Bushcraft & Guide Training Yearlong Immersion Program
Practical Wilderness Survival Courses
Homesteading & Self Reliance
Guided Canoe, Snowshoe and Fishing Trips
Traditional Northern Craft Workshops

Greetings! 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.

Our yearlong immersion program, with available college credit, focuses on bushcraft, human-powered wilderness travel, professional guide training, nature lore and homesteading/organic gardening. It's an unrivaled training program for professional outdoor teachers and leaders, and is built around intensive residential courses which can be taken independently or as part of the yearlong program:

Since becoming a full-time bushcraft school and guide service in 1999, we've created the original traditional wilderness skills semester course and have run more than ten of them. We've guided trips in Maine, New Hampshire, Alaska, the Florida Everglades, Quebec, and New Brunswick. And we've had the good fortune to teach and travel with some amazing people, many of whom have become lifelong friends.

Our work has been recognized by The Discovery Channel, Country Music Television, The New York Times, The Boston Globe and Field and Stream Magazine, amongst others. For a complete list of our media appearances, visit our Media Room.

Take some time to read through our site and be sure to check out our blog, photo gallery, and online video series. You're also welcome to join our online community network where you can share your photos and video, join discussions in the forum, and keep in touch with former and current students. Then we invite you to join us for a course or trip and experience the freedom and realism of the bush. If you have any questions let us know.

Upcoming Courses,
Trips, and Events:

•  Axemanship - 11/15
•  Sharpening Simplified - 11/22
A full list of upcoming programs is available on our Schedule.

Blowing a Bow Drill Coal into a Flame

What do you see when you look into the forest?

Imagine having no fear of getting lost because you understand how to navigate without any tools or gadgets.

Imagine being able to spend the night in the forest in any season without a tent or sleeping bag.

Imagine being able to quickly start a fire without using matches or a lighter.

Imagine being self-sufficient, making what you need from the materials around you, and connecting to the Earth on a deeper, more primal level.

You don't have to imagine... more  

Misty Autumn Paddle in Northern Maine

What Is Bushcraft?

Bushcraft is the active component of our interaction with the natural world. Both art and science, bushcraft is doing, making, crafting, traveling, building and living outdoors. It's a low-tech, high-skill discipline that allows you to be at home in the north woods during all seasons.

Jack Mountain Bushcraft Student Handbook

Our student handbook is the basis of our long-term programs. More Info

The Simple Little Sourdough And Outdoor Baking Book

Simple sourdough cooking for the bush or at home using no perishable ingredients or fancy recipes. Tested by hundreds of our clients and students. More Info