Phase 1 of the Bushcraft Canoe Expedition Semester is completed. It was a fantastic 9-day trip on the headwaters of the Aroostook, where we put in on Chase Pond and descended Munsungan Brook, crossed Munsungan Lake, carried around Munsungan Falls, descended Munsungan Stream, and paddled the Aroostook River back to the field school. We had one day where it didn’t rain, but the wet weather didn’t dampen our spirits. We shot a lot of photos and videos, but there isn’t time for me to post them now. After a short resupply and recovery period, we’re off this morning to the Allagash for the next two weeks. When we return, I’ll be posting all the events from the trip. Until then, have a great second half of May!

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Aroostook Trip Completed; On To The Allagash

It’s been a busy few days since arriving at the field school. Lots of cleaning, gear preparation, varnishing wannigans, canoe chairs, etc., but it’s finished and this morning we leave to paddle and pole the headwaters of the Aroostook river. We’ll be camping, fishing and canoeing back to the field school over the next week. The fiddleheads are just breaking ground here, and the trout are biting. It’s going to be a great trip.

When we return, we’ll have two days off for laundry, etc., then we’re off to the Allagash to paddle the length of the famous waterway. It’s shaping up to be a great month of May in northern Maine.

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Heading For Aroostook Headwaters

If you have old outdoor books and magazines, I want you to join me in donating one (or more) of them to the troops.  Email me and I’ll pass along where to send them.

Yesterday I received an email from a soldier serving in an infantry unit getting ready for a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan.  It will be his 3rd time there, and his previous experience at Forward Operating Bases has him preparing early for this one by requesting the donation of outdoor books and magazines to keep him, and others in his unit, entertained during down time.  Below is his email:

I’m currently serving in the U.S. Army Infantry stationed at Schofield Barracks, HI. Currently we have a short peacekeeping deployment on the horizon, and then shortly afterwards we are slated for a 12 month deployment to Afghanistan.

I was contacting you (along with the few outdoor magazines, outdoor book suppliers, and survival / bushcraft schools) with the intention of asking for support, if possible.

This will be my third deployment overseas and with repetition comes knowledge and foresight.

Being in an Infantry unit, we are almost always posted far outside of large Forward Operating Bases (FOB’s). Generally posted in small Combat Outposts (COP’s), we find there is a HUGE lack of reading material (or at least reading material that people WANT to read!). Along with that, being infantry – if one doesn’t have a huge love for the outdoors prior to enlisting, which most usually do, they soon learn that love as it becomes part of their job and their life.

Also, on both of my previous deployments I’ve found that when subscriptions sent overseas individually are usually stolen or ‘borrowed’ and never returned before even making it to their recipient. The mail, as you must imagine, passes through the hands of at least 15 or 20 individuals when it makes it down from USA to Europe, to Country, to Province, to FOB, to Division, to Brigade, to Battalion, to Company, and finally to Platoon COP. Books are easier to order overseas, since they’re usually shipped in boxes, which sometimes keeps people from stealing them.

I’m working on filling a ‘Toughbox’ or Foot Locker type trunk with outdoor magazines and books for my platoon.

So, I was wondering if you’d possibly be able to donate any outdoor books, bushcraft books, survival guides, course materials or otherwise for our purpose.

He requested that I not publish his name or email address on the web, but said that it’s OK if I pass it along via email.  So, to recap:

1.  Get an old book or two to donate.

2.  Email me:  jmbushcraft@gmail.com

3.  I’ll respond with where to send them.

4.  I’m leaving for a 28 day river trip next tuesday, so after that I won’t be responding to email.  So there’s a time element.

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Support The Troops – Donate An Outdoor Book

A reporter asked me a while ago why I thought survival TV shows have attracted such big audiences. I answered that if you filmed some gorillas in the wild, then showed that video to gorillas in a cage at the zoo, they’d be fascinated to see members of their species in their natural environment. If you could get gorillas to watch the video, that is. The quotation didn’t make the article, but I liked it so I’m sharing it here.

While television, the internet, etc., allow people to learn about aspects of the outdoors, the reality is that like the gorillas at the zoo, they’re still in the cage. The only way out of the cage is to get out of the cage, not to watch the video while looking through the bars.

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Why Are Survival TV Shows So Popular?

If you read the Jack Mountain Bushcraft Blog feed on the web, or if you get it delivered via email, I’d like to invite you to check it out on our site again. I’ve recently made some big changes to the layout, making it a hub for JMBS videos, podcasts and photos. My goal is to create a single place where you can keep up with what we’re doing. Let me know what you think of the new layout in the comments.

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New Look To An Old Blog

In a few days, I’ll be there.  A river in northern Maine.  A remote campsite, only accessible by water.  But in those few remaining days, there’s lots of work to be done.  Today, it was varnishing a new dutch oven wannigan and canoe chair.  Tomorrow it will be putting several coats of shellac on my 20′ wood canvas canoe.  There will be several days of provisioning and packing for the trip.  Canoe poles need to be oiled.  Knots need to be reviewed.  Tools sharpened.  But in a few days our crew will hit the water.  The Bushcraft Canoe Expedition Semester is a solid month of canoe travel in northern Maine.  There will be lots of paddling, poling, fishing, and enjoying the experience.  Look for more journals when we get back to town, and a few more before we go.

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Preparing For Canoe Expedition

The updated requirements for the Journeyman certification program are live on the web. You can read them here.  I’m excited about the direction our certification programs are headed, and will be writing more about them in the coming weeks.

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Journeyman Program Requirements Updated

I’m adding a new photo digest here starting today.  I post lots of photos to our Flickr, Google+ and Facebook pages, but  those of you who only read the blog will now be able to check them out. You can see a full-size version of the image by clicking the title.  Let me know what you think.

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New Photo Digest

After a few months as a stay at home dad I’m doing some spring cleaning this week.  Currently I’m on day 3 of a 7-day water fast.  This means only consuming water, not avoiding water.  So far this fast has been pleasant.

A seven-day water fast is a requirement for our Expedition Instructor (XI) certification.  In a real survival situation, we advocate that the survivor fast and await rescue.  In order to have any credibility advising this, you have to have done it.

Personally I’ve completed eight 7-day water fasts and one 11-day water fast.  While there are some potential problems for people with specific medical conditions (about which I don’t know very much), for the vast majority the population it’s not only doable, but likely beneficial.  (You can read more about some of the benefits at Mark’s Daily Apple).

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Spring Cleaning Fast

Sustainable cooking as demonstrated by Whiskey Jack.  Rice cooked in a sun oven, then fried over a twig-fueled rocket stove.

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Rocket Stove Cooking

Ross Morgan wrote a great comment on a recent post about Spiller axes, including some history of revered Maine axes and how the Gransfors Bruks American felling axe design started in the woods of New England.  I’ve heard stories about how the Gransfors was patterned after a Maine axe, and wrote as much in the post.  I figured if you’re interested in this blog, you’ll be interested in what Ross had to say.

I also stopped into Don Merchant’s place and saw the beautiful Spiller. As well I have an answer for you regarding the pattern for Gransfor’s American Felling Axe. In about 1968-69, young buck Geoffrey Burke, now of boat building fame in NH (Chocorua Boatworks), and I were fascinated with the last of the cache of Spiller and Emerson Stevens Axes, and we went up to see what we could find in Oakland. E&S were sold at Paul Smiths College for students to use in the woods when I was there in the early 1960′s, $5-6 bucks a head. We met Harold York, then in his mid-80′s and willing to show us around the old mill and office……unbelieveable…..8000 axe heads, few with handles. I bought a few, Geoff bought some, and Dave Evans who homesteaded on the Nations River near Eagle, Alaska, bought a few. Dave gave me one of those E&S doubles last summer. He had carried it for decades and depended on it daily.

So young buck Geoff grows up and about 20 years ago at his wedding I give Annie and him their wedding present, a beautiful 3# single with a sheith made out of old Limmer boots I snuckered Geoff out of after he trimmed the toes back, and a handle that said “Peavey”. It was shinning like a mirror. That axe was used to build one of my houses….one of the best tools I have known. Geoff got to flirting with Gransfor and requesting that they make some heads for us to use in these woods, a little heavier, and more of an American axe. He made a pattern of that Rixford and sent it to the boys in Sweden…..out comes the American Felling Axe, a bit changed, pardon the pun if you need to do so. The original Rixford from Vermont or a good Maine 3/4 wedge would have been best. Enough of my rattle, ‘love axes.

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Origins Of Gransfors American Felling Axe

“Never seem more learned than the people you are with. Wear your learning like a pocket watch and keep it hidden. Do not pull it out to count the hours, but give the time when you are asked.”  – Lord Chesterfield

No one likes a know-it-all. Most people don’t even like a know-it-some. Is there anything more annoying when you’re trying to learn something new than someone skilled jumping in and saying, “It’s easy, do it like this!”  I’ve heard countless hours of unwanted “helpful advice” given to students over the years.  Usually it has been more of a distraction than an aid.

An important skill for the new guide or bushcraft instructor is learning to keep your mouth shut.  Offer advice when requested, but know how to keep quiet and stay out of the way so people can learn.

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Sound Advice For A Young Wilderness Guide And Bushcraft Instructor

There’s an attitude I’ve seen a few times that warrants mention because it will stop a person from becoming at home in the natural world. That attitude is busyness. For some a foray into the forest is a non-stop to do list without a break between projects. For some the constant stream of activity is a way to not have to be alone with the natural world. For others, it’s a way to avoid being alone with themselves.

To never slow down, I think, is a defense mechanism against the rhythms of nature. It’s imposing the frenetic pace of modern life onto a world that is slow. It’s good to be busy some of the time, and good to not be busy some of the time. The quiet moments, those that aren’t filled with activity, for me are the memorable ones when I really connect with my surroundings.

Don’t be afraid of quiet, or the slow pace of the natural world. Spend some quality time with yourself. Learn to quiet your mind as well as your body, and become at home in the world that surrounds you.

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Always Busy

Now that our winter programs are completed, I’m turning my attention to the spring canoe expedition semester. The course lasts 28 days. The first 2 are spent in camp planning, provisioning, packing and preparing gear. Then it’s off to run the length of our home river, the Aroostook. We’ve got an optional leg of the journey planned to pole upstream to remote Millimagassett lake. Whether we take it depends on the water levels this spring.

After floating back to the field school, we’ll take a 2 day break before departing for Chamberlain Lake on at the headwaters of the Allagash. Our plan is to paddle the length of Chamberlain before poling up Allagash Stream to Allagash Lake. After a day exploring and fishing, we’ll retrace our path down Allagash Stream, then continue on down the waterway, eventually making it to Allagash Village.

If you’re interested in checking out the route, you can check out the downloadable Google Earth .kmz files on our Maps page.

If you’re interested in a month on the river and living free in the northwoods of Maine and you have some experience in a canoe, we still have one spot left.

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Route for Spring Bushcraft Canoe Expedition Semester Set

After studying the manual and talking with the Veterans Administration, I’m up to speed with the registration procedures for the GI Bill. It’s a simple, 3-step process.

Step 1: Fill out the registration form on our site.

Step 2: Email us a copy of your certificate of eligibility (sometimes called letter of eligibility).

Step 3: We fill out form 22-1999 and send it to the Eastern Retional Processing Office in Buffalo, NY.

Pretty simple.

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GI Bill Registration Process