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 […]
Read more
Part 2 of my discussion with Paul Sveum about simplifying fly fishing. We discuss #6-10 of the top ten things Paul wishes someone would have told him when he was getting started in fly fishing. PHOTO: A Y-stern canoe on the Bonaventure River in Quebec, headed upriver to fish for Atlantic Salmon. Show Notes: JMB […]
Read more
An excerpt from our latest video on using an army surplus, Vietnam-era medium Alice pack with a tumpline as an alternative to a traditional canvas canoe pack. I love traditional gear, but some of it is very expensive. If you’re wanting a traditional canoe pack, either to hold all of your gear for an expedition […]
Read more
– Ago Puteus Foris –
We’re a bushcraft, guide training and wilderness expedition school and traditional Maine Guide service founded in 1999. We help people become more skilled, more knowledgeable, more experienced and more confident by using traditional wilderness skills, a few simple tools and field-based experience. This is our media hub. For information on our programs, go to JackMtn.com, and check out our Calendar to see all upcoming programs.
From a recent canoe outing on a perfect fall day. These are the types of photos you look at over winter to get excited about open water. Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
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 […] Continue Reading...
Part 2 of my discussion with Paul Sveum about simplifying fly fishing. We discuss #6-10 of the top ten things Paul wishes someone would have told him when he was getting started in fly fishing. PHOTO: A Y-stern canoe on the Bonaventure River in Quebec, headed upriver to fish for Atlantic Salmon. Show Notes: JMB […] Continue Reading...
This episode featuring Paul Sveum began as a blog post, but we decided to have a conversation about the top ten things to keep in mind when getting into fly fishing. This is part 1, where we discuss points 1-5. PHOTO: Paul fishing an Aroostook County stream. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 111 | Simplifying […] Continue Reading...
Matthew Rhode just successfully completed the Journeyman Certification on the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. We welcomed him into the studio to discuss the course, his approach to time management, the usefulness of a table, and how to be successful on our program. PHOTO: Early morning during solos, looking east. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 110 […] Continue Reading...
We’re nearing the end of the fall, 2021 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. We just finished a 48 hour primitive living experience and are headed out on solos tomorrow. In this episode of the JMB Podcast we discuss these experiences, as for listener input on the next step for our online network at BushcraftSchool.com and ask for […] Continue Reading...
We’re back after a long hiatus to talk about resiliency, the need to balance stress with recovery, sleeping out in the cold with no sleeping bag in front of a fire, and the need to prepare your hands for a robust outdoor life. We just finished week 6 (of 9) on the fall Wilderness Bushcraft […] Continue Reading...
An excerpt from our latest video on using an army surplus, Vietnam-era medium Alice pack with a tumpline as an alternative to a traditional canvas canoe pack. I love traditional gear, but some of it is very expensive. If you’re wanting a traditional canoe pack, either to hold all of your gear for an expedition […] Continue Reading...
An excerpt from our latest video on the cook kit I carry with me canoeing, snowshoeing and car camping. The entire thing fits in a 30 litre blue barrel and allows me to cook for small groups of up to 4. When guiding a larger group, I switch it out for a larger wooden wannigan. […] Continue Reading...
An excerpt from our latest video on the pump-up solar shower I’ve been using for ten years. A simple and great piece of kit to make a warm daily shower simple and easy. For the whole video and links to the pieces needed to assemble it, go to our private online community at BushcraftSchool.com. Continue Reading...
Just a few scenes from a trip during the spring semester. We camped by a beautiful rapid and made the kitchen right next to the water. No story, just another beautiful place near the field school in northern Maine. Continue Reading...
It’s been a few years since we’ve built one of these on a course. A coracle is a simple boat that can be built with brush and a tarp. Back in the day they were known as bull boats, because instead of a tarp they were made with the skin of a bull. They go […] Continue Reading...
Featured Posts
We’ve put up a lot of posts over the years. These are some of our most popular.
