In 2026 we are making a big push to simplify what we teach into a consistent, coherent curriculum. In the past, we’ve offered our Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, then had short segments of the curriculum as seperate, stand-alone courses. This year, we’re streamlining the curriculum, but opening up the course to allow people to join us for one week at a time if they choose.
For example, in the past we’ve offered a very popular week-long introduction to bushcraft course called the Summer Woodsman. Now, instead of trying to find a week where it fits into the schedule, it is week 1 of the 9-week semester. Similar with our Canoe Expedition Skills (aka Riverman) course; instead of being a standalone course, it is now week 5 of the spring and summer semester, and week 3 of the fall semester (different in the fall due to weather). And the Professional Canoe Guide Training Course is also part of the WBS, weeks 5-7 in the spring and summer and weeks 3-5 in the fall.
We can only take so many students at a time. In order to not cannibalize the semester prematurely, we won’t be opening up registration for the shorter versions until closer to the run-date.
After running so many semester-length courses over the years, I’ve realized that it’s the course I like teaching. There is a reason for everything we do on it. With short courses, I’ve sometimes felt that the show and tell format with limited field experience isn’t serving the larger educational goals. By this, I mean that sometimes I felt that people didn’t get how what they were doing and learning fit into the bigger picture. It is my hope that the 2026 format change eliminates this concern. The title of this post references the mythical third semester, a reference to a discussion that’s been going on here for at least 15 years. The format change for this year will allow us to fit three semesters in between the deep snow seasons in northern Maine.
As we start our 27th year, I’m more convinced than ever that everything is an experiment. So we’ll try it. If it works well, we’ll keep it.
Our 2026 calendar is nearly complete. I’ll be adding some late-fall programs in the next week, but for now you can check it out on our Calendar page. There are a lot of updates to be made around our website and I’m working on it now.
#FullTangLifestyle
