Thanks for the amazing time...

I will be posting some information about the fantastic time I had at Jack Mountain Bushcraft in New Hampshire with Mors Kochanski over the next couple of days but I just wanted to drop a post now to say thanks to everyone.

First of all I wanted to thank Tim Smith and his family from Jack Mountain Bushcraft for being an incredibly generous host while I was there. Tim made everyone feel right at home and was always available when you needed something. Tim's particular brand of 'social humor' while coupled with his professionalism, made him one of the easiest people to work with that I have ever met. The school facilities were great and the resources that any student had access to was brilliant. A chance to test out one of Mors styled "super shelter" for a couple of nights made it all the better! Thanks Tim!

To say that Mors Kochanski is a good instructor is like saying Canada has a few people living in it! Mors 'down-to-earth' nature (no pun intended) vast wealth of knowledge was if nothing else.... inspiring! His easy manner ,and talent as a speaker, made it an incredible experience and his saying "The more you know, the less you carry" really came to life during his training. I have learned so much in the short time I was there. He is an inspiring person to be with and his stories and humor will be something I will remember for the rest of my life! Thank you Mors!

I had the pleasure of driving down to the site with Mungo on the friday. Although the drive was long and at some times mildly frustrating, Mungo was a great companion, and his enthusiasm made the trip that much easier. Thanks Mungo! Looking forward many more trips with you in the future.

To Shawn, thanks for hanging with the wierd Canadian, it was great. To Frank, thanks for all the taping you did and the conversations we had (not to mention the paracord!). And to all the other students that I had a chance to speak with, thanks to each of you and best of luck in the future!

My time over the 4 days was more than I could have expected and I will remember it for a long long time!

Thanks again to everyone!

Canadian Bushcraft Question

Ok. I know I am a bit new to this blogging thing. And I know I have only been studying Bushcraft specifically, (backpacking, ultra-light teaching, and wilderness survival experience not included) for a short time now, so I apologize if this is a dumb question.

Are there any good schools in Ontario specifically that teach, train, or otherwise employ Bushcrafters?

I have found dozens in the UK, a few in the US, and even a couple out in Western Canada, but nothing in Ontario.

Being personally trained by Ray or Mors would be amazing but barring that, it would be nice to have a group of people (like the bushcraft bloggers I have met) that you could meet in person and do a trip or 2 with...

Is there anything out there? Am I missing something?

Your feedback would be appreciated! Seriously!

A moral dilemma...

Did a little looking around youtube.com last nite. Found the episodes for Ray Mears - Country Tracks show. In the first one I watched, Ray was demonstrating how to make a pack frame from the local resources when your pack gets lost/broken.

I found this interesting for 2 reasons.

1. I found an article describing how to build a packframe from this site a couple of days ago and had already starting working on it and,
2. Ray was using willow branches to create the frame and the cordage from the bark.

So based on point number 2, here is the moral dilemma: So many of the bushcraft techniques that I have researched require the use of living wood. Yes, I know that a lot of things can still be made with dead wood but still, many require the stripping of bark etc. I have spent years researching, developing and testing my ultra-lite gear for distance trips and effectively used little of the local foliage, if any. In these cases I have worked hard to adhere to a "Leave no trace" practice. But in the techniques used in bushcraft... well.... not so easy!

On one side, I feel that in order for me to really practice and test out the different skills that I find, the most effective materials are living. If I want to improve my skills I need to cut/hack down (though small in quantity) living wood. Obviously it does not require cutting down a huge tree just to make a pot stand or something but still there is not much of a chance of finding fresh bark or pine roots stacked in a pile on the side of the trail just waiting for me.

On the other hand, the environmentalist/treehugger in me says that even if I just take a little bit, that there is plenty of trees/shrubs growing in the forest, is still not acceptable because if I do it then others can do it and before you know it... Whoosh! no more forests. I know that some would say that I am being a bit over the top about it but I have been to some of the campsites on the trails in Algonquin park (actually pretty much all of them come to think of it!) and I have seen how people abuse the environment there. Usually in the form of "if it looks like it will burn, Burn it!" Trees stripped of branches in a 50 foot radius around every campsite, ground cover stripped of everything burnable creating what Ray Jardin calls a "Cold Camp", and garbage and broken bottles all over the place.

So what do I do? I am always looking at the side of the roads for wood that has been recently cut down for walking sticks. (pictures of my wood carving to come in future posts) When fall and spring yard work is done in my neighborhood, I take late nite strolls to find anything I can use. I would love to practice bushcraft techniques that allow me to live comfortably in the forest using the local resources, but I feel guilty everytime I look at a tree and think 'Hey, that would make a great.....'

I just want to be responsible AND skillful!

Any thoughts?