Mountain to Ocean (phase 1)

April 1 - June 20, 2020 $2,500USD

At this point we only have limited availability for past students, please stay tuned for an immersion in 2021 if you have not taken a Living Wild class before.

A full 7 day intensive will start this long immersion program to give the opportunity to beginner level students of ancient technologies the chance to follow through the entire summer program. With a lot of hard work and determination there is the possibility to be ready for the Stone Age project at its conclusion.

Students who have never before taken a Living Wild Class and who want to participate in the immersion are encouraged to apply early and/or participate in a 7 day class prior to the beginning of the Mountain to Ocean Immersion.

Students wishing to participate in the entire summer immersion or phase 1 will be given priority though there may be a few extra places for students who wish to take the Basic Skills Class as a stand alone 7 day class.

For students who already have a good foundation in Stone Age technologies this first week will be a great opportunity to delve deeper into the skills and experiment with new resources and ideas.

• Stone tools

• Bone tools

• Wood tools

• Knife, saw and axe work

• Fire making

• Cordage

• Burn bowls

• Glues

• Story telling

• Singing

• Music

• Community building

During this intensive start we will learn basic Stone tool manufacture and usage, fire by friction using bow drill and hand drill techniques, percussion fire making methods, cordage making from plant and animal sources, glues, fillers and bindings. We will explore fire as a tool to create burn bowls and eating utensils. Although the application of stone tools will be the focus for our crafting we will also be sure to learn the correct and safe knife, axe and saw uses, sharpening and maintenance to give you a good foundation with metal hand tools.

As with all Living Wild classes, We have been giving much attention to the practice of gratitude, communication and sharing. Lynx has found over the years that the group experiences of expressing oneself in speech, song, story and movement creates an atmosphere of vulnerability and trust. Connecting directly with the land, sleeping on the Earth each night, walking upon her with bare feet, being nourished by wild foods and subjecting oneself to the elements of nature all conspire to an appreciation, gratefulness and grief for this Great Being that supports all life.

• Hide tanning deer skins (wet scrape and dry scrape methods)

• Hide tanning furs and bark tanning methods

• Mountain foraging; edible and medicinal plants

• Bows and arrows

• Archery and hunting skills

• Pack baskets and pottery

During this part of the program we delve deeper into some of the skills that require more time.

Class will run on a 5 days on, 5 days off schedule so participants will have time to practice and complete projects as well as rest and explore.

In the first hide tanning segment, everyone will tan their own deer hide using the wet scrape method, learn dry scrape with a larger hide that will be worked as a group and divided after completion and prepare rawhide for a multitude of uses for subsequent projects.

In the second segment we will learn the techniques for bark tanning using fish skin and deer hides. Everyone will tan a smaller furred animal skin such as a fox or coyote and learn the techniques for large animal tanning with hair on.

We will spend detailed time with learning the wild edible, medicinal, utility and poisonous plants of the area with focus on identification, sustainable harvesting, replanting, cooking and preservation techniques.

Bow making will include a seasoned stave with the objective of creating a large game hunting quality bow with a minimum of 40 lbs draw weight., students will make strings from modern materials. Rawhide and sinew strings will be demonstrated.

Archery technique, hunting skills and strategy will be covered along with basic trapping and tracking techniques.

Containers to hold our harvest, cook our food and carry our gear will end this half of the immersion as we create sturdy, simple and light-weight pack baskets, and make and fire small personal cooking pots and fat lamps.

Mountain to Ocean journey (June 20-30)

Free (invitation only, open to immersion participants or invited guests)

Photo credit : Kiliii Yuyan