Recent Posts
Aroostook Trip Completed; On To The Allagash
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 [...]
Heading For Aroostook Headwaters
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. [...]
Support The Troops – Donate An Outdoor Book
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. [...]
Why Are Survival TV Shows So Popular?
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 [...]
New Look To An Old Blog
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 [...]
Featured Posts
Seven Points For Beginning Bushcraft
There’s a lot of information about bushcraft on the web, but much of it is focused around equipment and celebrities, not knowledge and experience. If you’re just getting started, here are seven things to keep in mind. 1. It’s not about the gear. We did alright for 99% of human history without all the latest [...]
Bushcraft Vs. Wilderness Survival
I’ve heard the terms bushcraft and wilderness survival used interchangably, and defined by those who base their understanding on what they saw on a tv show. Needless to say I disagree with most of the common definitions floating around these days. The terms are not the same thing, although one is contained within the other. [...]
Real Bushcraft And Survival Training Has Nothing To Do With New Age Religion Or Misappropriating Native American Spirituality
A guy called me yesterday with questions about our Summer Survival Weekend Course. We spoke for several minutes about what the course covers, what he could expect, and other related topics for about five minutes. Then said he had a question about religion. He asked if we incorporated spiritual teachings or Native American ceremonies in [...]
Minimum Or Displaced Impact – About Leaving No Trace
Something we discuss in great detail in our courses is the difference between minimum impact camping and displaced impact camping. Modern camping practices are far from minimum impact; things such as rare metals and petroleum products put a huge burden on our planet. But since the effects of their processing and production aren’t usually visible [...]
Bushcraft and Survival Knives
There are endless discussions as to what makes a good knife. Everyone has their opinion, and some people seem to be willing to defend theirs for hours. I’ve found that knives are kind of like dogs – everyone thinks that their dog is the greatest, and no matter how bad or poorly behaved it is [...]
