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 our website and the various programs we offered, they had no idea where to start. After thinking about trying to come up with a response, I realized that this person was correct; things were too complex. It was time to simplify.
We’re in the final season of year 26 of the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School, and over the years we’ve run a bunch of different programs of different lengths going by different names. And even if they weren’t on our current course calendar, they were on our website, and there was no clear path as to where to start and which way to go. I put myself in the shoes of someone who was looking at what we offer and it left me scratching my head.
I spent the spring and summer ruminating on what we teach and why. At it’s best, education should be transformational. After thinking about what programs we run that have had the greatest impact on our students, I kept coming back to the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. The long course allows for accumulated reps over time that result in growth not possible in the short courses. Also, the breadth of the curriculum feels complete, drawing on a variety of disciplines.
So, in 2026, during the field school season which runs from spring through fall, we will be running 3 separate Wilderness Bushcraft Semester courses. We will be adding the curriculum for the Professional Canoe Guide Training Course into the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, including the Engagé certifications for levels 1 and 2. And we will be opening up the course to part-time students, so someone who is interested does not have to come out for the entire course at once. They will be able to come for a week at a time, or for how ever many weeks they have time for. We will not be running any other public programs from spring through fall, as you can currently see on our calendar. We are still open to people coming out for a week, however now it will be a week on the WBS.
More updates and details to come.
#FullTangLifestyle
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Lots of wisdom of an “elder” in this. Being effective and accurate often takes less energy than being busy, and as I have gotten older, I don’t have any extra energy to waste: everything has to be efficient. When you’re 20-40, mistakes and failures are great teachers, and you have plenty of extra energy in your body to make up for them. Nowadays, I would not want to be young again without the wisdom I have earned through failure: I wouldn’t trade my ‘learning from mistakes’ for youth. No way. Coming to peace with my own messed up journey is one of the best parts of being an elder-lol. Peace. Understanding, Compassion even tho we are aware of how messed up
Humanity is right now. I think my connection to nature thru skills has kept me from becoming an angry elder, as I see so many older people have become: angry and shut down. The story they bought into didn’t work out and they have no connection to what is real. If you took their money and wealth away, they have nothing. But there is something akin to Truth in survival skills. I haven’t made a herbal salve in 20 years but I still feel connected to the plants I made salves with. When I attend Rabbitstick I can’t do as much as I used to, but I speak a common language with everyone there. And the stories I share from my years of hunting, fishing, survival, herbalism, and crafting still perk people up and generate change in others as much as they changed me. We don’t teach people “about” the woods and nature; We ARE the woods and nature. It’s part of our soul: NO ONE can take your dirt time away from you, NO ONE! So get outside and DO! God I love being in the forest. I do love it so. I love it through years and years of interaction with plants and animals. My best hunt was tracking a moose from infancy to year two and stalking it on opening archery day to 12 yards: drew my bow on him and then passed on the shot; realizing that moose had become part of me. I had no problem killing it for meat, but it had become a part of my soul in a different way. He taught me to track. Showed me hidden places along the Moose River I never would have found unless I followed; he taught me that ‘body radar’ is real and it works. You spend enough time in the woods and it becomes part of you. And so our mission is clear: get people out there. Get their hands moving and involved. Keep a fragment of humanity connected to nature so deeply that they pause before cutting a tree or pulling a “weed” or killing an animal. Because we give a damn.
Peace
Patrick