Travel Through The Forest With Minimal Gear.

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Carrying the bare minimum of gear, much of it home made, we’ll travel across the landscape of northern Maine on foot, stealth camping in remote locations while traversing a roughly outlined, but not pre-planned, route.

When you shed the extra gear and stuff, you begin to interact with the land on a deeper level.

We’re going to offer this in 2020, and depending on how it goes, maybe in subsequent years.

It will be hard. You will be challenged. From bugs, to rain, to hunger, to cold, to heat, nothing will be easy. But through challenge comes growth.

In order to participate, if we don’t know you personally, we will ask for references. This isn’t in an attempt to be elitist. Rather, we understand that a weak link in the group chain will negatively impact the experience for all involved. We don’t want that to happen.

The Gear: Knife, axe, metal pot, shelter cover and whatever else you can carry in your pockets. Carried in a homemade pack basket or pack frame, with homemade rope.

The Route: Travel through the woods of northern Maine, navigating as you go.

The Food: What we can find along the way.

The Skills: Put your skills and endurance to the test. Live by your wits and not your wallet. Build a new shelter each night or sleep under the stars. Forage for what you eat. Go where your legs will take you.

Who This Is For: Experienced practitioners of the woods life. From a skills perspective, this is a solo experience where we travel together for the safety that the group brings. You will be responsible for taking care of your needs from what the forest provides.

Where the idea came from: In the late 1990’s, about when the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School went from an abstract idea to a real business, I (Tim) went on a walkabout with Mors Kochanski and Karamat Wilderness Ways in Alberta. It was an amazing experience that I still think about on a regular basis. It taught me that there’s a difference between having static skills and dynamic, field-based skills. We walked for 12 days with no food and only small, homemade packs.

The course runs from Sunday afternoon to Saturday morning. We will spend Monday through Thursday nights in the field. Maximum group size is 10.

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Travel Information and Directions:   Travel information is located here. After you register you will receive local driving directions to our site.

Arrival and Departure:   Plan to arrive on sunday afternoon, between 4 and 6. We’ll have dinner, a group introduction and a tour of the grounds starting at 6. The course is over on Saturday at 8 AM.

Accommodations:   Bring a tent, tarp, or other shelter. It will be your home for the week. For summer programs please consider bringing a bug net if you don’t have noseeum netting on your tent. There are also cabins available through Blackwater Outfitters, located five minutes away. They can be reached at: 207-540-4101.

Meals:   For information on food and meals, visit our Food and meals page.

Cancellation and Refund Policies:   Please visit our School Policies page for information on all of our policies.

What is included with the tuition:   Included in the tuition are all camping fees, group meals, instruction, and group gear.

What is not included with the tuition:   Not included with the tuition are personal gear, items from town and any foods other than those specified.

Course Insurance:   Adventure travel and wilderness education are not inexpensive, and anything can happen when we’re in the bush. We recommend that all participants have medical insurance. We also recommend you protect your investment with travel insurance for trips and tuition insurance for courses.

Tobacco:   Smoking is not permitted in or near any buildings. All cigarette butts are to be placed into the metal can provided.

Vehicles and Parking:  We’re located .6 miles down a gravel road. During the winter and spring the road can be impassable for 2-wheel drive vehicles, and sometimes for any vehicles other than snow machines.

Telephone: We don’t have a phone or electricity. If you need to be in constant phone contact please consider bringing a cell phone, and if you need to charge a phone (or other electronic device), please look into getting a charger or bringing extra batteries.

Other: Please don’t bring any pets, alcohol or illegal drugs.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

We reserve the right to include or omit any of the course topics listed due to class interest, availability of materials, inclement weather, or other factor that makes them impractical or unsafe.