I’m cancelling the School Of The Forest class, scheduled for Saturday, March 15th. Even though the most recent storm didn’t drop the predicted ten inches of snow, there’s still too much of it to run an effective class. The combination of nowhere to park (because of snow), inability to get to the outhouses without snowshoes, [...]

I just returned from our 14-day Boreal Snowshoe Expedition. It was a fantastic trip with the best weather I’ve ever had when out for more than a week in the winter. Constant cold, clear skies, and one big snowstorm. Most importantly, there was no thaw, that bit of winter weather I dislike the most when [...]

Highlights: We’re starting February with the School Of The Forest on the first of the month. When the class is over, we’re loading up the truck with sleds, tents, stoves and other gear and heading to the county for the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition. We’ll be in the woods for 2 weeks. When the course ends, [...]

We’re running the February School Of The Forest class on Saturday, February first. We’ve added the class handouts to the SOTF page. Click on course date from the yellow box on the left to download a pdf about that day. For the February first class, you can also get the information sheet by clicking this [...]

In this podcast I’m joined by Robbie and Yukon to talk about our upcoming Boreal Snowshoe Expedition, their plans to continue on to Minnesota for another snowshoe expedition, trip preparations, whether we’ll have cable tv in the bush, and if so, what size tv we’ll have. During the podcast we mention the video these two [...]

In the February, 2014 issue of DownEast Magazine there’s a big article on the military veterans that attended the fall, 2013 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. The article focuses on their transition from active duty to civilian life. There’s a bunch of stuff on Jack Mountain, such as the quotation below, but the focus is squarely on [...]

It’s no secret that I love the winter. When the mercury drops and the snow falls, most people leave the forests, not to return again until spring unless taken there by a gas-powered contrivance of some sort. It makes even a few acres of woodlot feel like a vast wilderness when the wind is howling [...]

In 2004 we had a few (fewer than 40) oilskin baseball caps made up. They’ve since become highly sought after collector’s items. I hadn’t thought about getting any more made, but was contacted this summer by the wife of an old friend, who was also one of the few to have an original hat. She [...]

What would you do after a 2-week, northern Maine snowshoe expedition? If you answered head directly to Minnesota to go on another multi-week snowshoe expedition, you think just like the guys doing our yearlong immersion program. Paul Sveum, one of our instructors, is leading a trip across Minnesota’s Boundary Waters immediately following our trip in [...]

Just ten days until our 2-week Boreal Snowshoe Expedition. We’ll be taking to the woods of Aroostook County, Maine and traveling by snowshoe and hauling our gear on toboggans along the frozen waterways. Home will be several woodstove-outfitted canvas tents. This year we’ll be joined for a few days by guest instructor and my old [...]

Eleven years ago I bought a rain jacket from Tentsmiths. They call it a Watchcoat and it’s made out of oiled cotton. I’ve always hated nylon rain gear because of it’s noise, and this one is quiet. I wear it with a wide-brimmed rain hat, and have used it hard every year I’ve had it. [...]

Our 4-week canoe expedition this summer will be very physically challenging. I’ve got six months to train for it, and I need to accomplish two things. First, I need to get stronger. I need to add muscle to my upper body, with an emphasis on my shoulders; they’re what gets sore after a week of [...]

As of today, the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester running from April 20 to June 21 of this year is full. We could still have some cancellations, so if you want to be on the waiting list for the spring course let us know. The fall course is about half full, meaning there are 5 open spots [...]

2014 marks a few milestones for me. It’s the ten year mark for me blogging. In 2004 my friend Shayne told me about blogging and even set up a blog for me on my site. It took me a while to wrap my head around it, but I used that blog for two years before [...]

I wrote a while back that I was changing the format of the Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester, our four-week Maine canoe expedition. I’ve felt for a long time that there needed to be more of a challenge involved. This year, there will be plenty of challenge. The Route We’ll be making a giant (about 270 [...]

Beginning in 2014 we’re moving from email to a forum-based communication system for enrolled students. Email has become unreliable for us due to the volume of it that we receive, messages not being received due to filters, etc. Communication regarding future courses will take place on the forum. You’ll have to register to view anything [...]

This year we’re partnering with GALA ( a local non-profit) to offer a monthly workshop series on self-reliance. Workshops run the second Wednesday of every month and are $15. More information is our Self Reliance Workshop page. The upcoming workshops are: 1/8 – Traditional Winter Gear, Snowshoes And Snowshoeing 2/12 – Soap Making 101 3/12 [...]

There are two main ways that people cook over a fire: suspend a pot from above or prop it up from below. Of course there are other ways, but these two are by far the most common. Of these, I prefer to hang a pot from above when cooking over an open fire because it [...]

I’ve been working on putting together a new site for the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School where we can keep up with what community members are up to. We encourage our students to publish their logbooks, photos, etc., but up to this point haven’t had an easy way to keep up with one another. This is [...]

Is this the year you’re going to pitch it all and go live in the forest? Leave the corporate rat race and the city life behind and head for the quiet of the bush? I hear from people regularly who want to quit their job, sell their house and go live in the woods for [...]

Highlights: January is named for the Roman god Janus, often portrayed with two faces; one looking back in contemplation, one looking forward in anticipation. It’s a month where I spend a lot of time in the office planning the details of the coming year, and also looking back at what worked and what needs to [...]

We ran our first School Of The Forest kids program this past Saturday during a bitter cold snap and with ten inches of fresh, powdery snow on the ground. The day was a mixture of bushcraft, nature lore and games, and even though we were constantly checking to make sure everyone was warm enough and [...]

Yesterday I was part of a conversation led by a man who runs a small academic program for homeschoolers. He was talking about the modern fascination with being able to measure learning when he mentioned that problem solving is not as important as problem finding. This got me thinking. Modern education puts a high value [...]

Self-Reliace Deficit Disorder (SRDD) – A disease.  Symptoms include having the inability to provide for any basic needs with materials from immediate surroundings, needing significant infrastructure to accomplish everyday tasks, and a generalized can’t-do attitude. I made up this term last week when writing about our upcoming kids program and people started talking about it, [...]

I’m not much of a television guy. Part of this is having two young kids, so when the tv is on there’s usually a dancing purple dinosaur or some other annoying cartoon character or puppet singing songs that make me temporarily envy the deaf. As a family we cut the cord a while ago and [...]

Highlights: After a busy season at the field school, returning home to the folk school is wonderful experience. Being surrounded by modern conveniences, electricity; I revel in it for a few days, then, like most modern people, I start to take it for granted. When something is everywhere, is it even possible to appreciate it? [...]

Nature has become wallpaper in outdoor education; a backdrop for human-focused activities. But it doesn’t need to be. When it’s only scenery, it’s not easy to get people to engage. From personal experience I know that the natural world is a different place to someone who is seeking food, raw materials for crafts, materials for [...]

We’re adding a new, monthly kids program starting in January.  It’s called The School Of The Forest, and is designed for kids ages 8 and older.  It will take place at the folk school in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, on Saturday per month.  The first date will be January 4th.  You can read more about it [...]

Humans are social animals. Put two of us together and we’ll talk and talk, even if there’s nothing useful to say. I believe a small part of this is human nature. We’re social animals, and verbal communication is a foundational principle of how we organize in groups. But I think the vast majority of this [...]

Highlights: Finished up our 24th semester course at the end of October, then presented on the role of nature in outdoor education at the Snow Walker’s Rendezvous in a short talk titled “Beyond Wallpaper.” Also taught two workshops. Have had a lot of office time planning new programs for 2014, including a monthly kids program [...]

Our 2014 calendar is live on our site. We’ve added a few new folk school programs including the School Of The Forest, a monthly kids program, and the New Hampshire self reliance workshop series, a monthly adult program for which we’ve partnered with a local non-profit. We’ve also taken our weeklong winter bushcraft and survival [...]

Early November is a great time to be in northern New England. Everyone I’ve ever asked agrees that it’s beautiful, but to me it also means that our fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester course is complete, the bugs are gone until spring, and I get to spend some time at home. But that doesn’t mean I’ll [...]

There is a difference between knowing something for yourself versus having read it or heard it. That difference is characterized by experience and results, not faith and information. During the early weeks of the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester we do a lot of work with plants. As we traverse the landscape of Aroostook County, we [...]

Over the weekend we began our 24th semester course. We’ve got a big group, a new cooking pavilion, an expanded fleet of canoes (new 20′ Old Town XL Tripper) and a fresh coat of spar varnish on the paddles. There’s been talk of purchasing a giant neon sign in order for Moose Vegas (our student [...]

There are a few things we’re always looking for, so we’re putting together a wish list page asking people for donations. For most people these are junk, and we’d like to save them from the landfill and do something useful with them. If you’ve got them lying around and are planning a trip near Masardis, [...]

Highlights: No newsletter last month due to a busy schedule including 3 straight weeks of visiting inlaws. Had a great family course, as well as some solid family time in July. We had our first student at the field school from Peru – always amazed at the reach of the internet. We’ve also added two [...]

If you carry an axe, a sturdy sheath is a must. It protects both you and the axe. Many of the sheaths that come with new axes are flimsy and won’t hold up, so either make one or get one. Don Merchant at Pole And Paddle Canoe makes them out of thick leather. Don’t let [...]

I’ll be announcing some changes to our programs over the next few days, the first of which is the Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester. I’ve been talking with alumni and thinking about how it is different from the the canoe instruction and experience during the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. The main question I’ve been asking is if [...]

We’ve received several calls regarding questions about food and meals on field school courses recently. Our goal is to have no surprises for people when they arrive, but there is a lot of information to digest and while we’re working to simplify it, it isn’t always the easiest to find. I’m posting this information to [...]