Category Archives: 2019 – 2020 Wilderness Guide Program

Milestones

Posted on by

It really has been a landmark quarter moon for us seekers. There are quite a few reasons for that, not least of which is we have been officially living in camp for well over a moon. Most people would have had trouble living outdoors this long, let alone the many moons we have left. It clearly shows one of two things, either we have found a place where we can come into balance with ourselves, or we are certifiably a little nuts.

It has also been a significant time for us, as we have begun to really gather our food from the wild. Wild greens have begun to make up half of our leafy greens. We also have started fishing, and boy have we taken to it. Just last sun we caught 103 fish; so we don’t have to worry about starving just yet. Plus we have a filled firewood rack to cook it all with! So for any guests, you can bet we will have a fish feast waiting for you.

We also have been making some steps on our intrapersonal relationships as well. We have begun using our names to help recognize our patterns of victimization. For example, if someone is constantly externalizing blame onto others in the circle; then their new name might be “blames others”. This is going to be a challenging step, but a necessary one in our process of healing and self-discovery as we are doing this, our first dead moon visit is fast approaching. It will give us a chance to delve deep on some research and connect with friends and family on the outside. We also are excited (some more than others) to give up using matches and begin making fire the way our ancestors did. So wish us luck!

‘Till next time, see you on the Path.

Green Season Update and Getting to Know the Seekers

Posted on by

Aaniin fellow travelers,
This past quarter moon has been both exhilarating and strange. Despite it being close to the green season, it has been unusually cold and rainy in the northwoods. Of the 25 – 30 suns we have been out here, 3 of them have been sunny. And we couldn’t be more excited for the warm suns in our future; as we got our canoes this quarter moon. The lake has been choppy and windy at times, but at others completely still and quiet. We have also been doing a lot of repairs and exploring. We have been continuing the seeker tradition of fixing the bridges over the bog. We built a new canoe rack, and improved our fire storage and hearth cover. Truly this camp is starting to feel like a home. Till next time. See you on the Path.
Oh! We decided to include some bio information on us seekers below. Check it out.

When the program started my name was ‘Pete’. I chose to participate because I felt on some level it would be really good for me. I felt a longing for being part of a strong community. There is a huge interest for everything that’s needed to establish that, for example communication (‘truthspeaking’ in general). I also wanted to get more in touch with myself, find out who I am, and what my role is in all of this. I wanted to establish strong and healthy relationships with all those beings around me. And one thing I wasn’t that aware of before I came here but which is now an important topic for me is to come aware of old patterns, habits and addictions I brought here, so that I will be able to heal and maybe reform my way of living to a certain degree.

Hey, I’m called ‘Tends A Fire’ or ‘Jokes’ here in this camp. I am a woman in this pack of males and I came all the way from Austria to live my dream of a life in the wilderness. To me it seems important to dive deep, reclaiming my connection with humans, animals, plants, and the entire natural realm.
Getting to that place where I can walk in balance without being struck by any cold weather, mosquitoes, or the non-availability of highly processed foods, takes a lot more than just a week-long immersion in the wilderness. Therefore I’m willing to take the effort to live this life for a whole turn of the seasons and looking forward to all the adventures awaiting us out here.

My name is Aaron, everyone here calls me ‘Knows A Lot’. I am here to challenge a lifetime of preconceptions along with testing my mental and physical limits. I want to work on my canoeing obsessively. I also want to learn about medicinal plants and their application and culture. This will be the challenge and thrill of a lifetime, I hope I can live up to it.

The other seekers call me ‘Speaks His Mind’. My home is where the Wabash and Ohio rivers come together in southern Indiana. I’m here at this primitive camp to become more wild. The proper term is probably ‘feral’, since most of my life has been mostly domesticated up to this point.

Aaniin!
I have gone by many names in my life and currently my clan has gifted me the name ‘Gives Good Advice’. I am a graduate of the Family Wilderness Guide Program in 2012 and of the Guardian Intensive the year after that! I am back for more self-exploration into who I am and deepening my connection to the Mother Earth. There are already challenges, surprises, fears, excitement, and really all life has to offer out here and I can only delve deeper into what these next 10 moons have to bless me with!

Aaniin!
My birthname is Joseph and my clan name is “Moves”. I believe it’s because I don’t stay. You can usually find me jumping around on tasks. I look forward to learning more about tracking, trapping, hunting, fishing, craftsmanship, lodge building, dream-work, orienteering, weather attunement and much more. I chose the WGP to push myself out of my comforts to grow physically and mentally so I can blossom into the balanced wild being I can be.

First Blog Entry of the 2019/2020 Wilderness Guide Program

Posted on by

 

Blog Entry, 1st Full Moon
Written by  “Speaks His Mind”

Aaniin (greetings) from all of us Seekers,

This is the first blog post for the Wilderness Guide Program 2019/2020. We hope it will allow all of you to share in the trials and triumphs of this incredible journey we are undertaking. Maybe it will inspire some on their own path in life. We will be updating the blog every quarter moon with stories of our pack, projects we are working on, pictures, and maybe even some audio recordings. What we really want to share with you is a small part of what is going to make this next year so transformative in our lives.

This journey will not just be one of fire-making and canoeing (though there will be plenty of that too). This journey will also be taking place inside at the very core of the self. We will be shedding our preconceptions of our world, our relationships, and ourselves, The struggles we face will be long and arduous, but at the end, when we walk out of these woods, we will be attuned to our very essence of being. We will walk through this life having found something more precious than any of us could ever imagine.

So far, this first half moon has been a flurry of activity. Meeting 5 relative strangers and moving into the middle of the Northwoods wouldn’t have been easy at the nicest of times. It has been an unusually cold transition from the white to green season. We’ve been getting lost in bogs and enduring storms. We’ve been facing our psychological thresholds also, as we have come to realize that all of what we have experienced is what is ahead for the next year.

Luckily we have been sticking together as a pack. We built a wonderful pit for our food (pics.). Organizing the camp has been working well, and our discussions have been fruitful and numerous.

We have been learning about uses of birch bark and spruce root. Abel (Senior Wilderness Guide) also recently taught us how not to get lost in these woods (a very handy skill). Now most of us are working on our bowls and pack-frames. We have also begun practicing Truth-speaking with each other. It is difficult as it goes against everything we are told in society to speak from the heart. We started by every night listing what triggered us that sun (day). It is a way for us to practice listing without judgment or comment. If that sounds challenging, trust us, we know!

Oh! And we also had our first injury this quarter moon!

My most challenging lessons so far have been in the realm of safety, injury, and healing. During our initial hike from the school house to our campsite, I injured my knee to a degree I had never before experienced. Fellow Seekers were eager to take up the slack so I could focus on resting and healing that knee for several suns. It was inspiring to watch them gather firewood, birch bark, and food – each trip taking as long as one would need to bake a loaf of bread.

Recently I chopped into my left thumb with a tomahawk while carving out a bowl. It was coming along quite well. I felt that I was really getting the hang of it. The other Seekers were all gathered around the fire when they heard, “I did it!” The blade had gone into the side of my thumb from the base of the nail down to the center of the pad – about 1/3 of the way through.

We had completed our first-aid studies that very day, and I had provided our first real-life example. I dropped the tomahawk and grabbed my thumb instead, squeezing hard enough to stop the bleeding. I started feeling dizzy so I laid down by the fire. The clan was very supportive, attentive, and helpful. They fired off an alert to Teaching Drum staff using our satellite emergency beacon. Abel, Irene, and Susan arrived in about 20 nut cracks and gave us clear instructions on how to proceed. We’ve eaten two breakfasts since that evening and the wound is healing fine. I’ve been guarding it well and keeping it covered with antiseptic tree sap.

Until next quarter moon. See you on the path.

 – Speaks His Mind