The first substantial snowfall of winter usually inspires me to read Jack London’s short story To Build a Fire. The storm that rolled through this past Friday and Saturday was no exception and I sat in front of my own fire to read this story once again. I hadn’t previously noticed how many references there …
Blog
Essential Hiker
In 2003, New Hampshire Fish and Game and the White Mountain National Forest launched the hikeSafe program with the goal of preparing hikers and increasing safety in the White Mountains. There are several components to the program, some of which are the Hiker Responsibility Code, the voluntary hikeSafe Card, and a gear list affectionately called …
Knife Safety
It’s an interesting thing to watch your game plan morph into something else seemingly opposite. At this stage I was thinking we would be halfway through a classic Mors Try Stick. Some of the students are carving spears to overthrow the Wolf Queen and others just want to find out how sharp a stick can …
Podcast with School of the Forest
I stepped out of my comfort zone recently and recorded a podcast with Christopher Russell of School of the Forest. I am thankful for the opportunity to discuss First Mag programming and a few aspects of working in this industry. You can listen wherever you access your podcasts or find it at The School Of …
Striped Maple
The books will tell you that the Striped Maple is of little value. Aside from the leaves making an excellent natural alternative to toilet paper, I would say it makes for excellent eye candy too.
Working with Vermont Huts Association
This summer First Magnitude Wilderness Programs will be teaching for Vermont Huts Association in their F.O.R.E.S.T. Program. This organization is developing a network of backcountry shelters in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the F.O.R.E.S.T. Program specifically serves underrepresented communities by offering overnight outings at one of the huts at zero cost to the participants. …
Goldenrod Crab Spider
I spotted a bee tucked inside a flower and it was suspiciously still. I poked it and it rotated in an odd manner, but it was not active at all. On the other side of the flower was Misumena vatia, the Goldenrod Crab Spider. These spiders eat pollinators by ambushing from the flower rather than …
Barred Owl
I was exploring a town forest in southern New Hampshire a few days ago and at one point I heard a lot of nearby birds causing a ruckus. I started rambling on about bird language, telling my hiking partner that we most likely triggered this alarm. Moments later my partner pointed to a tree and …
Tamarack, Larch, Hackmatack, Juniper?
I recently spent the night in a lean-to in the Whites. While cooking dinner near the pond I saw a leafless tree covered in bumps along every twig. For some reason I said “Larch” out loud, even though I was thinking Tamarack (Larix laricina) as I approached the tree. I was puzzled by that initially, …
Wilderness First Aid
First Magnitude Wilderness Programs is teaming up with Rick Swain of The SCROLL and I am beyond excited to announce that we will be offering a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) class during the third session of our Fall/Winter program called First Rodeo. Check out the program description here: First Rodeo Rick is a SOLO certified …
