We are adding this course to the 2025 schedule due to requests by former students for a one day “Winter” course. It will cover multiple fire lighting techniques, shelter building, campsite selection, clothing considerations, water purification, essential carry items, snowshoeing, sled selection/ use, outdoor cooking and more.

If you spend time recreating in winter conditions or would like to gain additional confidence and skills to handle an unexpected stay in wintery conditions, then this class is designed specifically for you. Come join us for a fun and educational day.

The Boreal Winter Survival Instructor Course (previously known as the Boreal Snowshoe Expedition) is a standards-based professional training course designed to train people to be working winter guides and survival instructors in the boreal forests of the north. We cover traditional living and travel skills of the northern forest by living them all day, every day. A College Level, GI Bill and VR&E approved residential course focusing on the practical, hard skills of living and traveling off the grid, it is designed to train people to become a Registered Maine Guide and to work successfully in the outdoor industry.

Getting lost in the woods of Maine and New Hampshire can become a major problem in a hurry.  Every year, sportsmen enter the field and lose their way causing themselves, their families, friends, and law enforcement a substantial amount of stress and expense.  This one day class is designed to give you the confidence that only comes from knowing where you are, and how to get to and from a specific location with ease.

Careful reading of topographical maps has long been a secret of legendary hunting and fishing guides in Northern New England.  Knowing where trophy animals and fish hide, and locating those areas on a map can increase your potential for success.

Along with classroom teaching and planning, we will use our map and compass to trek across several hundred acres and back to the parking area.  Come learn a new skill and gain the knowledge you need to stay safe!

This class covers multiple fire lighting techniques, shelter building, campsite selection, clothing considerations, water purification, emergencies, essential carry items, keeping your sense of direction and more.  If you spend time in remote backcountry areas or would like to gain additional confidence and skills to handle an unexpected stay in the woods, then this class is designed specifically for you.

Learn how to manage an emergency in the backcountry from a SOLO certified instructor. This comprehensive two-day course is a fast paced, hands-on training program. It’s designed to meet the needs of hikers, skiers, hunters, fisherman, trip leaders, camp staff, and other outdoor enthusiasts who recreate in remote locations. It will introduce you to caring for people who have become ill or injured far from definitive medical care. Lectures and demonstrations are combined with realistic scenarios where mock patients will challenge you to integrate your learning. At the end of the course, you’ll have the knowledge, skills, and ability to make sound decisions in emergency situations and receive a Stop The Bleed®, SOLO WFA and BLS/ CPR certification. This course meets the requirements to become a Registered Maine Guide and may also act as a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) Recertification class. 

If you've ever taken a Wilderness Medicine Class, you likely understand how to address medical emergencies in the wild. However, the critical question arises: "Can you take care of yourself during an unplanned night in the backcountry?" If this query gives you pause, it's time to equip yourself with the knowledge and skills essential for safely spending a night in the wilderness during an emergency. Our comprehensive two-day overnight course is meticulously crafted to impart vital skills necessary for enduring an unplanned overnight stay with minimal gear. Geared towards anyone who spends time in the backcountry, this course focuses on fundamental survival skills. Whether you embark on day trips or longer expeditions, this course will empower you to prepare, react, and safeguard yourself in unexpected outdoor situations, ensuring your safety and peace of mind throughout your wilderness adventures.

This course is a prerequisite if you are taking the 3-week Professional Canoe Guide Training Course or can be taken as a stand-alone course. It will teach you the technical skills of Poling, Paddling, and Lining a canoe while also gaining significant real-world experience managing a group of people in a remote setting, cooking over a campfire, and the countless little things that add up to a successful trip.

There are vast differences in approach to the effective use of canoes. Some of these are regional, while others stem from the homogenization of techniques by national organizations. Our approach looks nothing like what you’ll see from the big organizations. We maintain and teach the traditional methods of Maine Guide canoeing because they work as well now as they have for centuries. The graduation exercise is to pole up and down a class 2+ rapid in total control of your boat. We also spend a day on a nearby lake, covering paddling strokes and getting enough miles to lock them in.

The Introduction to Canoe Expeditions Skills Course is a prerequisite in order to take The Professional Canoe Guide Training Course. It is a standards-based professional training course designed to train people to be working canoe and wilderness guides in the boreal forests of the north. We cover traditional living and travel skills of the northern forest by living them all day, every day. A College Level, GI Bill and VR&E approved expedition-based course focusing on the practical, hard skills of living and traveling off the grid.

Completion of the Professional Canoe Guide Training Course, Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, or the Introduction to Canoe Expedition Skills Course is a prerequisite in order to take this course. If you don’t have the listed prerequisites, we may allow students to take this course on a case-by-case basis depending on experience level. Please contact us before registering. This course is designed to prepare the experienced canoeist for solo expeditions in remote wilderness environments. It will focus heavily on trip planning, water navigation, canoe and equipment field repair, and certification in Stop The Bleed®. We will be spending a majority of the time in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway of Maine.

2-Week course that combines a modern Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course with essential bushcraft and leadership skills for managing a remote medical/survival incident.

The Maine Guide Medic course is a College Level, GI Bill and VR&E approved standards-based advanced Wilderness First Responder course designed to take people far beyond the minimum competencies offered elsewhere. It is designed to make people better able, as working guides and instructors, to manage a backcountry medical incident. Designed for those who live, work and travel off the grid, it was created to fill a gap in training professional wilderness guides in the skills they need to be safe and successful in their work.