General

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

After three weeks sleeping in sub-zero temperatures, we’re getting a warming trend. I had plenty of insulation (2 sleeping bags), so I haven’t been cold at night. I have, however, had to deal with frost. Living and sleeping in subzero temperatures is an exercise in moisture management. The moisture expelled by your skin ends up as frost in the insulation of your sleeping gear, as well as in your boot liners. These must be dried daily, or they soon begin to lose the ability to keep you warm. In temperatures above about 10 degrees F, I’ve never had moisture build up from frost become an issue.

For sleeping bags, this will build up even if you aren’t breathing into your bag (which you shouldn’t do because your moist breath speeds the rate of icing).

As I was busy running a course, I wasn’t always able to get everything dry that I needed to. On two nights there was enough ice buildup in my sleeping bag where it was noticably cold when I got in. It soon warmed up from my body heat, and I took the time to dry it out the next day.

The challenges presented by extended stays in bitter cold must be met with a well-reasoned approach to maintaining the viability of insulation by managing moisture. When this is done well, living out in the cold is a much more enjoyable experience.

Check out the amazing program my friend Jeff Giallombardo is running at Nokomis High School in Newport, Maine (see below). It’s exciting to see bushcraft making inroads into the classroom.

“Ultimate Outdoors” is a program recently developedat Nokomis Regional High School in an effort to better serve our “at risk”young adult students and our general student population.

“Ultimate Outdoors” will serve our entire studentpopulation, but will specifically target students deemed at risk for academicfailure and dropout. The purposeof the program is to provide students who have had limited success academicallywith literacy skills, problem solving skills, self-confidence, and a sense ofschool pride and personal identity. The program will specifically emphasize theimportance literacy and academic achievement play in the pursuit of “outdoor” related fields. For example, careers in wildlife biology, forestry, professional hunting, fishing orrecreational guiding and game warden will be promoted among others.

Subjects will include hunting, fishing, trapping,camping, bushcraft, wildlife biology, botany, wildlife conservation, forestry,ecology and wilderness survival. The program will be split between traditional classroom time and handson field experience. By exposing our students to subjects we know are intrinsicallymotivating we will promote critical thinking skills and raise awareness andinterest in potential “outdoor” career fields. “Ultimate Outdoors” lessons and units will also incorporateelements of all core academic subjects such as English, Science, History,Mathematics and Physical Education.

Since we believe the learning process best occurswhen students are not solely passive recipients of information the class willbe based on experiential learning principals and research. We have developed a “read it, do it,write it” model of instruction for our topics of study.