. Karie welcomes all walks of life on her facilitated trips into the backcountry where she shares that magical connection that only the wilderness can offer. She also delves into the world of Energy Medicine work and supplements treatments for suffering patients with hand-foraged, wild-crafted herbal remedies and flower essences. A passionate champion for farm-to-table health, she also makes time to work for a pesticide research scientist, collecting and analyzing data to be published in scientific journals on the toxicity impact of pesticides.

Karie’s home is a 30′ off-grid yurt deep in the woods, not connected to anything. She is surrounded and supported by the natural world around her: water comes from the sky; warmth
from the trees; food and medicine from the plants and wildlife; all “waste” is composted and returned to the forest to be recycled. She even built a gravity-fed, fire-heated bathhouse
containing a shower and sauna! In this rustic backdrop, when she’s not out playing or teaching, she enjoys a myriad of crafting projects like tanning hides, buckskin sewing, drum making, basketry, and felting. You may also come across her out backpacking, kayaking, snowboarding, or practicing her archery.

Here are the ten items Karie Lee selected to bring on her survival journey to the remote wilderness valley in Labrador, Canada:

1. Paracord

2. Sleeping bag

3. 2-quart pot

4. Ferro rod

5. Fishing line and hooks

6. Bow and arrows

7. Trapping wire

8. Multitool

9. Ax

10. Emergency rations