Below is a timeline of some of the highlights of the history of The Jack Mountain Bushcraft School. As this is a highlight reel and not a complete history, the many short courses and outings that have kept us busy year-round are not included.
1995
- With an undergraduate degree in anthropology in hand, founder Tim Smith headed north to Alaska for a 30-day primitive living practicum in the Alaskan bush. It culminated a decade of focused study of bushcraft and outdoor living, and turned out different, but more powerful, than expected. It’s where the idea for the bushcraft semester course was born, but it took a few years of percolating and processing before it was ready to see the light of day.
- Paddled the Moose river canoe trail through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
- Following the experience, Tim stayed on in Alaska for a year before returning to the lower 48 and enrolling in a master’s program in education.
1999
- Upon finishing graduate school, Tim founded Jack Mountain Bushcraft and started teaching weeklong bushcraft courses and guiding wilderness trips, putting off a formal teaching career for a year. He had been teaching bushcraft and guiding part time for a few years, but decided to make the leap and do it full time. Highlights from that year included an 8-day survival adventure course in the mountains of western Maine.
- Trips were numerous and short, the majority being hiking trips in the Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine.
2000
- Tim decided to create programs that bridged the gap between formal education and bushcraft, similar to the Alaska practicum, and the idea for the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester was born in a wall tent at 40 below zero along the Maine and Quebec border.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash, the Florida Everglades and a three-week summer trip in Alaska.
- Snowshoe trips included a nine-day journey into the Caucmgomoc region near of the Allagash headwaters in Maine, and a trip snowshoeing with the Cree in northern Quebec.
2001
- Ran the pilot program for the Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, then called the Earth Skills Semester Program.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash, St. John and the West Branch of the Penobscot rivers in Maine and the Everglades in Florida.
- Snowshoe trips included two weeks of traditional winter skills and travel in the mountains of western Maine near the Quebec border.
2002
- Ran the first 12-week semester course from February to April.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash, St. John and the West Branch of the Penobscot rivers in Maine and the Everglades in Florida.
- Snowshoe trips included two weeks of traditional winter skills and travel in the mountains of western Maine near the Quebec border.
2003
- Ran two 12-week semester courses, one from February to April and the other from late August to early November.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash, St. John and St. Croix rivers in Maine and La Verendrye Provincial Park in Quebec.
- Snowshoe trips included ten days of traditional winter skills and travel in the mountains of western Maine near the Quebec border.
2004
- Ran two 12-week semester courses, one from February to April and the other from late August to early November.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash, St. John and St. Croix rivers in Maine.
- Snowshoe trips included ten days of traditional winter skills and travel in the mountains of western Maine near the Quebec border.
2005
- Ran a 4-week summer courses and a 12-week semester course from late August to early November.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash, West Branch of the Penobscot, Big Black and St. Croix rivers, as well as poling trip on Allagash stream, in Maine.
2006
- Ran a 12-week semester course from late August to early November.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash and St. Croix rivers, as well as a flatwater trip in the Grand Lake Stream region, in Maine.
2007
- Ran a 10-week semester course from late August to early November.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash, East Branch of the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers in Maine, and a paddling trip with the Cree in northern Quebec.
2008
- Relocated our immersion programs from New Hampshire to Masardis, Maine. Created the yearlong immersion, tying the semester programs together into a more complete learning experience. Ran a 10-week spring semester from April to May and a 10-week fall semester from late August to October.
- Canoe trips included the Allagash and Aroostook rivers, Munsungan and Millinocket streams and a base camp on Grand Lake Seboeis.
2009
- Ran a 2-week winter course in January, a 6-week spring course from mid-April to the end of May, and a 3-week summer course in July.
- Canoe trips included the Aroostook and Big Machias rivers, Mooseleuk, St. Croix and Squapan streams and numerous trips on Squapan lake.
- Snowshoe trips included the two week winter course in the woods of New Hampshire and a trip snowshoeing with the Cree in northern Quebec.
2010
- Ran a 4-week spring expedition semester in May, several weeklong summer programs, and a 9-week fall semester course.
- Canoe trips included the St. John, Aroostook and Big Machias rivers, as well as Millinocket, Munsungan and St. Croix streams.
