We’re redesigning our spring semester for 2009. The new format will be a 6-week program with most of the time spent traveling through the bush of northern Maine. There are 5 phases to the program, each of which can be taken as an individual course.
Phase 1: Weeklong bushcraft and guide training immersion course. Phase 1 focuses on immersion into bushcraft and living outdoors. A thorough grounding in basic skills, along with an introduction to out nature study curriculum, comprises the week. Offered individually as the North Woods Bushcraft Course.
Phase 2: Weeklong advanced bushcraft, navigation, and paddle-making course. In phase 2 people continue their studies of bushcraft and outdoor living and carve a canoe paddle which they’ll use for the rest of the course. Individual course name and description coming soon.
Phase 3: Wilderness Guide Training Course. Phase 3 is focused on getting people ready for our twenty days of life on the river, and is crash course in canoeing and traditional camping. It includes extensive instruction in paddling and poling canoes, a whitewater clinic, outdoor cooking, trip planning, trip equipment, and living outdoors. A short trip at the end of the week serves as a trial run for our extended trips to follow. Offered individually as the Wilderness Guide Training Course.
Phase 4: Ten-day trip on the St. John River. We’ll put in at Baker Lake and take our time covering the 104 miles to Dickey. The St. John is the grandaddy of Maine canoe trips. Challenging whitewater and the cold water of early May add to the experience. Early May trips on the St. John aren’t known for their fishing, but this is the only drainage in Maine with musky, and we’ll be fishing for them even if the odds aren’t great. Offered individually as the St. John River Trip.
Phase 5: Nine-day trip on the Aroostook River. Our home river. We’ll put in at Chase lake and paddle to Little Munsungan lake, then spend a day exploring Norway Bluff. Norway Bluff is famous for it’s stone, which was used by natives for flintknapping stone tools and arrow heads. Then we’ll head down Munsungan Stream to the confluence with Millinocket Stream, where we’ll pole upstream, through the Devil’s Elbow, and into Millamagassett Lake for a layover day of fishing, exploring and camp crafts. We’ll head back downstream to the Aroostook River with an optional trip up Mooseleuk Stream. The trip ends at the Bushcraft & Sustainability Field School on the banks of the river in Masardis. Offered individually as the Aroostook River Trip.
The dates are April 19th to May 31st and the tuition is $4500. More information on this program is on our Bushcraft Canoe Expedition Semester page.
It’s going to be an amazing spring.
