When projects last a long time, they often get things added to them that weren’t part of the initial plan. The longer a thing lasts, the more complex it can become. Last spring I received a message from a person who was interested in coming out for a course, but mentioned that in looking through […]
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Paul Sveum and I got together in our new digital studio (actually a piece of software) to talk about fly fishing opportunities for the upcoming 2025 season. We had a long list of topics to discuss and only got to a few of them. Hence the part 1 in the title. We’ll be recording another […]
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In the woods working on wet weather fire protocol using subjective and objective tests to measure the amount of moisture in dead standing trees. The end of week 1 of the spring, 2025 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. #FullTangLifestyle […]
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– Ago Puteus Foris –
We’re a bushcraft, guide training and wilderness expedition school and traditional Maine Guide service founded in 1999. We help people become more skilled, more knowledgeable, more experienced and more confident by using traditional wilderness skills, a few simple tools and field-based experience. This is our media hub. For information on our programs, go to JackMtn.com, and check out our Calendar to see all upcoming programs.
Sometimes you get to a campsite on a remote river and the firewood has been picked over. Especially if it has been used for a while. But there is almost always firewood on the other side of the river. In this (grainy) photo, I’m transporting a canoe full of firewood for the night’s cook fire […] Continue Reading...
From the spring. We went up to our local lake for some paddling and Maine IFW was stocking remote trout ponds by float plane. They would load the young trout from a stock truck into the floats of the plane, then it would fly off and dump them in the ponds. Since I was a […] Continue Reading...
My wood canvas canoe, rigged up and ready for the carry around Allagash Falls. Notice this canoe has a center thwart, not a carved yoke. Notice how the paddles are tied to the thwarts so that when it is carried, the weight of the boat is distributed by the paddle blades onto the shoulders as […] Continue Reading...
When projects last a long time, they often get things added to them that weren’t part of the initial plan. The longer a thing lasts, the more complex it can become. Last spring I received a message from a person who was interested in coming out for a course, but mentioned that in looking through […] Continue Reading...
For years people have asked me if there are decent axes and knives available locally. I can finally say yes. The Gateway Trading Post in Ashland, Maine is 6.5 miles from the field school campus on the way to Ashland. They carry Snow & Neally Axes and Mora Knives. They also carry a variety of […] Continue Reading...
During the summer courses we braintanned two deer hides and made red osier dogwood and spruce root baskets. Here is a photo of one person’s work, with the basket full of summer wildflowers, herbs and berries. The hides were ones I had scraped a few years ago, so we just did the braining and softening. […] Continue Reading...
Although I haven’t been active online, it has been a busy summer at the field school. We had a solid canoe guide training course with great water levels on the Allagash, followed by week-long summer woodsman 1 and 2 classes. And now we’re a day away from starting the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, our 67th […] Continue Reading...
It’s been a few months since I written or recorded anything. Life at the field school has been busy with the spring Wilderness Bushcraft Semester followed immediately by the Professional Canoe Guide Training Course. I found that my day to day life and work took up all my time, and I was feeling like a […] Continue Reading...
Week one of our 9-week semester is all about making people self-sufficient. We spend a lot of time workong on fire, cooking over the fire, using an axe to get wood for the fire, sanitation, and settling into the woods life. We also spend a lot of time on the academic side of the course, […] Continue Reading...
We received an inch of fresh snow overnight. In planning for it yesterday, we worked on our introduction to mammal studies and first thing this morning we will be covering our introduction to tracking. A fresh inch of snow over a frozen ground is pretty close to as good as it gets in this part […] Continue Reading...
The beginning of a bushcraft semester is always marked by a settling in period. Everyone is learning our systems, getting settled with food and shelter, and digging into both the hands-on and academic instruction. It takes time. By the end of last summer I was pretty burned out with media, social media, shooting video, etc. […] Continue Reading...
Paul Sveum and I got together in our new digital studio (actually a piece of software) to talk about fly fishing opportunities for the upcoming 2025 season. We had a long list of topics to discuss and only got to a few of them. Hence the part 1 in the title. We’ll be recording another […] Continue Reading...
Recorded on December 23, 2024. Rick, Oz and I got together via the internet to discuss the Maine Guide Medic wilderness first responder course that took place in November, 2024. We go over what worked well, what will be improved for next year, and some interesting things we learned. For me, the Stop The Bleed […] Continue Reading...
Recorded on November 14. Sam Summers and discuss the Women’s Bushcraft & Canoe 3-Week Immersion, coming in 2025. We also discuss her experience on the 2024 Expedition Instructor program. #FullTangLifestyle Photo: Sam paddling with her dog. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 133 Kid-Friendly? There is no profanity in this episode. Links: Women’s Bushcraft & Canoe […] Continue Reading...
Recorded on Saturday, September 21. Oz and Rick are back from the solo expedition canoe course. We discuss how it went, what worked, what didn’t, what the plan is for next time. If you’re interested, the solo canoe expedition course is on the calendar for next summer. #FullTangLifestyle Photo: Lake reflecting the sky. Show Notes: […] Continue Reading...
Recorded on Saturday, September 14. Oz and Rick are in camp preparing to run the solo expedition canoe course and we decided to record our morning coffee discussion. Current events, all about the solo expedition canoe course, Rick’s survival courses in New Hampshire, Oz’s trip to Michigan’s UP, and a bit about the reworking of […] Continue Reading...
In the woods working on wet weather fire protocol using subjective and objective tests to measure the amount of moisture in dead standing trees. The end of week 1 of the spring, 2025 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. #FullTangLifestyle... Continue Reading...
An inch of new snow fell overnight, and this morning sat on top of the frozen ground creating a near-perfect medium for tracking. So we spent most of the morning exploring and looking for tracks. We were fortunate to find fisher, snowshoe hare, red squirrel, ruffed grouse and robin tracks in the snow, as well […] Continue Reading...
Today was the first day of the spring Wilderness Buschraft Semster in 2025. We still have some snow cover in shady areas, and we started our first morning working on making fire and coffee. #FullTangLifestyle... Continue Reading...
Working on friction fire techniques at the field school. We had 100% success rate with everyone getting their first hand drill coals. We also had success with the fire plough, as documented in this video. A lot of learning is taking place. #FullTangLifestyle... Continue Reading...
