Midwest School of Bushcraft- Bushcraft 101 class

j williams

j williams

Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Messages
11,135
I attended Terry Barneys Midwest School of Bushcraft this past weekend, and thought id share my trip.

The class was excellant. Terry is a great teacher. We arrived on friday early evening and it was a little rainy, but nothing major. The food was outstanding, nobody goes hungry with Terry around. The class was held in the Loess Hills..The area was awesome. Ive never been up there before, and was just blown away. A very clear lake, nice hills, great mix of plants and trees, and a freakin pine grove to explore. A treat for us hardwoodsmen.... Terry explained everything in a very straightforward manner, and didnt overcomplicate anything. So well in fact that I didnt really have many questions throughout the class. He has a passion for teaching, that is very evident. Everybody, regardless of personal skill level WILL take something away from his class. It seemed like he was everywhere at once, offering up help and insight to whatever you were working on.

We covered firecraft, sheltercraft, water procurement and purification, knots, Wild Edibles, camp cooking, first aid, etc....Lots to cover in the timeframe, and it went very smoothly.

The group was excellant. Ive known Iz and Brandon awhile, but it was my first time meeting the rest of the group. Its nice to get out with people that share your same interests. I dont get that often. I cant wait to meet up with these guys again. Anytime.

Id also like to thank www.MilSpecSurplus.com for the generous gear donated for prizes etc...:42:


Pics....

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Heres my shelter.....

First night

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Second night Terry suggested I drop it and pitch it as a tent with a duff mattress underneath it. Was alot warmer, but not as comfy. Worked well if your caught out in colder temps and you werent expecting them. I slept with no pad in my hammock and a poncho liner on night one, and was cold. Wasnt expecting the temps to be quite as cool as they were. This worked out great in a pinch.

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Sorry for the blurry pics.....

Thanks Terry for a great weekend. I learned alot from you and I look forward to the next.

PS- what was that small wild edibles book you were passing around? I already forgot the name, and wanna pick it up.....


If anyone wants to go to an affordable class, with first rate instruction, and a ton of fun, I cant reccomend this one enough....
 
Very cool!

Jake, one of those heavy duty space blankets as a pad for the hammock works wonders in cooler weather. Lord nows I have woken up with a frozen bum, when I forgot to put it in...

Since you were in the army, it must have been nice to get some proper training from an AF instructor :p
 
I will echo everything Jake said. This has got to be the best value in wilderness education around, and Terry is a great teacher. Lots of people know a decent amount of stuff about bushcraft and survival, but the difference is being able to articulate it well, and especially to people of varying skill levels. During the firecraft portion, most of us worked on igniting natural tinders with a firesteel as well as working on adequate prep. A few people wanted to go a little farther, so Terry created different scenarios for challenging them, such as using only a firesteel and flint, no knife.

Jake, thanks for posting your pictures. I only took about 2, then forgot about it. It seems I always bring my camera and never remember to use it.

It's funny, I was telling my wife how I'd been camping with Terry a few times and learned a lot from him, but I still learned a ton this weekend, even though it was the "basic" class. I am lucky to live close enough to attend classes like this one. I'm already planning for the next one.
 
Sounds like you have had a great time. Thanks for the pics and sharing the info :thumbup:
 
That's awesome, looks like a really great time. I've seen some of his youtube videos and he definitely knows his stuff.
 
awesome pics Jake... looks like a great time...:thumbup:

what knife did you take/use??
 
bigcountry1315 said:
J looks like a great time!Thanks for sharing would love to go to one of his classes!



Mike
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Thanks man.....:thumbup:

tonym said:
Very cool!

Jake, one of those heavy duty space blankets as a pad for the hammock works wonders in cooler weather. Lord nows I have woken up with a frozen bum, when I forgot to put it in...

Since you were in the army, it must have been nice to get some proper training from an AF instructor :p
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Yeah, I have one of those things kickin around here somewhere. I think you sent it to me....lol I normally would have a pad, but I didnt pack it with me this time cause I didnt think I would need it. I still didnt really, as it wasnt too bad, however I wanted to try something a bit differant the second night. Im gonna try some stuff. I thought about stringing up a space blanket to the underside of the fly too.


Snow said:
I will echo everything Jake said. This has got to be the best value in wilderness education around, and Terry is a great teacher. Lots of people know a decent amount of stuff about bushcraft and survival, but the difference is being able to articulate it well, and especially to people of varying skill levels. During the firecraft portion, most of us worked on igniting natural tinders with a firesteel as well as working on adequate prep. A few people wanted to go a little farther, so Terry created different scenarios for challenging them, such as using only a firesteel and flint, no knife.

Jake, thanks for posting your pictures. I only took about 2, then forgot about it. It seems I always bring my camera and never remember to use it.

It's funny, I was telling my wife how I'd been camping with Terry a few times and learned a lot from him, but I still learned a ton this weekend, even though it was the "basic" class. I am lucky to live close enough to attend classes like this one. I'm already planning for the next one.
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Thanks Brandon...It was nice seein ya again this weekend. We need to do this stuff more often. :thumbup:

Yeah, I couldve took alot more, but like you, I seem to forget to alot. lol.

Thanks again for that poncho.

TheGame said:
Sounds like you have had a great time. Thanks for the pics and sharing the info :thumbup:
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I did, thanks bro. :thumbup:

tknife said:
That's awesome, looks like a really great time. I've seen some of his youtube videos and he definitely knows his stuff.
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Yes he does. He aint too bad of a cook either.

mtnfolk mike said:
awesome pics Jake... looks like a great time...:thumbup:

what knife did you take/use??
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we forged our own tracker blades out in the bush.



:D J/K, seriously, I took the Bravo1, swisstool spirit, Fiskars Axe, and my Izula for food stuff.
 
Jake, I don't like you! Man, you do all the cool stuff, hehe. Looks awesome! I'd love to make it that way sometime.

Maybe if I start sweet talking the wife this week, I can go in the spring, hehe

Glad you had a good time brother. I've heard nothing but good things about Terry.
 
Great review, J brutha.
I had a good time, too. I always do when I get together with like minded people and get to learn from Terry.
I made a couple vids for anyone who wants to watch.
[youtube]E9_R5tURp9I[/youtube]

[youtube]7x3x0HmSG18[/youtube]


And I can't remember if I posted this one or not. It was a one day skills even Terry had a couple weeks ago.

[youtube]daVTvdbro1Q[/youtube]


Hope you guys dig 'em.
Iz
 
Lots of pics of my good pal Joe in there who I hang around with regularly. Joe saved a long time and really took pains to try and get time off work to attend. Says he had a blast and learned a pile of stuff. Must be a great class...Wish I could attend. I'm petitioning Terry about a winter course... :D

Thanks for posting the pics and Terry is off to a great start. He should wake up and charge 3-5x what he is charging though for a weekend course...par for the course, and he deserves it too.
 
I love the Loess Hill ecosystem. They tend to be more nutrient rich thus providing some odd plant sources. First Time I saw a cactus in IL was on a loess hillside. I was very confused bust since the pourus soil content at the location provided ideal habitat.
Looks like it was a fun class and I hope to do it myself one day!
 
That is true.....its a great area, and there is definatly an abundance of plants and trees. I didnt see any cactus, but was flippin through a book Terry had and saw we have prickly pear cactus in that area.......

Thanks for posting the videos Iz....it was a great class with great people.

Ken, youre buddy joe is a great guy. Glad to have met him, and I hope you get down here for a class. Be cool to meet ya.
 
Absolutely awesome. Not too far from me (5 hrs maybe?). I definitely gotta check it out!

Thanks for the pics and video - lots to think about!

Dan
 
J Williams it was great to meet you , and thank you and Iz for picking up too outsiders up at the airport!!
I WILL BE BACK!!!
 
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