Woodsmoke Itinerary August Through February

So here is what we have going on through February.

August 2 – Student Proficiency Demonstration.

Students will demonstrate (1) Setting up a weather resistant shelter, (2) Building a self-sustaining fire using the methods they have been taught, (3) Processing charred material for fire making.

There will also be a block of instruction on cutting tool maintenance, water procurement, and water sanitization.

September 6 – Camp Fire Cooking

We will not be breaking out the fire irons and cast iron.

Students will set up their shelters, build their fires, and use their kit items to prepare a meal.

Kits will be laid out for careful inspection and suggestions will be made for kit improvements.

October 18-19 – WOODSMOKE BASIC ORIENTATION, Little River State Forest, Monroe County, Noon Saturday until Noon Sunday.

This orientation course covers the 4 major woodcraft-bushcraft-survival basics of shelter, fire, water, and food and requires an overnight. As an orientation the course content is designed primarily for newcomers that want to jump in.

This is also an opportunity for our already enrolled students to experience an overnight “on the ground”, practice the skills they have been learning, hike a trail, and fish the edge of the lake.

Instructional Fee for new registrants - $65.00 for adults. No fee for children accompanying their parents. Those taking the Basic Course will need to have a kit assembled in advance. Contact me for a list of what you need to have.

All visitors to Little River State Forest are responsible for their own camping fees and food items.

November 1 – Introduction to Subsistence/Survival Trapping

Students will be introduced to conibears, coils, and snares as a means to procure food.

NOTE: Land set snares (with the exception of powered foot snares) are not a legal means of trapping in this state. However, snaring is an effective means to provide food in a survival situation.

Students will learn to use items in their kits to manufacture snares, toggles, and triggers for spring powered snares.

December 5-8 – Woodsmoke Early Winter Trek, On the Conecuh Trail in the Conecuh National Forest, Covington County. Noon Friday until Noon Monday.

This is an opportunity to deepen your experience, get away from the amenities of established campgrounds, and take advantage of one of the best natural resources we have close around our area. Winter, though it is coming on but doesn’t have us quite in its grips yet, will present its own sets of challenges and opportunities to put our skills into practice.

Although firearms deer season is closed the first 10 days of December, archery season is open. The wildlife biologist in charge of the area suggests that wearing some blaze orange is a good idea. I agree.

We’ll set our camp near a spring and ½ mile from a stocked pond. Might be we'll skin and cook some catfish.

Sorry folks. No newbie’s allowed. This is open to only those prepared here in our classes or in the October Orientation.

All trekkers are responsible for their own parking fees and food items.

January 3-4 – Trapping Camp. Noon Saturday until Noon Sunday in our outdoor classroom at the farm.

We will hike in, set up camp, set a few traps, and check them come the light of morning.

Ideally, this will provide an opportunity for the students to experience the process that involves trapping, dispatching, skinning, and processing the meat of an animal.

February 13-16 – Woodsmoke Late Winter Trek, On the Conecuh Trail in the Conecuh National Forest, Covington County. Noon Friday until Noon Monday.

The woods change a lot over the course of the winter. Late winter can bring some cold temperatures to this part of the country. This trek builds upon the experience of the early winter one. By this point, students should feel quite at home in the woods and have honed their basic skills until they comfortably own them.

Sorry again folks.

No newbie’s allowed on this one either. This is open to only those prepared here in our classes or in the October Orientation. Those that have been through orientation and missed the early winter trek are welcome to take part in the late winter one.

All trekkers are responsible for their own parking fees and food items.

I am really looking forward to what we have planned over the coming months.

[PHOTO] 8 miles from the truck on the Conecuh Trail. No cell service. No worries. No hurries.