Get a feel for what it's like.
Woodsmoke is an action-packed week of instruction, conversation, great food , with plenty of time for woodsloafing and just basking in the woodsmoke. Our unique blend of Classic Camping, Bushcraft and Survival has attracted an amazing instructional staff, with one of the most complete looks at the field to be found anywhere. It is this cross-over approach to looking at how all these things relate that makes Woodsmoke one of those "must do" events.
Click on the photos below to see a full view of camp activities.
The Woodsmoke campsite is situated along historic Leigh Creek in eastern Idaho's Teton Basin. Our camp is just minutes from the original fur trade rendezvous site, is flanked on the east by the Teton Range and the west by the Big Hole Mountains. We are an hour from Jackson Hole, Wyoming and a little over an hour from Idaho Falls, Idaho. Driggs and Tetonia, Idaho are just a few miles from our front gate along Highway 33.
Woodsmoke is a family event. There are tons of crafts to do, skills to master, and people to meet. We have a "kamp" program just for kids that gives them a chance to sit at the feet of mentors who are truly masters of their crafts. There's also lots of time and space for kids just to be kids and run wild for a few days in the country.
Featured classes included:
Reconstruction of Trapper Nelson backpacks - Frost River Packs donated an entire roll of their fantastic waxed canvas. We had a commercial sewing machine on site to sew the bags we cut out, we bent the wooden slats, set rivets and grommets, and produced a fantastic pack
Four Dog Stoves had us making Bushcookers, Tin Can cook pots and then conducted a 3 day class in woodstove construction where each participant made a wood stove similar to a 3 Dog stove model. Amazing!
The knife shop was open with sanders, buffers, hand tools and all the materials needed to create a beautiful Scandinavian-style staked-handle knife. The workshop turned out over 60 exquisite knives
The blacksmith shop was open non-stop. Participants learned how to manage a hearth, bend and heat-treat metal and make some fine tools. Crafts included awls, fire poker sets, knife blades, flint and steel strikers and more.
The woods provided materials for furniture, fuel and crafts. We even had a demostration of axemanship, felling a fine cottonwood tree that was used for bowl and spoon carving. Willows and Lodge Poles were used for a Super Shelter demo, and camp stool making on the spring-pole lathe.
Our cook groups learned to fry, boil and bake - both in open reflector ovens and cast iron dutch ovens - creating what Steve Watts calls "honest grub cooked over an open fire." If people went hungry it's because they were too busy to stop doing something else. But there was always another great meal just a couple of hours away.
We also want to mention the huge support we got from BushcraftUSA. The forum members help us get the word out, and we had bush crafters from across the country drive in to join us for our inaugural year. Make a point to join them on line and sign up for the BushClass program to challenge yourself to learn more of the traditions of the classic camping life.
Click on the photos to see a full view of camp activities.
