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Wolf Journey Part Three – Trail of the Herbalist

Wolf Journey is available free online, although donations to the WOLF Foundation - Max Davis Scholarships for earth skills education are requested with the suggested amount of $1.00 per chapter or set of recordings you utilize, with checks payable to the WOLF Foundation, c/o Scott A. Davis, CPA, 103 E Holly #401, Bellingham, WA 98225, or by calling us at 360-799-1997 with your visa or mastercard. An alternative way to contribute is to become a WOLF Booster which gives you the additional benefits of board membership and complimentary access to the Wolf Camp property on Woods Lake. The latter alternative requires completing a property use form. Books and other resources which you will need for successful completion of field exercises throughout Wolf Journey can be purchased through our camp store once it is up and running. In the meantime, we recommend purchasing through Tom & Renee Elpel's wonderful online Granny's Country Store or simply email them at orders@grannysstore.com or call 406-287-3605 to order. We offer this book series as a correspondence course for Wolf Camp alumni and as part of our Summer Camps & School Year Classes and Residential Intensives & Training Camps curricula, but if you would like an instructor to guide you while studying these skills in your own area, we recommend clicking on PrimitiveSkillsLinks.Com to find an earth skills specialist near you who can personally review your field exercises and journaling work. Other schools and outdoor instructors who would like to use this curriculum for their own classes, mentoring, etc, are free to do so. We would appreciate donations, or having your students donate, to the WOLF Foundation as described above. As a supplement to (or instead of) completing the Wolf Journey book series, we also recommend signing up for the Kamana Naturalist Training Program through the Wilderness Awareness School which inspired many of our own field exercises. They can offer academic credit, and they specialize in correspondence mentoring no matter where a student is located.

Recorded Greeting for Wolf Journey Part Three - Trail of the Herbalist from author and musician Chris Chisholm to be uploaded ASAP. To listen to these audio files, you may need the free RealOne Player if it's not already installed in your system.

Please return to the following links within the Part One Introduction for:
Forward & Dedications.
Approaches you can take to use this book series, including time commitments.
Setting Goals - preparing your field journal or blog page and work station.

Part Three Introduction & Contents:
Resources Necessary for Success.
Your First Journal Entry.
Go to Chapter 9 - Caretaking Nature.
Go to Chapter 10 - to be uploaded asap.
Go to Chapter 11 - to be uploaded asap.
Go to Chapter 12 - to be uploaded asap.

The warrior's attitude may save you in a crisis situation, but the skills of an herbalist will keep you alive day to day. Herbalists must know the myriad gifts from the plant world, and they are your most important allies in nature. Plants give us all the resources we need to survive, and they deserve the greatest honor.

A positive attitude, adequate shelter, clean water, and the right medicine are primary needs in a survival situation. In case of emergency, an herbalist must take charge, shelter must be attained for warmth, and clean water must be found for sanitation. Extracting the juices from nature's filters – plants – is often the only safe way to keep you hydrated for more than a few days in this age of pollution.

Medicine must also be available in survival situations in order to treat injuries and cure illnesses. Herbalists are the doctors of nature, and discovering the healing qualities of plants comes with great responsibility. Herbalists must know which plants are poisonous and where to find the ones that heal.

Once crisis situations pass, food is necessary to survive more than a month. Of course, you will need it sooner than that to gain enough strength to maintain shelter and fetch water. Plants are the easiest food source, and depending on the season, plant food may be abundant or hard to find.

Herbalists know where to find food any time of year, though good herbalists always prepare months in advance for future times of scarcity. A great herbalist also knows how to cook food well, which requires fire making skills. Knowing how to work a fire drill and safely controlling a fire stove are eventually parts of any herbalist's training.

Fire makes a survival situation much more comfortable. Shelter can be kept much warmer, water can be purified by heating it in a folded leaf, food can be cooked for better digestion, and bodies can be washed with hot water for better sanitation. Yet, like the animals, you can survive without fire.

Wolf Journey Part Three – Skills of the Herbalist comes after you've learned to track because it is critical that herbalists understand the effects of harvesting plants. Tracking makes you aware of the impact of humans and animals on plants, and it makes you aware of which animals need the plants you also wish to use.

First learn to be a good caretaker of plants, and you will discover how to help your study site thrive. Remember the lessons you learned in chapter four, never touching or eating any plant that you don't know deeply, and we will walk together safely into the magical world of the herbalist.

Do you walk past the same plants and trees yet not know who they are? We miss so much life around us, not just in nature but everywhere. Plants and trees are one of the most disrespected and overlooked allies we have. Many of our common "weeds" are not just edible and free, but more nutritious than food in stores.

There are hundreds of edible plants in our region, many with a tremendous amount of medicinal properties as well. The diverse plant world may seem overwhelming, but learning and utilizing their gifts is actually very attainable. By starting to know the plant kingdom, you will begin to feel safe and at home in nature, even in survival situations.

Do you ever wish you could just leave that gigantic, heavy back-pack at home when you go camping? You can, and your outdoor experience will be greater than you could imagine! Learn how to become comfortable in nature and lighten the burden.

Do you secretly miss making forts? Practice warm shelter-making and thatching, harvest wild edibles, prepare medicinal teas, learn primitive cooking methods, delicious recipes, the wonder of fire by friction, amazing in-depth tracking, artisan tool making, primitive hunting, fishing, tanning, plus crafts such as rope making, weaving, and basketry.

Happy Trails! - Chrism

If you are creating a nice, old-fashioned field journal, these are the study materials you'll need:

•8.5 x 11 white paper to fill your journal. Try a perforated, spiral notebook with unlined paper.
•Three-ring binder to hold your completed journal entries and sketches.
•Three-hole puncher for adding pages to the binder, and re-enforcement tabs for pages that rip.
•Pen, pencil, colored pencils and a pencil sharpener.
•Ruler, preferably clear, for measuring tracks and drawing lines.

Necessary Resources for completion of Wolf Journey Part Three - Trail of the Herbalist:

You will likely need many of the resources included in the Wolf Journey Handbook for Students & Teachers including the following contents:

• Chapter 30: Glossary of Terms.
• Chapter 31: Outings Checklists.
• Chapter 32: Understanding Taxonomy.
• Remaining chapters to be uploaded asap.

For inspiration starting this part of the book series, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Waterlily (Bison) by Ella Cara Deloria. Check Tom Elpel's web site first, www.hollowtop.com, for currently recommended books, such as:

Chapter 9: (in order of relevance)
The absolute best field guide plants you can find, such as:
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (Lone Pine) is the best book out west.
Plants of the British Columbia Interior (Lone Pine) is also great for central WA & OR.
Plants of the Rocky Mountains (Lone Pine) also covers a wide region.
(Peterson's) Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and Central North (Houghton Mifflin)
Botany in a Day: Tomas J. Elpel's Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families (HOPS Press)

Chapter 10: (in order of relevance)

Medicine for the Outdoors by Paul S. Auerbach or another Wilderness First Aid reference book is important to complete Chapter 2, and some good internet research to keep you safe.
(Peterson’s) Poisonous Plants, both published by Houghton Mifflin, may prove critical, while a field guide to poisonous animals: insects, spiders, snakes, etc. is also required for your safety.

Chapter 11: (in order of relevance)

Chapter 12: (in order of relevance)
(Golden Guide) Birds of North America – A Guide To Field Identification is the best for the money, but most field guides to birds of your area are fine to start with.

To feel successful recording astronomical events on the Journaling Cover Pages found at the start of Chapter One, it may be important to look up information on the internet, especially if you are in a place where it is difficult to see the skies. Also, you may need to educate yourself if you are starting from scratch regarding astronomy by buying/borrowing books like (Peterson’s) Skies and A New Way To See Stars as good examples. However, my favorite resource for this purpose is the Biodynamic Agricultural Calendar Stella Natura published by Kimberton Hills - for celestial events which is available by calling (800) 516-7797.

To feel successful sketching: Drawing from the Book of Nature, Dennis Klocek, Rudolf Steiner College Press

Check out our other recommended resources to help you begin your journey. Also, take a look at the Necessary Resources section at the start of each part of Wolf Journey which are actually also extremely helpful to appeasing curiosity while completing Part One.

Your First Journal Entry for Part Three - Trail of the Herbalist:

Once you have created your journal and acquired the your study materials, make enough copies of the Journaling Cover Page for the number of field exercises you plan to complete. Then fill one out and take the Earth Skills Self-Assessment so you can reflect on where you are now, and look back later at how far you've come.

Begin writing your goals. This will be the start of your field journal. Write "GOALS FOR MY TIME AS AN HERBALIST" plus your name and the date. Then write down the goals you've been thinking about as you've been reading through this introduction. Remember to limit the goals to just a couple or a very few, and keep them succinct. Place the page in your binder when you are done.

To make journal entries in the future, just read the instructions for each field exercise, then return home and fill out a Journaling Cover Page. On a following page, write a summary of your experience while out in the field. If you want to journal extensively about tangential issues, put that type of lengthy entry in your diary. Consider that writing many pages of notes after every field exercise could easily start to overwhelm you, and it may even deter you from completing more field exercises. Keep it as simple, yet as fulfilling, as possible.

Index to Wolf Journey (chapters currently uploaded)

• Introduction to Part One - Skills of the Naturalist
• Chapter 1 - Your Secret Place.
• Chapter 2 - Fears & Hazards.
• Chapter 3 - Sensory Awareness.
• Chapter 4 - Sketching & Journaling.
• Introduction to Part Two - Skills of the Tracker
• Chapter 5 - Humans and the Hidden Wilderness.
• Chapter 6 - Shape Shifting.
• Chapter 7 - Mammal Mysteries.
• Chapter 8 - Bird Vocalizations.
• Introduction to Book 3 - Skills of the Herbalist
• Chapter 9 - Caretaking Nature.
• Wolf Journey Handbook for Students & Teachers.
• Remaining chapters to be uploaded asap.

Wolf Journey is available free online, although donations to the WOLF Foundation - Max Davis Scholarships for earth skills education are requested with the suggested amount of $1.00 per chapter or set of recordings you utilize, with checks payable to the WOLF Foundation, c/o Scott A. Davis, CPA, 103 E Holly #401, Bellingham, WA 98225, or by calling us at 360-799-1997 with your visa or mastercard. An alternative way to contribute is to become a WOLF Booster which gives you the additional benefits of board membership and complimentary access to the Wolf Camp property on Woods Lake. The latter alternative requires completing a property use form. Books and other resources which you will need for successful completion of field exercises throughout Wolf Journey can be purchased through our camp store once it is up and running. In the meantime, we recommend purchasing through Tom & Renee Elpel's wonderful online Granny's Country Store or simply email them at orders@grannysstore.com or call 406-287-3605 to order. We offer this book series as a correspondence course for Wolf Camp alumni and as part of our Summer Camps & School Year Classes and Residential Intensives & Training Camps curricula, but if you would like an instructor to guide you while studying these skills in your own area, we recommend clicking on PrimitiveSkillsLinks.Com to find an earth skills specialist near you who can personally review your field exercises and journaling work. Other schools and outdoor instructors who would like to use this curriculum for their own classes, mentoring, etc, are free to do so. We would appreciate donations, or having your students donate, to the WOLF Foundation as described above. As a supplement to (or instead of) completing the Wolf Journey book series, we also recommend signing up for the Kamana Naturalist Training Program through the Wilderness Awareness School which inspired many of our own field exercises. They can offer academic credit, and they specialize in correspondence mentoring no matter where a student is located.

Employment: We only need instructors with experience running camps and teaching in the field of Earth Skills and Permaculture, including skills of Tracking, Primitive Artisanry, Herbalism, or Wilderness EMT training with real outdoor survival practice. If you would like experience as a teacher and learn skills of the Naturalist, Tracker, Herbalist, Scout, Hunter, Artisan, or Permaculture Pioneer, apply to become an instructor through our Earth Skills Teaching Apprenticeship. We are also seeking an additional permaculturist, herbalist, tracker, artisan, marketor, administrator, and custodian to invest in Wolf Camp during our transition into a workers cooperative. Click here to find out how you can invest as a worker-owner.

SITE MAP This site is updated periodically, but be sure to tell us if you find a missing link, erroneous information or other problem. Thanks!