If you are coming to the field school from late May through mid-July, you’re going to want to have a smudge pot. These are metal cans in which you keep a smokey fire going to deter the bugs. Now is the time to start preparing for this need by getting a metal coffee can, which [...]

I just finished a 7-day fast where the only things I took in were water and strong black coffee (because weak coffee is the devil). I have done a bunch of these, stretching back to the mid-1990’s, and while there is a renewed interest in fasting as a result of the intermittent fasting diets, it [...]

We’re welcoming a new instructor to our team for the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition. Blake Towsley has a lot experience with living out in winter. Among other things, he has worked with us in the past on summer and winter programs, completed numerous extended snowshoe treks, spent several weeks with David Bosum in Quebec, taught with [...]

Programs are filling earlier than usual for 2023. While we still have some short programs to schedule, the following programs are currently full with a waiting list: Winter Woodsman Boreal Snowshoe Expedition XI 6 Month immersion WCES – 4 week canoe expedition Wilderness Bushcraft Semester – Session 1 We still have four spots in session [...]

I had a great trip to Alberta for the Frostbite Symposium. For my keynote I talked about using instructional design principles in designing outdoor education programming. There was a lively Q and A session at the end of the talk, which always feels good if you are speaking. At least some of the audience managed [...]

I finished my Wilderness First Responder course today and have a current certification more advanced than first aid in a long time. Part of my motivation for taking the course was to learn how the protocols had changed in the 27 years since getting my WEMT. It turns out that while a few of the [...]

I am taking a wilderness first responder (WFR) class this week. I have wanted to take one for a while now, but finding the time to get away is always a challenge. As we’re still in the shadow of the holidays, this seemed like a perfect opportunity. My first medical course was a wilderness emergency [...]

This time of year we’re bombarded with ads about getting someone the perfect gift. A smaller subset of those ads suggest that we give an experience rather than a tangible item. If you are looking for that gift for the outdoors-person, consider joining us in February for an immersion experience in Cree culture with our [...]

Are you thinking about joining us for a course in 2023? After reading through our site, many people have questions. And we have answers! Want to talk with us? Jump on one of our Office Hours Question & Answer sessions on our community platform at BushcraftSchool.com. Next session takes place on Tuesday, December 20th at [...]

Our new online course, Foundations Of Outdoor Cooking (Cooking 401), is live on our community platform at BushcraftSchool.com. Currently there are three lessons available, with a few more ready to go. The plan is to release five lessons per week, with a total of around 30 lessons. The goal of the course is to provide [...]

I have been fielding a lot of questions about snowshoe sizing recently, and wanted to put something down regarding getting the optimum size for your body weight. I am on the record as saying I don’t like modern snowshoes because they are usually too small, especially for bigger people. They come from the mountaineering tradition, [...]

I’ve been working on a new online course, Foundations Of Outdoor Cooking, for a few weeks now. It is designed to prepare people to be able to feed themselves well on one of our long-term programs, as well as in any remote environment with no kitchen infrastructure. The premise behind the course is to use [...]

This January (2023) I’m headed to Alberta to speak at the Frostbite Winter Camping Symposium. The event is a celebration of living and traveling outdoors in the north during the winter, with lots of instructional programs and experienced people. As hot tent camping and traditional winter travel skills have exploded in popularity in recent years, [...]

After a 2 year hiatus due to covid, we’re back to running winter programs in 2023 and couldn’t be more excited about it. Since there was no way to social distance inside of a hot tent, the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition (BSE), a program we started running way back in 2003, took a two-year break. I [...]

Photo: 24″ Packsaw from Pole & Paddle Canoe Note: This article was first posted at BushcraftSchool.com, our private online network. We are transitioning to posting all of our media for our community there, with a few things posted here. If you like this sort of thing, consider joining us there. It’s free to join. We’re [...]

For about 20 years I have recommended the Mora Classic #2 for courses. After using a different knife for the past four years I think it’s time to update my recommendation to be inline with what I use on a daily basis; The Morakniv Wood Carving Knife 106. The Mora 106 is a smaller carving [...]

I’m in Austin, Texas, until the New Year. I’m here a month or two each year, as my kids are in school here. Last winter I met Chris Hyde, the founder the Natureversity Outdoor School here in Austin. This morning we sat down and recorded an episode (21) for the Natureversity Podcast. Here’s a link [...]

I have heard from a few people coming on winter programs that it has been hard to find snowshoes this year. We’ve all been dealing with supply chain woes for a few years now, so it isn’t a surprise that these, too, are hard to source. I have a bunch of military surplus magnesium-framed snowshoes [...]

Yesterday we finished up the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. It was our 56th long-term immersion program. We are running one more program, the Autumn Woodsman, in a week, to finish our 23rd year. Time flies. The picture was taken as the sun peeked over the horizon at Sunrise Cove, a campsite on a remote lake [...]

It’s been too long. After a few years of the pandemic canceling our yearly trip up to spend time with David and Anna Bosum, it looks like 2023 is going to be our first time back.   Winter Living With Cree Hunters In Northern Quebec Trip Page I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it [...]

This weekend we begin our 56th long-term immersion program, the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. It has been a busy spring and summer, and I’m looking forward to the cooler weather that fall brings. I’ve had a little time since we took off the water at the end of the Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester, which has [...]

File this under alumni doing awesome things. Pat Wilson was a student on the spring semester and stayed on to work with me this summer. He started talking about doing a big canoe trip before winter, and got it in his head to canoe the length of the Mississippi river. After lots of planning and [...]

I just put up our winter schedule for 2023 and it will include a lot of weeks spent in hot tents off the grid. For a number of years I’ve had the idea of getting a thermoelectric generator to charge batteries while out on the land in the winter. In winter we spend a few [...]

In our 23 year history, we have had only a handful of instructors teach with us on our semester programs. These individuals represent the top of the outdoor industry. We’d like to introduce our newest instructor and the first woman to join the team, Tessa Storey. Tessa has recently completed both her Journeyman and Engagé [...]

After spending the past 4-weeks on the water running the Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester, I’m back at the field school and have tales to tell. We spent the first week training everyone and doing expedition planning. It was a deep dive into everything canoeing, including paddling and poling, as well as cooking on the fire, [...]

Although it has been full with a waiting list for a few months, the past few days have seen 2 spots open up on this fall’s Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. This is a usual, but not predictable, occurrence. So if you’re interested in joining us for the 9-week fall course and working toward your Journeyman certification, [...]

I just posted our schedule for 2023. There are a few changes compared to recent years. First, we won’t be offering a Wilderness Guide Training Semester. Instead, we’ll be offering the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester (WBS) twice. They have been the same course all along, but we’re going to eliminate any confusion by changing the name [...]

Today we begin our summer term at the field school with the Summer Woodsman course, followed next week with the Canoe Expedition Skills course. After a short break for the 4th of July, we move into the 4-week Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester. It’s a busy summer schedule. But it doesn’t feel much like summer in [...]

I just added a page to our site including updated local driving directions and arrival time info. If you’re coming to the field school, these directions should get you here.

On May 11, 2022, our fly fishing director Paul Sveum published an article in the Orvis News titled “5 Bushcraft Tips For Anglers.” I really enjoyed reading it, as will you if you click through (link). I always enjoy Paul’s writing style, and it’s great to see him getting recognition for both his fishing and [...]

The field school is quiet, the parking lot is empty, the course is completed. Our 54th long-term, professional training program wrapped up on Friday. As has always been the case, I spend the first day or two at the end of a course wondering what to do with myself. I’m writing this on a Sunday [...]

Today is halfway day on the spring, 2022 Wilderness Guide Training Semester. The significance of the day is that we’re exactly halfway to the finish line on our 9-week semester. I haven’t been posting much media this course, but to get you up to speed we started in deep snow and a deep freeze, had [...]

Duties: Gardening, Chicken Wrangling, Homesteading, Informal Teaching, Media Dates: May 22 – August 27, 2022 (14 Weeks). Longer duration possible Hours Per Week: 10 Compensation: $15 per hour = $150/week, We are wanting to create an incentivised economic model, something like a farm stand where staff and students pay cash for the items grown. This [...]

Its close to the end of February and our 2022 programs are just about full. I just updated our master calendar with the current number of open spots in each of our scheduled programs through the fall. So if you want one of these spots, don’t delay! Below is a list of courses and how [...]

Here is part two, numbers 6-10 of the 1o things I wish I had known before going down the fly fishing rabbit hole. But before we get to the list, allow me a short literary ramble… Checkers and Chess are the undisputed #1 and #2 all-time top selling and most popular board games in recent [...]

Full disclosure: I started this blog post about the 10 things I wish I had read before going head first down the fly fishing rabbit hole, but much like the sport itself, things instantly got out of hand.  My whole goal was/is to give you a succinct and easy to undertaad primer into fly fishing [...]

I was reading recently a blog posted by a fly shop owner out west who was, well, I think trying to make us all feel better about ourselves.  He said “Don’t feel bad if your Instagram feed is filled with 26” brown trout, sweeping vistas from Patagonia estancias or flawlessly tied flies.  Those represent someone’s [...]

Most modern people don’t use their hands for much. At the field school we use them hard, every day. From tying knots, holding knives and tools, swinging axes, paddling and poling canoes, the body is the engine that gets work done in the woods, and it usually falls on the hands to do the brunt [...]

After considering a variety of options, the route and plan is set for the 4-week Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester for summer, 2022. The course will start with a week at the field school where we’ll learn all about canoes, paddling, poling, making fire, cooking over a fire, thermal cookers, axe safety, making rope, knots, trip [...]