Spring camp 2018
Held May 2-5
Oregon
WMS Spring Camp allowed us to spend an amazing week together under the trees and stars along the majestic Klamath River, visited by bald eagles, osprey, scrub and stellar jays, blue heron's, merganser ducks, deer, snakes, lizards, and many other inhabitants of the area. An otter left tracks in the sand and the beaver left stumps of willow. We loved hearing the morning bird songs welcoming the sunrise, even though we weren't getting up at 5am with them. Each day was accented by story-telling, discussions, and opportunities to learn from each other. The weather blessed us with warm days, light winds, and mostly sunny skies. We managed to dodge tick bites and poison oak, kept dry for the one night of thunder, lightning and rain, and even avoided most of the mosquitos. It was a great camp.
Relaxing after dinner
Spring Camp activities and projects.
Primitive cooking
Weaving twined willow fish/crayfish basket traps
Braintan buckskin leggings sized and cut out.
Par flesh hat-making
Porcupine quill work
Four-strand braiding with brain-tanned leather for the hats
Spoon carving
Buckskin skirt-making
Quill work and bead work
Dogbane cordage-making
Knife-sharpening with local river stones
Salmon bark-tanned leather-making
River swimming and bathing
Fire-making with flint and steel and with hand-spindle friction
Morel mushroom gathering
There was also the daily wood gathering, tinder gathering, and then more wood gathering.
4 strand braiding
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Weaving fish baskets
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The food was extraordinary. Here is what we cooked and ate:
Acorn mush was cooked in a conifer root basket. The basket was soaked in water before adding the acorn meal and water. Hot rocks cooked the mush.
Salmon was roasted on a stick angled over the open fire. Smoke from freshly cut alder tree limbs and leaves flavored the fish.
Sliced summer sausage was sizzled in a skillet. It was served with spoon fruit (dried cranberries, dried apples, sugar) drizzled over the meat and eaten with delicious corn cakes made from blue cornmeal, flour and masa.
Elk steaks were roasted up on a fresh willow cooking rack suspended from the tripod over the fire.
A wilted salad was made from locally gathered miners lettuce, sheep sorrel, lemon juice and sautéed morel mushrooms.
Pheasant and dove were cooked with fresh sage, rosemary and chives and served with mushroom ketchup.
Split pea soup was served with large chunks of ham and mushrooms.
Some self-heating chili-spiced beans made a lunch.
The hot pasole soup was delicious.
Elk back strap and salt pork fried in bacon grease, served with rice and vegetables was mighty tasty.
Elk stew was served with freshly baked bannock bread.
Ash cakes, trail biscuits, crispy bacon, a University of Washington State ham, summer sausage and farm eggs made breakfasts a treat.
We relished the smoked buffalo heart.
Home grown fingerling potatoes, carrots, onions, were browned in bacon drippings and served with several meals.
Winter squash also made the menu.
There were butter-browned morel mushrooms with most every evening meal.
After dinner there were acorn chocolate-chip cookies.
Nibbles passed about included chocolate covered bay nuts, Mexican chocolate, nuts, candied ginger, fresh apples, home-dried raisins, apples and pears, beef jerky, deer jerky, ham and horseradish cheese, as well as hard-boiled eggs.
Cutting out Parfleche hat
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Morel Mushrooms gathered
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AMM Nationals in Wyoming
June 23- 30, 2018
Savery, WY