Living in nature, Part 2
I figured out that there’s a term for what it is that I’m wanting to learn about living in nature: bushcraft. And it turns out that possibly the best bushcraft school in the country is right here in New England.
"We’re a bushcraft school and traditional Maine guide service based on a riverside homestead in Masardis, Maine. Unlike the large, national outdoor schools, our focus isn’t on traveling through the wilderness as an outsider or tourist using high-tech gear as an umbilical cord back to town. Instead we teach traditional bushcraft skills and nature lore that immerse you into the bush without a buffer, through which you learn that you’re an active part of the natural world, not an observer."
Very interesting…
August 15th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Oh man, I totally want to do that but it’s prohibitively expensive. Maybe I can save a bit…
August 15th, 2008 at 11:36 am
It also sounds very compelling to me–especially the yearlong immersive program. Still, I would probably have to attend the program in segments because of school.
Unfortunately, they have priced it entirely beyond my means, so I’ll have to add it to my list of “wishful thinking.”
August 19th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I’ve never been able to find the thermostat in the woods. Also, me and many insects and arachnids simply don’t get along. If only the outdoors had central heating and air…cest la vie.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
A curious follow-up for this one: I found some videos showing some of their classes and whatnot and got my first good look at the owner/main trainer. The dude is fat. Not pleasantly squishy fat, but fairly obese. I just can’t imagine that he’s living the homesteading/outdoors lifestyle all that seriously and still manage to keep on that kind of weight. So I’m rather off of the whole Jack Mountain thing.