Beckerhead Camping and Woodcraft Reviews....

I just watched the Kephart video for the first time. If you haven't seen it or purchased it, it is about the MAN. It is not about Woodcraft or his books although they are mentioned. His knife figures prominently in the film. If you want to learn about the man, you can acquire or watch the video. I personally think a lot about this man.... he had his problems, but he found his meaning in life. He will be remembered which is more than most of us can say.
 
Hey JJColt....

What a nice thing to say..... When this project started I thought this would be a limited edition and therefor, the numbers would be pretty insignificant....I really did not give a damn... Kephart is one of my heroes and to bring back a bit of his legacy and reintroduce a bit of his genius was and is a real honor and pleasure.... I am so happy that people who did not know “Kep”are learning from him for the first time....He has taught me a lot...... Thanks....
 
Last year there was a Kephart gathering near Blairsville GA. I decided not to attend. But now I wish I had as these kinds of things aren't common. I missed my chance to learn more. My sister and hubby are visiting the Smoky's beginning today and I need to run over there, visit, and hang with nature a bit. I tend to avoid the NC side of the park as it takes a fair amount more time to get there for me.
 
Ethan Becker said:
Hey JJColt....

What a nice thing to say..... When this project started I thought this would be a limited edition and therefor, the numbers would be pretty insignificant....I really did not give a damn... Kephart is one of my heroes and to bring back a bit of his legacy and reintroduce a bit of his genius was and is a real honor and pleasure.... I am so happy that people who did not know “Kep”are learning from him for the first time....He has taught me a lot...... Thanks....
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Well Sir you have succeeded ... the knife is a nice piece looks and feels very near the orginal ... so simple a design .. but so useful ...

And everyone discussing Kephart's books and writings has a nice buzz on the forum that I enjoy seeing ... thanks to you and a handful of others keeping his teachings alive.

I had read alot of Kepharts writings in the past but it was good to dust off a book and dig back into them some ... and got me thinking of my nephew and a friend will be getting a book or two for Christmas.
 
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I read through the Woodcraft volume last weekend.

One of my favorite quotes:
"The man with the knapsack is never lost. No matter whither he may stray, his food and shelter are right with him, and home is wherever he may choose to stop."

I found his discussion of old surveyor's blazes interesting. As a farmer and soil scientist, I am very familiar with township, range, and section land divisions, but I never knew there was a system of blazing trees on the section lines. In these days of GPS, GIS, and satellite imagery, we don't think about grid lines being physically marked on trees.
 
Try Great Smoky Mt Association. They sell it at the various visitors centers operated by the Smoky mt volunteers. I doubt if Amazon carries it. It's $15 (or was when I bought it about a year ago). I never watched it until yesterday. It's okay, but I doubt you will ever see it on a PBS channel like the Civil War series.

Don't see the video on their website. I bought it at the Townsend visitor center. If all else fails, you could call them there. I will probably be by there early this coming week fyi.

It is listed here in their store. http://horacekephart.com/index.html
 
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I just talked to Libby Kephart Hargrave who is “Kep’s” great grand daughter and a principal keeper of her ancestor’s eternal flame.... She wished to remind us all of the HK website which is www.horacekephart.com.

There is some info and some pics from this years Kephart Days celebration, a way to get the DVD, and a good place to check in about next years Kephart Days.... There is a move afoot to have a seminar on Kep’s Knife and the knife in the woodsman’s hand.... I am trying to get Stephan Fowler, Joe Flowers and Dan Eastland to Join in....

Any way it is a good spot to keep an eye on and I urge you to do it.....e
 
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I think the seminar would be fun. I assume it will be somewhere around the Smoky Mt area. A lot of the info provided in the video was in the recent editions of his books. That I assume added by Libby. It's remarkable that Camping & Woodcraft has been in continuous publication since it original publication. That book is certainly the cornerstone of remembering the woodsman, Horace Kephart.

Interesting picture Warrior. I like it!
 
Ethan Becker said:
I just talked to Libby Kephart Hargrave who is “Kep’s” great grand daughter and a principal keeper of her ancestor’s eternal flame.... She wished to remind us all of the HK website which is www.horacekephart.com.

There is some info and some pics from this years Kephart Days celebration, a way to get the DVD, and a good place to check in about next years Kephart Days.... There is a move afoot to have a seminar on Kep’s Knife and the knife in the woodsman’s hand.... I am trying to get Stephan Fowler, Joe Flowers and Dan Eastland to Join in....

Any way it is a good spot to keep an eye on and I urge you to do it.....e
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I wasn't aware of the DVD ... would be a good watch I'm sure. And I'm sure the seminars would be alot of fun.
 
I think it's time to pull my Camping & Woodcraft off the shelf and do some reading again. I am so used to using a Kindle (actually my tablet with Kindle App, but have a Kindle too) these days but know I would find a Kindle version to be clumsy to browse.

Most of the information in the video is contained in the revised editions of his book.
 
I am not much for reading, but have THE BOOK in my possession. I have started to read through it. It is very well written from what I can tell so far. I have only ever read 1 book cover to cover and that was Lone Survivor and that took me about 6 months. lol..
 
Kymedic45 said:
I am not much for reading, but have THE BOOK in my possession. I have started to read through it. It is very well written from what I can tell so far. I have only ever read 1 book cover to cover and that was Lone Survivor and that took me about 6 months. lol..
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dude. i challenge you. at least one book, per month. don't care what. do it.

life is too short. read. every day.

take 20 minute shits. read.

Ethan is a reader. even more than me. he's crazy. we should beat him.
 
Well damn, I’ve been away too long.
Being in NC the past almost 30 years, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this...
I was in Asheville last month with a special lady friend from Colorado who came to visit.
We drove the Blueridge parkway from Asheville to Cherokee, then to Bryson city. Took the open car steam train ride. I knew Kephart was from the area but no idea he was resting in Bryson city. To top it off, she loves grave yards. Double whammy lol. Missed opportunity to visit his grave site and impress a lady :D:p
Her and I read books together, idk if I can add this one to the list for our “book club” lol but I’ll definitely add it to mine! About to order this through Bladites link and join this discussion.

Luckily I’m only about 4 hours from the area and get up that way about once a month.
Time to plan a trip!
 
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