People put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed, or to be really good at something right at the beginning. I, and anyone who has taught anything for any length of time, can tell you that learning doesn’t work that way.  You don’t start out being good at something.  It takes, blood, sweat and [...]

What happens when a woman spends a weekend in the woods learning learning wilderness survival and bushcraft during a snowy Maine winter? Deirdre Fulton spent a weekend with us, and you can read her account of it in this article from the Portland Phoenix.  Read it here. I wasn’t learning how to outlast the zombie [...]

I like first person accounts of life in the bush. There are many from throughout North America that I’ve read, but I also enjoy those from farther afield. Recently I had a day of travel (car, bus, plane), and spent the whole day reading Dersu The Trapper. It’s a true account written by a Russian [...]

Becoming competent at lighting fires with a hand drill or bow drill takes time, sweat and blisters. But it can be done. There’s a difference between trying to get a coal and trying to master the techniques. Decide what your goals are before you proceed. If you want to get a coal, then drill until [...]