What is a Bushcraft Gathering?

Recently I attended a Bushcraft gathering in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, hosted by Jason Hunt the proprietor of Campcraft Outdoors.

I had no idea of what I had signed up for, so I did my due diligence. I Googled the event, the instructors and the speakers as well as did a dry-run to check out the site. I guess my apprehension was based on Internet awareness of the extreme enthusiasm of some in the Bushcraft community. I didn’t know what to expect, what to wear, what to bring, what to eat, etc. I wasn’t sure if I should camp or drive home (as we live 25 miles away). To be honest I half expected to see people, in buckskin, sleeping in debris shelters, roasting squirrels (with a cicada reduction sauce) on a fire started with a bow drill.

But what I found was an incredibly open and welcoming community of like-minded people that want to learn and practice skills to better survive in the natural environment.

I arrived on Friday afternoon and was met at check in by Jamie Burleigh, a Campcraft instructor and a Bushcraft entrepreneur in his own right. He is a big guy with a big beard, a big personality and a big heart that instantly put me at ease.

No sooner had I parked the Jeep when Jason Hunt introduced himself and welcomed me by saying “make yourself at home, feel free to explore the property”.

Campcraft’s 120 plus acres is mostly wooded rolling hills with streams and creeks that is well suited for the training that regularly occurs there. Additionally there were two mowed hayfields, one for parking and the other for family camping. Although some attendees opted to camp in the bush, most were in the family area. Individual camps ran the gamut from tarp shelters to tents, with hammocks shelters being the overall favorite.

On my way in I could not help but notice that there were a large number of families and couples in attendance. The kids busied themselves playing in nature while the older ones helped setup camp. The place had almost a family reunion feel to it. A bounce house was even set up on Saturday for the kids. It was a huge hit especially the water feature as it was fairly warm.

The family camp area was also where the camp challenges occurred. The challenges were open to all attendees and the winners received some great prizes. One challenge was a rapid fire build; the object was to be the first to burn through a jute line strung two feet above the ground. Another was to be the first to find and identify a Medicinal and/or eatable plant. All materials for both of these challenges were sourced from the property.

Each camp prepared their own meals and they were also varied. And as far as I could tell the local squirrel population was spared.

Another popular gathering place was the training barn with a classroom on the ground floor and a dojo upstairs. The classroom’s gravel floor and barn wood walls covered with training material and Bushcraft builds added to the overall atmosphere. This was also the location were most the speakers gave their presentation.

Just outside the barn was the vendor area with over a half a dozen vendors. There was a large assortment of merchandise and every vendor was more than happy to answer questions, many from some of the younger campers.

Saturday was a full day of events. Each hour from 9 AM till 9 PM the attendees had a wide variety of activities they could choose from. The activities ranged from camp challenges, instructor challenges, hands on classes, trainings, talks and presentations.

I attended Rob Onkens chainsaw maintenance, Joe Flowers big knife presentation (everything you wanted to know about machete’ but were afraid to ask), JW Apothecary basic herbalism discussion, and rounding out the evening was Blackie Thomas with his folksy stories that were captivating and humorous and had the audience asking for more.

On Friday and Saturday I had ample time to visit with many campers, and a few Campcraft instructors and ambassadors; including Jamie Boggs of Burning River Bushcraft. We talked about the Fundamentals of Urban Survival course that he and Jason Hunt had just produced, and the adventures they had filming it. I also had a chat with Anthony Roe of Anthony Awaken about his photographic style and his many clients in the Bushcraft community. In addition Jamie Schmotzer of JW Apothecary and I had couple of interesting discussions on a variety of topics as he is not only a published herbalist, and Bushcraft Instructor he is also an Anglican clergyman.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend Sunday morning’s events however, I look forward to do so in the future, and who knows I may suck it up and camp next year.

Jason Hunt, his family and instructors did a wonderful job organizing the 2021Campcraft gathering. Without a doubt this event had something for everyone; no matter what your level of Bushcraft experience, even an old, non-squirrel eating, soft bed sleeping,

camp-chair Bushcrafter like me!