I took a ride across town and sat down with Derek Faria at The Woodsman School in his new tent to talk about educational philosophy and the importance of getting out and doing it. During the talk I mention our educational philosophy and the seven elements of our programs, with a focus on the Self [...]

Grave of a Revolutionary War soldier, deep in the woods and a mile from any road, and every veterans day someone puts a flag on it. #respect  

1/6/16: Build Your Own Shave Horse Short courses, useful skills. For a small investment in time and money, become more self-reliant.   For the first Self-Reliance Workshop of 2016, taking place January 6th, we’ll be offering a build-your-own shave horse class. Also known as a draw shave, it’s a bench vise where pressure from your feet [...]

I’ve never had trouble making big dutch oven meals. At the field school I routinely cook for 10-20 people, and after years of doing so I’m usually pretty pleased with how things turn out. Scaling things down, to the point where I’m dutch oven cooking for 1 or 2 adults, is something I haven’t done [...]

Review of our campfire cooking class by Anne from Mom Can You Make, a NH food blog: GALA Campfire Cooking Workshop | On November 4th, my good friend Rosalie and I went to a campfire cooking workshop put on by GALA. Have any of my NH friends heard of GALA? Well they are just an [...]

Aroostook twilight at the field school.  

Plotting a course on the map with a Sher-Wood straight edge.  

Best part about going away is coming home to family. Mine makes me feel like the richest man in the world.  

What if you don't have an ice chisel? Cutting a water hole in the ice with an axe.  

Checking the ice with a chisel. The water here is only 2 feet deep, but ice safety is no joke.  

Building a runnered sled for around camp, old skis for runners.  

Successful night in front of a fire with no sleeping bag.  

Simple snowshoe binding. Walked 2000+ miles with these.  

Shelter/sauna with raised bough beds on the Winter Woodsman course.  

Hauling firewood on the money sled.  

Coffee and doughnuts on the fire this morning, winter woodsman course.  

Hiking the trails at the field school.  

Aroostook river at the field school.  

I’m at the field school for the next week running the Winter Woodsman course. One of the things that we cover during the week is making a few different deadfall traps. I’ve searched for forty years for that perfectly rectangular rock that’s depicted in deadfall line drawings in survival books. I’m convinced it doesn’t exist. [...]

I just returned from performing in my son’s puppet show. He’s involved with a group that has a talent show every December. We go every year, and it’s always fantastic. I’m amazed at the maturity level of the kids involved. And the courage. There was a little girl who was going to sing a song. [...]

January 21-24, 2016 : 2 Spots Available (4 total) Part of our new lodge-based workshop series, spend a long weekend learning traditional northern forest skills while staying on-site in our modern, comfortable lodge.  The course content draws on the curriculum for our Winter Woodsman course. Topics include snowshoes and snowshoeing, fire lighting, axe use, knife use, knots, ice safety, ice fishing, animal tracking [...]