Jack Mountain Bushcraft Media

Part 2 of my discussion with Paul Sveum about simplifying fly fishing. We discuss #6-10 of the top ten things Paul wishes someone would have told him when he was getting started in fly fishing. PHOTO: A Y-stern canoe on the Bonaventure River in Quebec, headed upriver to fish for Atlantic Salmon. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 112 | Simplifying Fly Fishing with Paul Sveum, Part 2 Kid-Friendly? Kid...

This episode featuring Paul Sveum began as a blog post , but we decided to have a conversation about the top ten things to keep in mind when getting into fly fishing. This is part 1, where we discuss points 1-5. PHOTO: Paul fishing an Aroostook County stream. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 111 | Simplifying Fly Fishing For Beginners with Paul Sveum, Part 1 Kid-Friendly? Kid friendly, no profanity...

Matthew Rhode just successfully completed the Journeyman Certification on the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. We welcomed him into the studio to discuss the course, his approach to time management, the usefulness of a table, and how to be successful on our program. PHOTO: Early morning during solos, looking east. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 110 | No Days Off with Matthew Rhode Kid-Friendly...

We’re nearing the end of the fall, 2021 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. We just finished a 48 hour primitive living experience and are headed out on solos tomorrow. In this episode of the JMB Podcast we discuss these experiences, as for listener input on the next step for our online network at BushcraftSchool.com and ask for great paddling destinations to break up the drive from Maine to Texa...

We’re back after a long hiatus to talk about resiliency, the need to balance stress with recovery, sleeping out in the cold with no sleeping bag in front of a fire, and the need to prepare your hands for a robust outdoor life. We just finished week 6 (of 9) on the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester and life is busy and full. PHOTO: Otter swimming in the pond at the field school. Show Notes:...

End of the spring semester. Back from our final trip, the spring 2021 Wilderness Guide Training Semester is finished. In this episode of the podcast Christopher and I discuss two aspects of coaching people and how they differ. First is nurturing them to build their confidence, and second is focusing on accountability and what needs to get done. It is difficult for a single person to do both in a s...

The fourth and final installment in our multi-episode reading of On The Trail; Selected Canoe And Snowshoe Trip Journals. This time I read the journal of a 2001 trip on the wilderness waterway through Everglades National Park in Florida. You can download a free copy of On The Trail from the downloads section of BushcraftSchool.com . You can also purchase one for $0.99 from Amazon. PHOTO: On The Tr...

“Fly fishing is beautifully regional.” – Paul Sveum Christoper and I welcomed our old friend and Registered Master Maine Guide Paul Sveum into the studio to discuss spring fly fishing in northern Maine. We discuss flies, fly fishing, temperatures that trout like, and a wide variety of other topics. Paul is teaching our Introduction To Fly Fishing course later this month, although...

The third installment in our multi-episode reading of On The Trail; Selected Canoe And Snowshoe Trip Journals. This time I read the journals from a solo canoe trip on Allagash Lake, a canoe trip on the Big Black River, and a ten-day winter camping trip on the Quebec border with no sleeping bag. You can download a free copy of On The Trail from the downloads section of BushcraftSchool.com. You can...

The four main jobs of the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School semester instructor are teacher, guide, mentor and coach. Christopher and I discuss this, and how the relationship changes and grows during a long course, in this episode of the podcast. You’ll also hear about the new bird neighbors who have built their nest in a nearby white pine. I’ll be back with a few more chapters of On The...

The second installment in our multi-episode reading of On The Trail; Selected Canoe And Snowshoe Trip Journals. This time I read the journals from a 1999 Allagash Wilderness Waterway canoe trip and a 2001 St. John River canoe trip, both in Maine. I’ve run a lot of trips on these rivers in the 20+ years since, but this Allagash trip stands out in my mind because of having to repair a wood can...

I’m trying something new – creating an audiobook. For episode 101 of the JMB Podcast I read a chapter from my book On The Trail. The chapter is a journal from a June, 2000 canoe trip on the Swan Lake Canoe Route on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The plan is to work through the book so that it is available via audio format here on the podcast. Like it? Hate it? Let us know. You can dow...

Recorded at the beginning of week 2 of the spring 2021 semester, we discuss the value of a tangible approach to education as contrasted with an abstract approach. Also we discuss a variety of current events and the genuine surprise felt at making it to 100 episodes. PHOTO: Building a hoop house shelter. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 100 | Tangible Education Kid-Friendly? Kid friendly, no profani...

Welcome back to the JMB Podcast. After a winter break, we’re back at the field school and beginning the spring 2021 Wilderness Guide Training semester today. For episode 99, we discuss what we did over the winter, which includes catching Covid 19, working to get healthy, working with birds at a museum, and a few other things we discuss. It’s good to be back. PHOTO: Gravel bar on the up...

For episode 98 of the JMB podcast, we discuss the process of developing wilderness instructors and guides. We outline the following steps to the process: Take a course and get the Journeyman certification Take a medical class, first aid or wilderness first responder Take and pass the test to become a Registered Maine Guide Go on a bunch of trips to learn the waterways and fine-tune your systems Do...

It’s near the end of the fall semester, so we invited some of the current Wilderness Bushcraft Semester students into the Guide Shack so you could hear directly from them about their thoughts about the course. Listen in as they describe their experience and answer a few questions about it. PHOTO: Spring semester students at sunset on the Allagash. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 97 | The Stu...

We offer several different types of programs, and in this episode of the podcast we describe and define what they are and who they’re for. Two weeks to go in the fall, 2020 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. PHOTO: Big breakfast in camp. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 96 | Differentiating Professional Training Programs Kid-Friendly? Kid friendly, no profanity. Links: Book: Knife-Only Survival b...

Minimalism in the wild. In episode 95 of the JMB Podcast Christopher and I discuss the idea of minimalism as compared and contrasted with ultralight in the backcountry. We often discuss our traditional approach to camping, characterized by heavy gear and lots of it. But we also enjoy going light with improvised gear. Going light with homemade gear will recalibrate your baseline. Too much stuff get...

In episode 94 of the JMB Podcast Christopher and I discuss the concept of transference; where lessons learned in one space are applied in a different space, in a different way. Sometimes called lateral thinking, it’s about developing deep knowledge. It’s also about developing deep knowledge of problems to be solved. PHOTO: Frost on the red clover Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 94 | Tr...

In episode 93 we get listeners caught up with current events, then discuss how in bushcraft (and many other aspects of life), the advanced skills are the basics mastered; there is not a separate set of skills for advanced practitioners. It’s all about depth of knowledge. PHOTO: Canoeing on a northern Maine lake Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 93 | Advanced Skills Are The Basics Mastered Kid-...

We welcomed Ryan Holt into the studio for episode 92. Ryan is a Jack Mountain Bushcraft School alum and has completed 4 challenges on the television show Naked & Afraid. He is the owner of the Human-Nature Hostel in Roxbury, Maine. We talk about his time on tv, his work running a hostel for Appalachian Trail hikers, and the new direction he’s heading in as a result of the Covid. PHOTO:...

Recorded on September 8th at the new Jack Mountain Bushcraft School hq studio, episode 90 features Tim Smith and Colin Clifford talking about Colin’s recent 10-day Allagash solo canoe trip. PHOTO: Tim Cole coming into Round Pond on the Allagash from a few years back. Show Notes: JMB Podcast Episode 91 | 10-Day Allagash Solo Kid-Friendly? Kid-friendly, no profanity. Links: The Friluftsliv For...

Recorded on July 2nd by a very tired Tim Smith and Christopher Russell, episode 90 is about the challenges faced in participating in, as well as running, our semester courses. It was hot and buggy and we were tired from a long semester, but we talked about events that were current and prognosticated on some things that have since come to pass. After a summer off the grid we’re back, with a n...

In episode 89 Christopher and I discuss the philosophy of friluftsliv, a traditional Scandinavian approach to the natural world. Loosely translated, it means “open air life”. It’s different than how most people see nature in the USA, and is the basis for the part-time, yearlong immersion program we’re currently developing, to be run in southern Vermont, as well as our field...

We just wrapped up week 7 of the Wilderness Guide Training Semester. Weeks 6 and 7 were spent on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, and it’s appropriate that during a guide training semester we had to do some guide stuff. Specifically, we had to medically evacuate a participant on the trip. For the story, listen to the episode. PHOTO: Participants of the spring, 2020 Wilderness Guide Training...