This past weekend our group fleshed and scraped a lot of deer hides. We also brained a bunch, and started pulling them, but were overtaken by dark before we got any soft. Brain tanning courses are all about time management. We’re trying to squeeze a bunch of stuff into a short period of time. We [...]

Braintan workshop day 2: 6 hides scraped and dressed, 3 fleshed and salted, pulling all afternoon, 3 tired guys.  

I’m interested in homemade, wood fired ovens, as well as community baking. I’ve read a few books on these topics, and one that I always wanted to get a copy of was called The Bread Ovens Of Quebec. I’ve looked for a reasonably-priced copy for years with no luck. But I just learned that the [...]

Braintanning this AM: fleshing a deer hide in the rain.  

After a recent post announcing upcoming lodge-based courses, a few of our readers contacted me wanting more information. Before I could provide it, I had to publish the new site about our camp for rent in New Hampshire where the courses will be based. I got it online today. More information on the lodge-based courses is coming [...]

Boys, dog and I hiked to the bridge and had hot chocolate to celebrate black Friday.  

Dutch oven turkey on the bottom, apple cake on top, and lot's to be thankful for.  

I just got an interesting call from a guy that has me scratching my head. I’m posting the gist of it, but obviously will mention no names (so don’t ask). On our website we have a popular recommended gear page that I probably haven’t changed in more than 12 years. The caller had followed one [...]

Saw my friend who butchers deer today, left with 9 hides. Braintan class this weekend, plus a few for me.  

Video about the new Jack Mountain Winter Expedition Tent. I left three things out of the video. First, the height of the center pole is right around 8 feet, making the dimensions 8’6″ wide by 11’6″ long by 8′ tall at the peak. Second, the material is 10.10 oz cotton. Third, if you’re interested you [...]

Gloomy day, stunning sunset over Rust Pond.  

December 6-12 we’re running our Winter Woodsman course, followed immediately by the Frozen 48 Winter Survival Challenge. The Winter Woodsman is our introduction to winter. We cover the particulars of living out in the winter, from clothing and tools to fire and shelter, as well as cover the traditional gear and techniques that make living [...]

Next weekend we’re running a course on braintanning, where we’ll take raw (ie. bloody, and stinky) deer hides, and through a process that’s older than civilization, turn them into beautiful, chamois-like braintan buckskin. If you want to learn it, there are still open spots. I want to share how we keep people safe from Lyme [...]

Beginning in January, we’re offering something new at our folk school in New Hampshire; lodge-based programs. They combine our popular bushcraft and outdoor skills programs with housing in our modern, comfortable lodge. These programs are limited in size and allow people to participate in our bushcraft programs without having to live outdoors. We’re still offering [...]

First look at the new Jack Mountain Expedition tent made by Tentsmiths. Details coming soon.  

White pine burl at The Woodsman School. Stopped into see Derek Faria and spent a rainy afternoon in front of a fire.  

Saturday, 11/21 from 9:30AM-4PM On our expeditions fire is a necessity; it warms us and cooks our food. We’re often faced with extremely difficult firelighting challenges. These must be overcome for the success of the expedition. What participants of the this one-day workshop will take away are the skills and confidence that they can get [...]

This weekend I’ll be venturing west of the Connecticut River to attend the Snow Walkers Rendezvous in Vermont. It’s a fantastic event, and one that should be on your calendar if you’re in the northeast and interested in winter camping and expeditions. Here are seven reasons why you should attend:   The Gear. Traditional canvas [...]

Mist on lake Winni this morning, water like glass.  

Rust Pond, named after Henry Rust. Here's the cellar hole of his house built in 1773.  

Most of the people who participate in our semester program are not from Maine, and the way of life near the field school is rural and often significantly different than where they’re from. This past fall, during week two of the course, some of the guys were talking about how religious the area was. I [...]

Son and I taking advantage of warm fall weather. This view became the Jack Mountain logo.  

We’ve had a lot of content plagiarized from our website over the years. As a result we created a “name and shame” plagiarism policy, where we publicly call-out the people who do it. And this morning I learned that it had been done by someone I know. Not cool. Compare our course assessment page with [...]

Calm before the storm; cooked for 22 people tonight at the campfire cooking workshop. Good times and good food.  

After a lengthy hiatus the JMB podcast is back. In this episode I talk with Derek Faria and Shawn Donnely from The Woodsman School. We’re friends and neighbors and discuss what they’ve been up to, their new website, becoming a Registered Maine Guide, and have a few cheap laughs. a Links from this episode: The [...]

Sublime twilight on Rust Pond. Still water reflects blue sky, makes me reflective too.  

Tomorrow night’s campfire cooking class is full, but if you’re in the area and want to come we could probably squeeze in one more.  We’ll be covering a variety of topics applicable to the woods cook, including: Building a tripod Gear – wannigans, pots, frying pans Grilling meat in a raquette Dutch oven cooking with [...]

Long-term bushcraft program number 32 successfully completed. Home with family in NH.  

Full house on the cook stove. Cook shack is a luxury during cold weather.  

Brown ash basketry in camp today. Some pack baskets, some smaller baskets. #poundedash  

1st aid/CPR in camp this AM. It's a requirement to become a registered Maine guide.  

Pounding brown ash for basket splints. Lots of 'pounding ash' jokes flying around camp right now.  

Splitting a brown ash log with wooden wedges, to be pounded into pack basket splints.  

Felling a large brown ash for pack basket splints.  

Putting wood in the stove. Cook shack at the JMB field school.  

Atlatl practice. The original big game hunting tool.  

Jack Mountain Bushcraft School instructor and Maine Guide Paul Sveum poling his 18' EM White wood canvas boat on a lower West Branch of the Penobscot deadwater at twilight.  

From our recent trip to Baxter and Debsconeag. Later afternoon sun with Mount Katahdin in the background. And the work horse of our canoe fleet, the 18' Prospector from Nova Craft Canoe. After beating up on them for 14 years, I can say with some authority it's simply an awesome boat.  

Moose season. Scraping moose hides in the rain at 7AM.  

Softening braintanned deer hides in camp today.  

After a week on the trail we're starting the braintanning process today. End of week 5 of the WBS, time is flying by.  

Spring water bubbling up under a big spruce tree. Cold and pure.  

Put this under the heading “gear I’ve wanted for years.” After reading my friend Oblio13’s post in 2008, I’ve wanted a large Thermette boiler that would handle a few gallons at a time. I’ve had a 2 quart model for 15 years, but it just isn’t enough water for camp chores. If you’ve never heard [...]

Crystal clear waters of Rust Pond. I never want to live where the water isn't amazing. Spoiled.  

“We are now reveling in the indescribable freshness of the Antarctic that seems to permeate one’s being, and which must be responsible for that longing to go again which assails each returned explorer…”  Ernest Shackleton on his Nimrod expedition to Antarctica This year the Jack Mountain Alumni Winter Expedition, assailed by the memories of the [...]

Congratulations to the newest Registered Maine Guide, Benjamin Spencer!

Firing up the smoker this afternoon. Big fancy dinner tonight.  

Custom made Guide Canteen for Fil Salonek's Allagash-AT expedition. Alumni services, trail support.  

Hand drill fire lighting. Old School.  

9-11. Listenened to The radio news this AM. They were reading names, they read 5, including the guy I knew who was on the plane on 9/11/01.

Took a ride to check out a new course location. Quoddy Head lighthouse, easternmost point in the USA.  

We’re creating a scholarship for college outdoor education students to make our immersion programs more affordable.  Beginning with the spring, 2016 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, we’re offering a $5100 scholarship. There are some rules and a specific application process, all of which you can read about at: Bushcraft Leadership Scholarship

Solos are over. Welcoming everyone back to camp with a dutch oven triple stack. 17", 16" and 14" deep.  

Low-tech gravity fed solar water heater. Elevated barrel and coil of black pipe. Used for washing dishes and people.  

Shaving a canoe paddle blade down with a draw knife. Finishing paddles today, headed out paddling tomorrow.  

We’ve updated the requirements for our Journeyman Guide And Bushcraft Instructor certification for the current semester. Some of the additions include an expanded section on knots and their applications, formal trip planning, and a 4-day water fast. You can get more information on the Journeyman certification on our site (link). You can also download the requirements [...]

Primitive rope making with hand spinners this morning. Low-tech and it just works.  

My new book, The Woods Cook: Outdoor Cooking With A Professional Guide, is now available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. As a guide I’ve been leading trips and cooking over an open fire professionally since the late 1990’s. This book details the approach, methods and recipes that have helped me be be successful [...]

Bushcraft Tool Kit.  

Newly made crooked knife starting work on a canoe paddle.  

We’re adding a second Boreal Snowshoe Expedition session in 2016.  It’s our winter bushcraft immersion; a twelve day traditional northern winter wilderness living and travel expedition.  We’re on the trail living on snowshoes, hauling our gear on toboggans, staying in woodstove-outfitted canvas tents and learning to be at home and comfortable in the bitter cold. [...]

Flatwater poling today. Traditional skills and gear make you more resilient on the water.  

Bending crooked knife blades in camp today. Photo by Paul Sveum.  

New addition to the field school: weight lifting/pull-up station. Made from lumber.  

Dutch oven lunch, then canoe poling class on a perfect August day.

Week 1, Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, everyone makes their own rope.  

Paul harvesting overhead cherries using a Blickey Stick. There's a mountain of ripe wild food around here right now.  

Using axes in the woods. Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, fall 2015, day 2.  

Maine Wilderness Guides Organization life member certificate finally arrived. Its official.  

Talking axes on day 1 of our 32nd long term program. Great start to the course. Photo by Paul Sveum.  

Paddling in the North Maine Woods. This is what freedom looks like.  

Moose and calf on the Allagash. Summer is just about over. Our 32nd immersion course starts this weekend.  

Lining Long Lake dam wearing really short shorts.  

Best view in NH? On Rattlesnake Island on lake Winnepesaukee with an old friend. Perfect evening.  

Watching and listening to a thunderstorm approach. A grand spectacle. Thunder rumbling from horizon to horizon.  

Paddling at the headwaters of the Aroostook. From this spring.  

Little Allagash Falls. Allagash stream below the falls has a few rapids and several ledge drops, and we ran them all.  

After the Ice Caves, enjoying the current in the pools above the larger drop at Little Allagash Falls. This is roughly halfway between Allagash Lake and Chamberlain Lake.  

Exploring the Ice Caves at Allagash Lake on our recent trip. A few of the guys got 100 yards in. These are pretty remote, no roads anywhere near them, but one one of the old canoe routes.  

Just upstream of Stair Falls on the upper East Branch of the Penobscot. Over the three miles downstream from here the river drops over four named falls and a series of rapids. The mountain scenery on this trip is the best in Maine.  

Gravel Beach on Chamberlain Lake, Allagash Wilderness Waterway. We spent a day windbound here on our recent trip.  

Allagash Falls – boyband album cover, 2 of 2. Displaying their more playful side.  

Allagash Falls – boyband album cover photo. This is 1 of 2 and shows their sensitive side.  

Congratulatins to Maine's newest registered guide, Thomas Letchworth!  

Chamberlain Lake Cairns. Someone had built these two cairns on the shore of Chamberlain lake, and I got in touch with my inner artist at sundown for this shot. I thought it looked interesting.  

Just before sunrise on Webster Lake on our second trip of the Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester. A stunning corner of Baxter State Park.  

Hardest part of any long-term program is saying goodbye at the end. You become family. It's the worst for me. #team

Back from the river. EPIC trip. Hate whats coming next. Allready miss these guys.  

Going off the grid and on the river. Be back in four weeks.  

My friend Charlie's motorcycle with moose antlers mounted. Welcome to Ashland, Maine.  

Meal and trip planning for 4 week canoe expedition tonight. Packing tomorrow, put in on Tuesday. Great group, going to be an awesome trip.

Lakeside foraging on ripe juneberries (Amelanchier genus). It doesn't get much better than this.  

Stunning pack basket I was given on Sunday. Thanks to Derek Faria of The Woodsman School. You're a true class act.  

Motorcycle with axe and pack basket lashed on, headed south from the field school.  

Spending the day with family in the Ossipee mountains. Great views of the NH lakes region. At Castle In The Clouds  

Great fly fishing class tonight. Thanks to Sumner Brook Fish Farm for hosting. Tight loops!  

New wannigan. Instead of just varnish, this one is first getting fiberglass cloth and West System epoxy. Super strong  

This afternoon's fly fishing workshop is full. If the lightning is bad, we'll reschedule. If its just rain, its on.  

Just watched this guy swim across the pond. Don't know the species, but a great swimmer!  

Rainy day, but first one in ten weeks I'm not running a course. Getting excited about the canoe expedition.  

Finishing a pack basket. One of many projects being completed this afternoon, the last one on the Woodsman course.  

Making a burn bowl by the campfire. Super-productive week on the Woodsman course.  

Fire by friction with a bow drill. One of the technologies that got us where we are as a species.  

15 minutes later, some dirt and a piece of angle iron cut in half, and the new rocket stove is cooking lunch.  

Making a new rocket stove for our outdoor kitchen. Metal can, stove pipe, hammer and cold chisel.  

Making rope with hand spinners. Back to the basics.  

Building saw frames and getting ready for the rain, JMBS Woodsman Course.  

Woodsman course, tents in the field. Off to a busy start with the four axe majors and carving bow drills.  

Primitive tool kit as final project. Stick a fork in our 30th long-term immersion program, it's done.  

Crossbow as a final project. Wilderness Bushcraft Semester # 30, nine weeks almost over.  

Two epic days canoeing the Big Machias river and Pratt Stream. Big water & tons of wildlife.  

Pulling braintan buckskin on a cable. This is where the magic transformation happens: from slimy hide to buckskin.  

Beginning the braintanning process today: fleshing and scraping deer hides. Will eventually become mukluks.  

Full rain buckets, 2nd day of rain. Always amazed at the human response to weather. Can quickly crush group morale.  

Pouring rain and 49 degrees. June in northern Maine.  

Out enjoying the 2.3 miles of new trails at the field school. Aroostook river on the left.  

Finishing a pack basket. Wilderness Bushcraft Semester week 7 is full of big craft projects  

Shave horse, spoke shave, wood becoming a canoe paddle. Hand tools and going slow.  

First-time paddle maker, turned out beautiful.  

Wilderness Bushcraft Semester week 7: nets, hammocks, paddles and pack baskets.  

5 large ice creams. i saw it live. True story.  

Only the chosen one can wield The Spoon Of Destiny!  

There's a new sherriff in town. Iron Spoon challenge met. This is large ice cream number 5.  

Making a spoon from rebar in order to take on the Iron Spoon Challenge: 4 large ice creams from the Quik Stop 2.  

May 23, snowing hard and fast in Masardis. Glad I waited on putting in the garden.  

Making grass mattresses. Good sleeps on the grass-o-pedic.  

And a whole bunch of live moose, bald eagles and a whole family of otters.

Saw two more dead moose on our trip. One was in the river.

Back, a week on the river. Awesome time. 60 miles from the headwaters to the field school. Photo from a woods road.  

Paddle making: using draw knives to shape the blanks. Hand tools, process not product.  

Beginning the canoe paddle-making process: tracing a blade onto a paddle blank.  

Life Returns. Every year when green returns after a long winter I'm completely amazed.  

After a long build up, my son and I are sitting down to watch the movie Troll 2, the worst movie (supposedly) ever made.

Land navigation exercise this morning: map, compass and barehand.  

Making rope for canoe lining bridles. Poling the Blackwater River this afternoon.  

Tony Nester is one of my favorite writers on bushcraft and survival skills. I enjoy his easy writing style, and an fascinated and entertained by his descriptions of the southwest. This morning, May 5th here in northern Maine, I woke up early and sat with Life Under Open Skies with my morning coffee. I was [...]

After a long day paddling, cooking a triple stack of dutch ovens for supper. Sourdough, spicy chicken, custard.  

First day on the water for 2015. Beautiful sunny day, still some ice.  

Beautiful day, had my first outdoor shower of the year. Feeling clean! Solar hot water, hoist a bucket.  

Windy and rainy lately, so we made a windbreak/raincoat for dutch oven cooking out of blocks and a barrel lid.  

Found a dead moose halfway up the mountain. He hadn't been dead long.  

Great hike up Deboulie mountain in the north Maine woods Saturday. Still some pockets of deep snow.  

Finished crooked knife. Heated in an open fire, shaped with a file.  

Making buck saws. Carry the blade, make the rest in the forest.  

Coal burning a burl to make a wooden bowl. The slow way to make a container.  

Bending crooked knives, heated in a small rocket stove. No forge, simple knife making.  

Cutting the bevel on a crooked knife in progress. Making simple knives during week 2 of the WB semester.  

The 2015 Woodsman course is full and registration is closed.  We’ve received numerous inquiries, so we’re opening another week long course in August.  There’s been a two year gap since we’ve ran the Bushman Course, a primitive skills and primitive survival intensive, but we’ve got it on the calendar for August 8-15.  If you’re looking [...]

Bow drill fire lighting this morning. Newly-carved sets and challenging cold and damp conditions.  

Great weekend in New Brunswick with my old friend Jeff Butler from Northwoods Survival. Good talks. Inspiring.  

Field school rocket stoves. Snow is melting in open spots. Still deep in the bush, but not for long.  

Open fire lunch on the snow. Bannock, soup, coffee and tea.  

Our 30th bushcraft semester course begins today. And yes, there's a story behind this photo.  

Ice is going out on the Aroostook. 7 foot snow drifts on the road. We'll be walking in for a while.  

Canoe, Pack Basket, Axe. Traditional Maine Guide tools.  

Dome Thatched With Fir Boughs. Built a few years back during a fall semester.  

Wall Tents At The Field School. One week until the spring semester begins, getting excited.  

Morning Paddle. These days will be here soon. Ice is melting!  

Snow is melting and I'm thinking dangerous thoughts. Is this the year we canoe the Mosie river?  

Breakfast In Camp. Eggs and sourdough biscuits.  

End Of The Carry. End of the carry around Munsungun Falls in the north Maine woods.  

Canoe Tarp Shelter. Traditional gear on a north Maine woods river trip.  

Twenty Footer Rigged To Carry. Paddles lashed in to help distribute the weight of the boat when it's on my shoulders.  

Morning Paddle. Mist and bright sunshine.  

Mist and bright sunlight at Round Pond on the Allagash.  

After lots of discussion and staring at maps, we’ve decided on the route for this summer’s 4-week Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester. We’ll be running the Allagash from Chamberlain bridge to Allagash Village. Then we’ll rest and resupply at the field school for 2 days before hiking with minimal gear in Baxter state park for four [...]

Beautiful lines of a 20' wood canvas canoe.  

A double stack of dutch ovens, sourdough biscuits in the reflector oven, kettles of coffee and water and the clear blue sky for a roof. This is living.  

Waterfall at the north end of Baxter State Park in Maine. Hot summer day, and the water was freezing. It never warms up. We all got ice cream headaches as a result of swimming, but so refreshing after a long hike.  

Canoes and Katahdin, Epic Maine photo shot by Sam Racioppi during the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester.  

Twilight At The Waters' Edge. Inch of snow today, but spring is right around the corner.  

http://photos.nickgallop.com  

Canoe reflection. I love these shots when the water is like glass, reflecting back the world above it.  

Grouse In The Alders. Shot at the field school. Grouse are often hanging around, but somehow they know to not hang around during hunting season!  

Katahdin In The Morning. Loading canoes with Katahdin in the background on a beautiful fall morning.  

Morning In Camp. Coffee, oats and sourdough biscuits.  

Flat Water Paddling Practice. First day of spring, excited about getting out on the liquid water.  

Winter Won't Quit! Still tons of snow on the ground and we've had crazy wind for the past few days. Really, really looking forward to some warmer weather. Pic is from the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition, taken on a cold and windy day.  

We’re just over four weeks out from the start of the spring Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. We’re making some changes to the course this spring, most notably planning more time out on the trail canoeing the remote waterways of northern Maine. We’ll be all over the Aroostook drainage and I’m leaving the door open for the [...]

Two Different Sleds. In the foreground, a 3-strake wooden toboggan. In the background, a sled with runners. They perform differently and are built for different conditions.  

Sawing Up Firewood. We cut a lot of firewood during the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition. Love the wide angle gopro shots.  

Long Walk To The Water Hole. Filling pails to cook dinner.  

Life Under Canvas. Living the good life on the trail.  

Cranberry dutch oven cake. Snow day, kids have cabin fever so I put them to work in the kitchen.  

Hauling toboggans after the lunch stop on a perfect winter day.  

The GI Bill covers 100% of tuition and fees for our immersion programs. I get asked this question often, so I added it to the FAQ on our GI Bill page. We’re changing our deposit policy for those on the GI Bill beginning beginning after the fall, 2015 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. Going forward, we’re adding [...]

The Backlit Axeman. Heading out for a load of firewood on the Boreal Snowshoe Expeditions.  

Never get tired of this view. And I never take my good fortune for granted.  

I can’t remember if someone told me or if I read that coffin-shaped toboggans, widest a few feet from the bow and tapered at both ends, pull better than rectangular toboggans. Regardless of how I came to know that as true, I’ve believed it since I started pulling toboggans and camping with them in the [...]

Snow sculpted by the wind.  

Quickie Snow Shelter. Dug in 5 minutes with a snowshoe in wind-packed snow. It was well below zero degrees F, which is when snow shelters are at their best. Note the stylish, relaxed pose, making it look extra-inviting.  

Meanwhile our crack team of trackers have been scouring the remote corners of the north woods searching for sign of the elusive samsquantch.  

Although the snow is still more than waist deep and we have yet to hit mud season, today will be the second day in a row where the mercury tops 40 degrees F. Spring isn’t here yet, but it’s coming. So I wanted to take a look back on a really busy, amazing winter. It [...]

Tending the cooking fire on the BSE. I love the way the flames look in this photo.  

Broken Axe Handle. He had just hung that old Emerson & Stevens head before the trip. Must have been some bad wood.  

Axe Safety? This technique was not covered during the axe safety lecture, but what could go wrong?  

Quick look around our 8-sided tent on the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition.

After some shovel work, I'm declaring the dutch oven cooking season open! Tired of waiting.