Guided Northern Wisconsin Wilderness Tours
With Abel Bean, Senior Wilderness Guide
Imagine waking up to the fresh smell of pine and falling asleep to the twinkling of thousands of stars. Where the crackling of a fire means it’s almost time for dinner, and it feels like your only true necessity is great company.
canoeing and outdoor adventure. most spectacular clear lakes, wild life and scenic views the Northwoods has has to offer.
Abel is a professional level wilderness guide with 15 years of experience at Teaching Drum Outdoor School. Since completing his first year-long Wilderness Guide Program at Teaching Drum in 2001, Abel has received advanced training from Tamarack Song, working alongside him in guiding the Wilderness Guide and Wild Moon programs, and the Guardian Intensive Field Trainings. His instructing capabilities in hunter-gather and personal development skills have earned him Master Guide credentials.
Abel’s expertise puts him in the top tier of wilderness professionals. He excels in the areas of shelter building, friction fire making, hide tanning, wilderness foraging, primitive cooking, solo canoeing, orienteering, weather forecasting, dream-work, and co-parenting. He scored Level 3 in the 2015 Track and Sign Evaluation and holds a current Wilderness First Responder certification. As a mentor, soccer coach, and former award-winning high school science teacher, Abel’s leadership skills and compassion are living examples of the Guardian Wa
- fire by friction
- primitive cooking and nutrition
- foraging, fishing, and trapping
- lost proofing and orienteering
- weather forecasting
- wilderness first aid (using plants for wounds and medicine)
- natural shelter and lodge building
- canoeing
- tanning hides and crafting, and much more…
Requirements
No prior outdoor experience is required. The only admission requirement is to come honorably, with hunger (what we call an empty bowl), and an open heart.
Program Information
Date: May 1st, 2017 – March 31st, 2018
Location: Nishnajida (Ojibwe for Camp Where the Old Ways Return) is 80 acres of wilderness located in the heart of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. It is six miles from the main campus and support community we call Nadmadewining. The camp can be reached by canoe, by forest trails, or by dirt road to within a mile of the camp.
Tuition is $10,200 for each adult. Allow up to $1500 for incidental expenses such as craft supplies and canoe rental.
The Wilderness Guide Program is now open for applications. If you have an interest in the Wilderness Guide Program and have any questions, please send an email along with your name and phone number to Odemakwa (at) teachingdrum (dot) org. Or you can call the School at (715) 546-2944 and ask for Makwa or Tamarack.
Visit the Wilderness Guide Photo Gallery.
Subscribe to Teaching Drum’s blog, Wilderness Life Chronicles, and read about the latest stories and experiences of the wilderness guides and the participants (Seekers) who are enrolled in Teaching Drum’s nature immersion programs.