“We are now reveling in the indescribable freshness of the Antarctic that seems to permeate one’s being, and which must be responsible for that longing to go again which assails each returned explorer…”  Ernest Shackleton on his Nimrod expedition to Antarctica This year the Jack Mountain Alumni Winter Expedition, assailed by the memories of the [...]

We’re adding a second Boreal Snowshoe Expedition session in 2016.  It’s our winter bushcraft immersion; a twelve day traditional northern winter wilderness living and travel expedition.  We’re on the trail living on snowshoes, hauling our gear on toboggans, staying in woodstove-outfitted canvas tents and learning to be at home and comfortable in the bitter cold. [...]

After lots of discussion and staring at maps, we’ve decided on the route for this summer’s 4-week Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester. We’ll be running the Allagash from Chamberlain bridge to Allagash Village. Then we’ll rest and resupply at the field school for 2 days before hiking with minimal gear in Baxter state park for four [...]

Although the snow is still more than waist deep and we have yet to hit mud season, today will be the second day in a row where the mercury tops 40 degrees F. Spring isn’t here yet, but it’s coming. So I wanted to take a look back on a really busy, amazing winter. It [...]

Monday morning inventory: Dog getting quilled by porcupine? Check Kid throwing up all night? Check Overnight rain making road glare ice that is unsafe to walk on? Check But, we did have a great weekend in the woods with the Winter Survival Weekend Course. Met some great people, got them on snowshoes with traditional bindings [...]

Video 9 in the 2014 WCES (Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester) series. Join us as we run the Telos Cut. Running Telos Cut We finished our trip down the Allagash in the last video. After taking out in Allagash Village, we had a big lunch at Rock’s Diner in Fort Kent, then went back to the [...]

Video 8 in the WCES (Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester) series. Join us as we swim below Allagash falls and paddle the lower river. At Allagash Falls

Video 7 in the WCES (Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester) series. Join us as we paddle into Round Pond, and Tim does a walk-through of our campsite. At Round Pond

Video 5 in the WCES (Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester) series. Join us as we pole Chase Rapids, the most challenging water on the Allagash. Poling Chase Rapids

Video 3 in the WCES (Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester) series, shot during the aftermath of the big storm. Also some introductions a few days later on a beautiful day with views of the mountains. After The Storm And Introductions

Shot on the first day of our 2014 Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester, on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway at Chamberlain Lake. We spent the afternoon paddling with a tailwind and were right on the tail end of a big storm system. Storm On Chamberlain Lake

Last summer, during the Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester, we shot a lot of video. It’s taken some time, but now we’re ready to post that video. Instead of spending a lot of time editing it into a long video no one will watch, I’m going to post it as a series of short clips. I [...]

The 2014 Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester was an amazing month on the river. Everyone spent the month in a solo boat, but they were our 18 and 16 foot Prospecters, not small boats designed for solo use. Everyone also used a paddle that they had carved and a pole that they had made. These were [...]

A series of videos shot on the 2014 Boreal Snowshoe Expedition. It was a stellar team out for two beautiful weeks. We had an amazing time. Boreal Snowshoe Expedition Intro Making Bannock Winter Cooking Rig Splitting Wood On Snowshoes On The Trail With Jerell Yukon’s Campsite Tour

This guest post is by Jerell Friesen, pictured in the photo above adjusting an improvised snowshoe during the 38 days described in the post. You can download a pdf with graphics by clicking here. What I Did: During the 38 day period between February 2nd and March 8th 2013 I dedicated myself to a two [...]

We’ve got two last-minute open spots for the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester starting April 20th and running through June 21st. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact a person who had registered for the upcoming semester, and someone dropping out of the course, I’ve opened those spots up. So although we’ve been full for several months, if [...]

What would you do after a 2-week, northern Maine snowshoe expedition? If you answered head directly to Minnesota to go on another multi-week snowshoe expedition, you think just like the guys doing our yearlong immersion program. Paul Sveum, one of our instructors, is leading a trip across Minnesota’s Boundary Waters immediately following our trip in [...]

Just ten days until our 2-week Boreal Snowshoe Expedition. We’ll be taking to the woods of Aroostook County, Maine and traveling by snowshoe and hauling our gear on toboggans along the frozen waterways. Home will be several woodstove-outfitted canvas tents. This year we’ll be joined for a few days by guest instructor and my old [...]

Our 4-week canoe expedition this summer will be very physically challenging. I’ve got six months to train for it, and I need to accomplish two things. First, I need to get stronger. I need to add muscle to my upper body, with an emphasis on my shoulders; they’re what gets sore after a week of [...]

I’ll be announcing some changes to our programs over the next few days, the first of which is the Wilderness Canoe Expedition Semester. I’ve been talking with alumni and thinking about how it is different from the the canoe instruction and experience during the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. The main question I’ve been asking is if [...]

Last weekend was arguably the best weather you could request for the last weekend in April. Sunny, a slight breeze and warm, it was perfect for hitting the water and getting the winter cobwebs out of canoe muscles. We ran two, 1-day canoe programs at the folk school in NH and they both were fantastic. [...]

The general route for our spring canoe expedition is set.  We’ll spend the bulk of the month on the Aroostook drainage.  We’ll be doing a good deal of upriver work, both poling and lining, to visit a few of my favorite spots.   Our second trip in on the Allagash, where we’ll be poling up [...]

People put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed, or to be really good at something right at the beginning. I, and anyone who has taught anything for any length of time, can tell you that learning doesn’t work that way.  You don’t start out being good at something.  It takes, blood, sweat and [...]

During the bitter cold of our winter snowshoe expedition this year, several members of our group were eating over 5000 calories a day in order to keep their internal furnaces stoked. It got me thinking about making an expedition cake that was calorie-dense and nutrient-rich that I could make in advance of winter trips to [...]

The deep snows of mid-February are covering the landscape (and the canoe trailer), and for the past few days the wind has been howling down the lake with enough force to sculpt the snow and make it feel very cold. With no more winter trips planned for this year, my thoughts are turning to spring [...]

As of February 14th, our 2013-2014 yearlong bushcraft immersion program and the fall wilderness bushcraft semester are both full.  Although it grows a bit every year, this is the earliest we’ve ever filled; more than 6-months in advance!  We will still accept applications for the waiting list in case their are cancellations.  If you’re thinking [...]

Trip Journal 1/31/13 – Squapan Lake, Maine This morning it was warm and raining, with a strong wind out of the south. At about one pm, the wind began to shift, moving to the southwest and eventually to the west. As this was happening, it began to get cold again. A cold front was blowing [...]

Trip Journal 1/30/13 Tentbound. Squapan Lake, Aroostook County, Maine. After the cold of our first 8 days in the woods, we enjoyed a beautiful walk hauling laden toboggans down the western arm of Squapan Lake. The sleds chattered behind us with minimal effort, a huge difference from hauling them up the hill from the field [...]

January 23, 2013; Day five of our Winter Bushcraft And Snowshoe Expedition Intensive. The weather has been cold; we haven’t seen positive temperatures in four days. The last two nights, the temperatures have been colder than 35 degrees below zero, and colder than -55 with the wind chill. We’ve got two 8-sided, 12′ diameter Ungava [...]

Our summer ended today and although it was a great one, I’m wondering where it went? With attending the first Woodsmoke rendezvous, running the first Family Bushcraft course (and having 20 people attend!), running our usual summer courses, and doing a bit of television work, it was full to the gills. The past week I’ve [...]

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 40, the 15th and final in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. In this episode, join us as we swim the rapids, pack up camp, and visit with the Old Man of Allagash Falls, a stone face [...]

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 39, the 14th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. In this episode, injury! One of the members of the crew gets a puncture wound in their shin. This episode finishes with a visit from Dr. Nick [...]

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 38, the 13th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. Join us as Nick explains the benefits of the Onmipod-2500, the ultimate outdoor cooking rig.

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 37, the 12th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. In this episode some of the crew make a reflector oven sourdough pizza.

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 36, the 11th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. Join us as we put in on the Allagash headwater lakes for the second leg of our journey, visit with Tim in the middle of the lake [...]

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 35, the 10th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. Join us at the headwater pool of the Aroostook River where Whiskey Jack traverses camp and has a discussion with Tim about fishing the pool.

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 34, the 9th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. Join us in the canoe as we travel down a quickwater section of the river, then visit with Big Fish as he talks about his hammock camping [...]

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 33, the 8th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. Join us in camp catching native brook trout, then cooking those trout along with a bunch of other stuff over the campfire.

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 32, the 7th in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. In this episode we carry boats and gear around Munsungan Falls, then take a look at the falls and talk about how it was a favorite fishing [...]

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 29, the 4rd in a 15 part video series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course in the North Maine Woods. Check out our poling practice session, watch Bart fall in twice, and hear Shawn expound on the importance of treating a friction fire coal gingerly as you [...]

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Journal episode 27, the 2nd in a 15 part series shot on our May, 2012 bushcraft canoe expedition course. Get a canoe poling lesson and learn about reflector oven sourdough biscuits.

Becoming competent at lighting fires with a hand drill or bow drill takes time, sweat and blisters. But it can be done. There’s a difference between trying to get a coal and trying to master the techniques. Decide what your goals are before you proceed. If you want to get a coal, then drill until [...]

If you work as a guide or teach wilderness survival for any length of time, someone, or more often lots of people, are going to ask your opinion of those individuals who have elevated themselves to celebrity status in this type of work. I duck these questions and avoid these types of conversations, if only [...]