New for 2021, a 3-week introduction to bushcraft and canoe tripping, or the practical arts of life in the woods lived by hand, with no experience necessary or assumed. We’ll spend a week at the field school learning the skills of the forest and canoe, then spend two weeks canoeing the 99-mile Allagash Wilderness Waterway putting those skills into daily practice.
Participants can expect to learn:
- Fire for cooking, baking, survival, bugs, signaling, and making that fire with a single match or a bow drill.
- Safe and effective axe use for gathering firewood, including felling, limbing, sectioning and splitting.
- Safe and powerful knife use, as well as how to keep your knife sharp.
- Campfire cooking and baking and building simple pot suspension systems.
- Expedition canoe skills, including paddling, poling, lining, rescue and the finer points of living out of a canoe.
- Knots and rope work. Everyone will make and use their own rope.
- Trip planning and safety. Learn the techniques we use as professional guides to run commercial trips.
- Shelter from the elements, shelter from the bugs.
- Wild food identification, harvesting and cooking. This includes plants, fish, and anything else we come across that is edible.
- Navigation. Map & compass, using the sun and the stars, and the more subtle arts of knowing where you are and how to get to where you’re going.
In addition to the specific skills participants learn, they will also experience some bigger benefits, including:
- Increased confidence, with a sense of accomplishment based on completing a long trip.
- Camaraderie of a small group. Spend quality time with others who share your passion for exploring the natural world.
- Seeing a beautiful part of unspoiled northern Maine.
- Learn to pass the exam to become a registered Maine Guide.
We’ve been running trips on the Allagash for over two decades. This trip is a gem. We have a few spots left. If you’re interested, get in touch.
