Dirt Time - Wilderness Training in America

For years, the travel teacher Andi Schier has been interested in the philosophy of the American survival teacher Tom Brown. Time to find out: an article about a life changing experience.

Camp Lindblad, California, USA, March 5, Sunday evening: "I am sorry that this class is so big. We are having 153 participants, 45 helpers and 6 instructors. But a couple years ago I decided to break with the 50 participant per class rule in order to get rid of the waiting list - you'd have to wait for 2 or 3 years otherwise. Some of you might be concerned that this is interfering with their learning. So I am making this offer: Give me two days. Whoever is still concerned on Tuesday evening will get an instant refund and can go home. Okay?"
        700 $ for 6 days - the insurance company is taking half of it. Two days later, on Tuesday evening, nobody is thinking of a refund. What kind of workshop is this and who made this offer in his opening speech?

He is a white American, born 1950. His name is Tom Brwon. At the age of 7, he was looking for fossils in a dried out river bed, when he met his future teacher, Stalking Wolf. At that time, Stalking Wolf, a Southern Lippan Appache, was 83 years old. When he had grown up, his people lived hidden in th mountains south of the American border, always ready to flee. The small group lived the old way and didn't use anything made by the white man.
        At the age of 12, Stalking Wolf received his name, after elders observed how he stalked a wolf, touched it and moved away without the wolf ever noticing him. This happened during his five years of learning how to become a scout. They were followed by equal years of becoming a healer. Afterwards, like it was shown to him in a vision, he spent 60 years wandering the Americas, from coast to coast and from Alaska to Patagonia. His mission was to study different philosophies, to simplify each concept and spiritually to the core and then to prove it in nature.

The Tracker

Stalking Wolf taught Tom Brown until he was 18. Tom went to school, as anybody else, but the time before and after school was spent in nature. After teaching him, Stalking Wolf returned to his people and walked his last path, while Tom studied nature for another 10 years and refined his skills. Among other things, he spent a full year in the Pine Barren Wildernis, going in only with shorts and a knife.

Tom Brown teaching: "Tracking is about opening lifting veils..."

Reader's Digest had an article about this year. The reaction was amazing. Tom wrote his first book - "The Tracker" - and founded the Tracker School at the age of 28. His dream is to take his family to the Canadian Rocky Mountains and to live with and off the land. His school doesn't allow him to fulfill his dream, but his school allows him to live his vision; not following his vision means to him to be a living dead.

Tom Brown is obsessed: he says so himself - using the strong American English. His favorite book is from Charles Littele, it's called "The dying of the trees". He recommends everybody to read it, to weep and to pass it on to a friend. His vision is to teach in order to help the earth.
        Stalking Wolf taught him the coyote way. For example, Tom asked him once - as he tells in his first book - how he knew, without looking up, that there was an owl in the tree. Stalking Wolf replied: "Go and ask the mice." It took Tom weeks asking - observing - mice, until Stalking Wolf continued with direct teaching.
        We had only one week. Kevin, the director of the school, "the man with the cold hands" and an excellent teacher, gave us the following picture: " Tom is kicking you over the edge of a cliff and he throws all the necessary knowledge after you." Nevertheless - or therefore? - I got everything I had hoped for. And more.

Storyteller

Let's return to Tuesday evening. The theme is "brain tanning". Ruth-Anne begins with a story - how it happened that she skinned a deer and tanned the hide. All instructors are expert storytellers. They describe pictoresque, set pauses to highten the excitement, diffuse it through jokes and choose the stories so skilled, that the introduction into a new topic smoothes old prejudices and the real learning begins.
        Ruth-Anne is the heroine of her story, but it is about the way, the difficulties, endurance, creativity and about doing the first step. The story ends and I aprreciate Ruth-Anne's self made leather dress that she is wearing even more. Then Tom McEnroy comes in. He is carrying a racoon, dripping wet 'cause of the rain, dead, a roadkill two days ago. Tom illustrates two skinning techniques.

So, this is about survival or wilderness training. Ours is the standard class and we sleep in tents. According to Native American philosophy, it's life in harmony with nature, up to the point where nature receives help - but that's much later. One week is not a lot of time and the class is not just about how to make a fire without matches.

In a standard class, 70 % is taught through lectures and demonstrations. We had a lot of rain during the first four days - even hail once - and didn't spend much time outside. There was one fire-place for 200 people to dry their clothes. And there were also breaks. A few minutes between lectures - two restrooms in the (boy scout) building, several more on the property - one hour for lunch and an hour and a half for dinner. Breaks were precious for practising, since it was possible to have first experiences and asked questions. Generally - including lectures - all questions were welcome, as long as they showed that the person asking had thought first. Whoever liked to hear himself talking or wanted to show how much he understood, didn't have to speak up at all.
        The participants - hardly more men than women - were at least 18 years old, the oldest about 70. I met people from all different walks of life - usually American. Somebody in his forties who brooms saw dust and empties garbage cans, a college student - former Waldorf student, an artist form Los Angeles, a restless writer of technical literature, the singer of a (music) band. Besides all the Americans, there was a Dutch living in Canada, the owner of a restaurant in London and a former bicycle courier from Switzerland. Many had in common that they were the black sheeps of the family. And all had in common, that they wanted to or already do approach nature differently, and not just on the outside.

Magic moments

There were magic moments, like trying to make a bow drill fire - with bow, spindle, spindle holder, fire board and tinder bundle. It's impossible without respect and a good technique. I remember, when I suceeded in it the first time last summer, this incredible moment full of joy and awe. Therefor I could imagine how my neighbor Liz felt. "Lucky ones" like me lightened their first fire on Monday afternoon. In the course of the day we went on to a different technique or another pratice - my favorite one became how do I relax best, so I don't feel totally overwhelmed here. Liz couldn't do that. She hadn't made a fire yet. So she used all the breaks for practice. Finally, she made it on the fifth day - and she cried.

magic moments - making fire

The amount of information was incredible. Tape recorders had been recommended beforehand and one out of five had brought one. Even more had cameras and it was always possible to burn the black board information on film. Amazingly enough for me, besides working with tape recorder and camera, I also took really good notes: three ways of fire making; cordage; plants; water; debris hut and other shelters; flint knapping ; four traps; throwing stick; five ways of stalking; clothes and camouflage; brain tanning; animals; cooking and food conservation; learning; awareness.

Tracking

Tracking received special attention. It is not just about finding and following a track. There're many questions: which animal, gender, size, speed, destination, feeling, attention. And there is landscape tracking, to find tracks first of all.
        It is about opening doors, lifting veils, moving walls. Finally, it is about the connection of the physical and the spiritual. Both are gifts from the creator and can't be on their own. To neglect one in favor of the other means not appreciating the gifts.

The standard class is the stepping stone to 32 other classes. There are so called special classes that take place every two or three years. Classes like Indian crafts during the winter time or the Way of the Coyote - as a teaching method.
        A different way offer the six consecutive philosophy classes. Spirituality is the main topic and, according to Stalking Wolf's mission, dynamic meditation; that means, that activity and meditation are not weakening each other, but getting stronger when done at the same time.
        The scout classes are especially liked. Sleeping accommondations and food are reduced to the basics, group missions have to be achieved, even though there are experts around who trick everybody. Sleep doesn't seem to play a big part in these classes.

Your own home: debris huts are low budget projects

The survival training is continued up to a 28 day class that doesn't cost anything, but is only available through invitation. Four weeks for free in the wilderness of Montana, but in the dead of winter, temperatures at 25 below. Participants come in sneakers, jeans, t-shirt and sweat shirt - nothing else, not even a knife or a belt. These clothes are taken away after 4 days. But the class hasn't taken place in five years for a lack of qualified participants.

Life changing

Why did I come here and why do I write this article? For two reasons: Tom Brown has written 16 books and I have read 13 - incredibly inspiring and knowledgable. I wanted to find out how he is in person. Preparing myself, I lowered my expectations. And I wasn't disappointed, but surprised. To put it in a nushell: If paricipating in this class doesn't mean that it's the most life changing week in my life, than I would be very sad and mourn - for myself and for the possibity to approach nature in a different way, to learn and finally also help.

People who read my last article think that I am still on board of a sailing ship. But I found out that it was impossible to work with this captain as he had asked, with my concept and in a responsible way (including my legal guarianship for the 18 students). So I left the ship under extremely unhappy circumstances.

Four years ago, when I finished my studies to become a Waldorf teacher, I would have loved to teach survival right away. I had just read Tom Brown's first book. But I had no experiences and capacities. That is different now. I still have few experiences in this area, but I know how to connect it with my work, that is taking high school students on three months bicycle trips - mainly to the States. And that is the second reason for this article.
        The next trip starts the beginning of August. Maximum number of students is seven and there are still places available. We'll start in Idaho or Montana and follow the Rocky Mountains south to Arizona or New Mexico. The usual cycling distance of 4,500 to 5,000 km is shortenend in order to spend more time in nature. At the Pentecoast week-end we'll probably do a basic wilderness training with Gero Wever - Gero has done many of Tom Brown's classes and has his own nature and wilderness school in Werther (near Bielefeld).
        The flight to the States is during high season and the dollar is very strong. The trip costs between 5,500 and 6,500 DMarks, per student. The exact price from this range is up the students and parents to decide upon what is fair and good for them. Everybody brings his own bicycle, gear and pocket money. Nature is waiting for us. All we have to do is come. Then the motto is "Time for play and dirt time!"

Andi Schier - Schule unterwegs
Am Sportplatz 16
33758 Stukenbrock
Email: andi@schuleunterwegs.de
Tel. 040-61 51 39

The Tracker School
PO Box 173
Asbury, NJ, 08802 USA
www.trackerschool.com

Gero Wever
Schlosstr. 8
33824 Werther
Tel. 05203-88 46 87
www.natur-wildnisschule.de
Email wildgewe@hotmail.com