Blog # 1 Seasons Are Changing

Why am I doing this?

All my life I’ve had one foot in the modern culture, and one foot out. Every day I drove eighty-five miles, round trip, to the big city. I immersed my self in all the ambitions one is expected to. I was committed, productive, successful by all measures. But when the workday ended, the urgency to escape was all consuming. I couldn’t wait to get to my modest existence in the mountains where the noise finally fell.

But its impossible to truly serve two masters. Living in those two worlds is to wage a war within yourself. A conscious man cannot endure it forever. It gnaws at your integrity, spits on your morals. It was time to choose. The choice I made was far from the easy way out.

After twenty-one “successful” years of modern culture, the worship of glowing screens, the godliness of profit, the push for interminable economic growth, the abuse of surveillance, the insatiable hunger for data, the expectation to contribute and sacrifice to their motives, all wrapped in polished language by Dale Carnegie…..Its time to change direction. Time to push against the grain.

The Transition:

The initial 63 days at Jack Mountain is as much of a detox for me, as it is skills training. It wasn’t a sudden epiphany that the world is upside-down. What did catch me off guard, was even though I was conscious of its influence, the talons dug into me a lot further than I expected. I though I had it under control. I though I was too strong. But it sank in deep. This initial step is a transition back to living simply. The bridge that grounds me once again. Basic Training. Boot Camp.

What happens after the 2026 Spring Term Wilderness Bushcraft Semester?

This is a life long expedition. A personal relationship. A rural, adventurous, simple, life surrounded by nature is a cultural. I will be travailing the country to spend time with many giants (and many not well known people) in the anthropology, ecology, primitive living, native skills, bushcraft, alternative living, traditional outdoor living, and educational arenas.

Why the document this journey?

I’ve never been a social media guy. I don’t like the limelight. Socializing depletes me. I’ve shunned Facebook, never had an Instagram and have no idea what a twitter is. I value privacy very highly. I believe its more than important-its necessary for a healthy individual and society. But that’s a conversation for another day.

This story is not mine to keep. If I keep it, its guaranteed to never create a ripple. It would never have a chance to stir courage, to create transformation, to illuminate awareness or forge understanding.