Long-Term Programs

Paddling Across A Northern Lake

Aroostook Trip Completed; On To The Allagash

by Tim Smith on May 20, 2012 · 0 comments

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!

Pack Basket In Baxter State Park

Heading For Aroostook Headwaters

by Tim Smith on May 8, 2012 · 2 comments

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.

Preparing For Canoe Expedition

by Tim Smith on April 30, 2012

Post image for Preparing For Canoe Expedition

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.

Route for Spring Bushcraft Canoe Expedition Semester Set

by Tim Smith on February 14, 2012 · 4 comments

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.

Maine Bushcraft Practicum

by Tim Smith on February 10, 2012

3 week minimum. For Immersion program students, by immersion program students.

There comes a point in a person’s bushcraft education where they need to be kicked out of the nest to do things on their own and gain a level of experience that is difficult to obtain during a formal course.

Once a certain level of skill and experience has been achieved, the greatest growth comes from a significant amount of time in the bush without an instructor because were an instructor present, the student would be tempted to ask questions rather than experiment and to rely on the instructor to set the agenda.

I participated in a four-week practicum in Alaska in 1995, and it remains as one of the most powerful outdoor learning experiences I’ve ever had, both from both the perspectives of hard skills and group dynamics.

This is why we’re announcing the Maine Bushcraft Practicum, a field-based outdoor living and travel experience for our Expecition Instructor (XI) certification program students. During the practicum, a small group of people enter the northwoods of Maine and live the lifestyle for a minimum of 3 weeks. There is no structure or instruction. The agenda is set by the participants. There is simply the daily life of living in the woods and on the water, traveling, fishing, harvesting edible plants, and slowing to the rhythm of the woods life.

There are equipment restriction; they carry minimal modern gear, and there is an emphasis on gear they’ve made themselves.

There is no tuition for this program, but it is for Expedition Instructor (XI) certification program students only. Camping fees, gear rental (if needed, for items such as canoes, etc.), food, and other costs are covered by the students. The experience is documented in participant logbooks. Instructors help with trip planning and logistics.

The guiding principle in all of our programs is to design programs that, were I starting out on the bushcraft journey, I’d like to take. The Maine Bushcraft Practicum is the next step.

New Direction For Journeyman Bushcraft Instructor And Guide Certification Program

by Tim Smith on February 9, 2012

After a lot of thought and discussions with students, we’re scrapping our current Journeyman Certification Program. Instead of being based on a 4-week summer field course, the Journeyman Certification will now be based on the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester in the fall. Like the XI (Expedition Instructor Certification), it will be comprised of benchmarks, minimum competencies and documented background research.

We continue to strive toward eliminating redundancy in our programs, and drawing a clear line between our programs aimed at a general audience and our professional development and certification programs.

As a result of the shift, we’ll be adding several programs to our summer schedule. Details on these to follow shortly.

Netting Needle

Journey Bushcraft Program Begins

by Tim Smith on July 25, 2011

Today was the first day of the Journeyman Program.  It’s new this year – a four week immersion course.  We had a great day building shelters,  lighting fires, cooking over the fire, etc.  The mosquitos in the Guide Shack are fierce tonight – someone left the door open today.  They’re too numerous to spend much time writing tonight.

Week 5 – Wilderness Bushcraft Semester

by Tim Smith on September 24, 2010 · 1 comment

We’ve finished the first four and a half weeks of the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, and have the second half remaining after our short break.  Highlights have included canoeing the Devil’s Elbow and the Aroostook River, building and living in shelters, cooking all of our meals over an open fire, most of them in a dutch oven, and just living a slow, simple life outdoors.  I’ll post more before returning to the woods, but for now it’s time for a shower and shave.

Week 1 – Wilderness Bushcraft Semester

by Tim Smith on August 30, 2010 · 1 comment

Week 1 of the 2010 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester is in the record books.  We spent time eating a lot of wild foods, poling and paddling canoes, building shelters, lighting fires, cooking over the fires we lit, making crooked knives on the campfire, learning about off-grid solar technology, studying the weather, and much, much more.  Busy busy busy.  More coming later, but I wanted to write a quick post saying I’m not gone, just out at the field school living off the grid.

Practical Bushcraft Exam

by Tim Smith on July 27, 2010 · 1 comment

We use the logbook to track the individual progression of each student. However, there are some skills where a demonstration of the skill set is necessary for competence. You can either complete a task safely and efficiently, or you can’t.

The practical exam process is about having a minimum skill level necessary to be able to lead trips and travel through remote areas safely.

Practical Exam Components:

Fire
Candidate will demonstrate their knowledge of fire by explaining what the five stages of fire are, then demonstrating their competency and skill with those five stages.

Axe
The axe is the first tool of the woodsman. Candidate must demonstrate safety and judgement in using the axe under any conditions.

Knife
The knife is the general tool of the woods. The ability to safely and powerfully wield it, while posing no danger to one’s self, is of critical importance. Candidate will be tested on its safe use by carving several objects in a given amount of time.

Saw
Candidate will demonstrate their knowledge of building a bucksaw out of natural materials (will be given a blade) in 30 minutes using only a knife. Candidate will then use the saw to section a log.

Cordage And Knots
Candidate will demonstrate knowledge of, and ability to tie, a series of knots useful for general bushcraft, as well as specific knots to traveling.

Canoe
The canoe is the transportation method of the northern guide. Candidate must demonstrate their knowledge of canoes, and ability to control a loaded canoe in various conditions of wind and water.

Navigation
Candidate will demonstrate knowledge of map and compass for use in navigation by taking a bearing with a compass in the field and explaining the dif ference between magnetic and geographic north. Candidate will complete triangulation exercise demonstrating knowledge of using compass to find a specific point. Candidate will then use the compass to plot an accurate course on a topographic map. For barehand navigation, candidate will use natural direction indicators and their knowledge of geometry to create an accurate direction indicator, explaining how they would calibrate it to measure one degree of accuracy.

Cooking
Candidate will demonstrate their ability with regard to food preparation by lighting a fire and baking (in a reflector oven), frying and boiling a meal consisting of sourdough biscuits, cof fee, and two fried eggs, finishing at a specific time.

Survival
Candidate will demonstrate their knowledge of survival by discussing the survival equation, then talking about the appropriate order of survival priorities in a survival plan.

Individual Shelter
Candidate will discuss the physics of shelter construction as they build an individual shelter chosen by the instructor. Candidate will identify the mechanisms of energy transfer and how the shelter minimizes these.

Tree And Plant ID
Candidate will demonstrate their familiarity with the flora of northern Maine by identifying 25 plants chosen at random by the instructor. Candidate must know the common name and latin name, as well as the english and latin family names. Candidate should know something about the uses and lore of each plant.

Lost Person Scenario
Candidate will demonstrate how they would deal with a lost person on a remote trip. This will be a live-action exercise with someone actually being lost.

Camp Life
Candidate will demonstrate their ability to set up and manage a clean and safe remote campsite.

Weather
Candidate will demonstrate their understanding of the weather and observational forecasting by identifying the wind direction and cloud type, then making a prediction about the weather for the next 24 hours based on their observations.

Sharpening
Candidate will demonstrate their understanding of the sharpening process and the ability to sharpen a knife to a shaving edge.

For more on these topics see The Jack Mountain Bushcraft Student Handbook.

Final Bushcraft Semester Course This Fall

May 1, 2010

After a lot of thought, I’ve decided that this fall will be our last fall semester for a few years.  While they’ve been very successful and have been a life-changing experience for our students, they are also a difficult period of separation for my family.  While this has been challenging for my wife and I [...]

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Expedition-Learning Program For Young Men

March 10, 2010

I’ve been thinking for several years about putting together an expedition-style course for young men where we’d spend three or four weeks in the north woods canoeing and living outdoors.  It would be a similar, although less rigorous, curriculum that we use in our college semester programs, with a focus on academic subjects such as [...]

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Yearlong Bushcraft Immersion Program Perks

March 9, 2010

There are many features that make our yearlong bushcraft immersion program unique, and to read about them you should check out the yearlong page as the purpose of this post is to list a few of the perks that go along with taking the yearlong, but aren’t a part of it. Yearlong program graduates have [...]

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