Midwest School of Bushcraft - Bushcraft 101 (Pic heavy)

[RangerXanatos]

This was a survival class given on March 11-13, 2011 near Boone, North Carolina. It was directed by the Midwest School of Bushcraft and led by Terry Barney, whom many of you know as IA Woodsman on this forum and on youtube. This is my experience of the class.

It took me about 5 hours to arrive at the location of the class being held. Directions were easy to follow and led me straight to the field where we were to park.

The top of the mountain had snow and ice. This is a picture near the beginning of the road our camp was located. Down where we were, the elevation dropped enough so that the snow and ice had melted and was no longer there.
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We started Friday night with a lesson on plants. The different uses and where they belong in our bushcrafting skills. We were shown different methods of identification and aspects of different trees. I think the most interesting part of this lecture was being shown how to make cordage from yucca leaves and inner tree bark.

That night for supper, we enjoyed a mild-spicy chili with crackers and sweet cornbread.

The next morning, we started with a mountain man breakfast of sausage, eggs, cheese and coffee all cooked in a dutch-oven over an open fire. After breakfast, we talked of knots and their different applications.
Everyone is busy practicing their knot work.
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IA Woodsman is on the right, showing how to connect two pieces of cordage.
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Knots and Poncho/Tarp Shelters

Using the knots we just went over, we started building shelters from ponchos and tarps. I think I will now need to find myself a military poncho and a different size tarp as I was very impressed with the different layouts and how small or spacious you could make your shelter. With the tarps I used in the past, I only lashed the grommets to trees and never saw the importance of a ridgeline. IA Woodsman has now converted me. The grommets are less likely to tear out, you have more support and head room, to attach the tarp, use a peg of wood, and what I thought was the neatest is that you can move your shelter along the ridge line.

A wooden peg to use as an attachment.
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Different ways to tie down the edges using stakes and dead men with gravestones.
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A rock would be placed on top of the dirt on this last one.
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One-poncho shelter.
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Two-poncho shelter with a peak tie-off. I was amazed by how much room this gave a person.
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Different tarp shelters.
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After these shelters, we took a break for lunch of Hudson Bay Bread. It was delicious. It reminded me of a sweet granola bar that wasn’t too hard, nor too soft. Even though you might wonder how that could feel us, it was a heavy bread and kept some of the participants “regular.” I was excited that I got to bring the leftovers home.

Building a natural debris shelter.

Scoping the size to build.
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Add a pile of sticks making a skeleton
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Add some bark
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Throw on the debris
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Checking size and for sunlight.
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Check out that size and how well it blends in.
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Fire building

Showing us his fire kit of flint and steel, charcloth, fire piston, firesteel, chaga, etc… and how to use each to their advantages
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Building a twig fire of heartwood scrapings, wood shavings, pencil lead twigs, pencil twigs, and thumb twigs.
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And then we practiced.
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Coming back to camp, we were amused with a couple practices of the hand drill and bow drill methods of firestarting.
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First Aid

A little break and we were back at it. IA Woodsman gathered us around and we went over first aid. He showed us his pack and went through all of the contents and the uses of each item. He explained why he chose that item and how he had it set up. One of the biggest tips most people would ignore he gave was to make the pack identifiable. He tied a piece of red paracord on his. This would allow others to immediately know what the contents would be.

It was dark now and time for supper. We had a stew of thick slices of roast beef with gravy, carrots and potatoes, and biscuits, again all cooked in a dutchoven over the fire. We shared stories, jokes, and great companionship.

The next morning, we had oatmeal and coffee. We gathered around to examine a PSK. Why we choose the means of carry and the contents. I was most impressed with the cutting instruments: a wire saw and a small custom knife. He features both of these in his youtube series.

This was my setup. Everything was opened to air out from the previous night’s moisture. The tripod of to the right was a chair I lashed together with paracord. The first night there was ice on the inside of my tarp.
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I had a very enjoyable experience and would recommend Midwest School of Bushcraft to anyone that was thinking of taking a survival course. It was very informative and presented in an easy to learn manner. During his lessons, Terry was sure the participators were comfortable with the skills and ideas being presented and would take time to answer any question being asked. During the breaks and activities, Terry talked to all of us and was sure to ask if we needed any help or tips in the activities we were undergoing. No one was left out of the discussions and lessons. I left the course feeling more confident in the woods and with an experience I’ll never forget. Thank you, Terry.

[RangerXanatos]

Not only did I come back with a great experience, but with new items! I recieved a wool jacket, fatwood keychain, alice small medic pouch, firesteel with a bullet casing handle, and a leather calculator pouch.

[Justin Case]

WOW,,,,, Thank you for sharing these,,,, I learned a new tie down trick from your pics

[Rick]

Great report. I'm glad you had a good time. The pics were great, too.

[crashdive123]

Looks like a great time and class RX. Thanks for bringing us along through your pictures.

[Aurelius95]

Sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for posting your pictures.

*edit* - tried looking up Iowa School of Bushcraft, but the site is down. How much does a class like this cost? Thanks!

**edit** - site is working, I think it ws my firewall. No pricing was listed on his site.

I took a "Wilderness Survival" class at Medicine Bow in Dalohnega, GA about 3 years ago. It seemed like a very similar class, although it was just one overnight (Sat - Sun). The instructor spent some time on trapping (dead falls, figure 4, etc.) and also wild edibles. My favorite task was using a hand bow to make fire, and the cordage making.

[hunter63]

That was great hands on experiance, it would apper.
Thanks for allowing us along.

[gryffynklm]

Great report. Looks like every one had a great time.

[roar-k]

Great experience and I hope to make it to something similar one day.

[BENESSE]

Now I know for sure that I'd really enjoy something like that.
btw. didn't see any girls...were there any?

[paracordist]

can you elaborate on the use of the stick in attaching the tarp to the ridge line? i use a sort of prussik knot, but that looks interesting. is it yet another cool IA "trick"?

[RangerXanatos]

How much does a class like this cost?

It was fairly unexpensive. I don't know if IA Woodsman would want me to tell on an open forum, but was less than other classes I've seen. The cost of attending, food, porta-potty, and having IA Woodsman flying down here was less than what anyone could expect. I'll pm you the cost.

didn't see any girls...were there any?

There weren't any women. Where the planning of this was done, there aren't nearly as many women as men, so none signed up.

can you elaborate on the use of the stick in attaching the tarp to the ridge line?

You tie a ridge line where you want your tarp with an adjustable tautline hitch. Give it a little slack and throw your tarp over the line. Using the slack, push a blight through a tarp's grommet, and place a stick through the bight on top of the tarp. The stick will keep the bight from slipping out of the tarp. Do your other grommet the same way and then tighten your adjustable tautline hitch to make a tight ridge. By rolling the sticks you can move your tarp along the ridgeline.

If that didn't square you away, hopefully I can post a picture when I get out of class later.

[IA Woodsman]

I would like to thank RX for doing such a nice review of the 101 class. He is a fine young man and his skills are coming along nicely. For those asking about price, for me to travel to a site the cost is 125-150 a person. That fee includes my travel and all meals are provided. Yes I have had female in my classes, but there were none in that one. Thanks again RX!!

[Phaedrus]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I can't find any contact info for the school, and my Google-Fu has failed! Can anyone help me out?

[intothenew]

LINKY


There are free classes online in the same forum, LINKY. You have to join the forum to view those classes though.

[ElevenBravo]

Thank you OP for your post and pictures, I enjoyed it very much!
Andrew

[RangerXanatos]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I can't find any contact info for the school, and my Google-Fu has failed! Can anyone help me out?

I don't think he has his own website anymore, but you can find him on the links provided, on Facebook, or send him a pm on here though he hasn't been on in close to a year. The owner is IA Woodsman, the member who posted above you.