Yearly Archives: 2009

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Lost in the Woods

Lost in the Woods

Hi. Elias Kolsun here. I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about an experience that I had not too long ago. It was a beautiful day; crisp and sunny, warm enough to melt the snow covered ground.  I was at peace with myself and the world.  I was nestled in the feeling [...]

Identifying Animal Tracks

Tracking our Natural Roots

There has been a recent surge of interest in the art of tracking and other primitive technologies and outdoor living skills.  Why is this?  What is drawing hundreds (thousands?) of people every year from their urban and suburban lives out into the woods to follow around wild creatures, make stone tools, or make fires with [...]

Indian Plum

Plant Identification Quiz #1

ARE YOU PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION? Pay attention as you first set foot in the lush green forest. Take a deep breath. Can you smell it? The rich scent of the earth? Can you smell the combination of green, wind, sun and rain? Remember to pay attention. There is one green ally in the forest that [...]

Alone in the Wilderness

Alone in the Wilderness – Learning to be Quiet

Stalking Wolf was very old, and he drifted into reveries that made him seem as if he might be senile when I first met him. But I realized later, when I had seen with amazement how keen his senses were, that he had simply gone inside of himself for a moment to check his perceptions [...]

Dock Recipe: Yellow Dock Seed Crackers

Dock Recipe: Yellow Dock Seed Crackers

For us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the earth is now in a time of hibernation. As the earth begins this season, it is common to look onto the browning landscape with a longing for a more plentiful period. But, there are actually many plants now bursting with abundance and ready for harvesting. Dock, of [...]

Mountain Lion Tracks

Mountain Lion Tracks vs. Dog Tracks

The morning was gray, and the group was full of tension and excitement. It was day one of the CyberTracker Track & Sign Evaluation with Mark Elbroch, one of the first in North America. So, perhaps it’s not surprising that I was a little on edge. At the three forks of the Snoqualmie River in [...]

Identifying Wild Mushrooms

Identifying Wild Mushrooms – Part 1

How to Identify Wild Mushrooms Part One: Initiating the Mushroom Hunter Identifying Wild Mushrooms might not seem very exciting – until you know that mushrooms are extraordinary beings that provide us with many uses that adorn our favorite dishes, color our clothing, restore devastated lands and provide bountiful health benefits. Still, these mycological creatures cause [...]

Tracking in a Forested Landscape

Tracking in a Forested Landscape

Challenging a Common Perception of Tracking When most people think about “tracking” they imagine footprints.  But forested landscapes, such as the dense conifer forests of the West, often don’t lend themselves to recording the passage of an animal’s feet on the ground. Except during winter snows and occasional rare open grounds, the forest tracker cannot [...]

Animal Tracking Basics

Animal Tracking Basics

S.Ha.G. – Meaning: Slow, Harmonic, Gait. In the study of animal tracking it becomes extremely troublesome to beginners to try to wade through all the different language choices that trackers and authors on the subject of tracking and mammal studies have made in naming the gaits of animals.  You’ll find that while some of these [...]

Rose Hip Recipe

Rose Hip Recipe

As we journey through fall and into winter and the earth gets ready to cover herself in an ever growing blanket of snow, we often forget that there are still wonderful wild edibles to explore. One of my favorites is the rose hip, the crimson colored fruit of the rose. It stands out, illuminated against [...]

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