২৫ আগস্ট, ২০২৪

"He would disappear into the woods for weeks at a time, often with nothing but the clothes on his back, and emerge ruddy in health and even a few pounds heavier...."

"By way of income, Mr. Brown ran Tracker School, a series of weeklong courses in the intricacies of bare-bones wilderness living and what he referred to as 'the wisdom of the track.'... Students sleep in tents on the ground, eat around a campfire and use field latrines, in between classroom instruction and hours of what Mr. Brown called 'dirt time,' which they spend bent to the earth, looking for traces of woodland creatures.... Mr. Brown and his instructors welcomed hundreds of people a year, including middle-school students, bored computer programmers and seasoned outdoor professionals from around the world. Though he could seem aloof and intense, Mr. Brown built a broad following...."

From "Tom Brown Jr., World-Renowned Survivalist, Is Dead at 74. For decades, he ran a school in the New Jersey wilderness that taught thousands of students how to survive and even thrive in the great outdoors." (NYT).

৭৯টি মন্তব্য:

wild chicken বলেছেন...
এই মন্তব্যটি লেখক দ্বারা সরানো হয়েছে।
wild chicken বলেছেন...

Why'd he die at 74? So young! That's just wrong.

Rusty বলেছেন...

New Jersey wilderness?

Eric the Fruit Bat বলেছেন...

That he was able to spend so much time in the Jersey wilderness suggests strongly that Mr. Brown somehow had a way to communicate with the Pineys.

Yancey Ward বলেছেন...
এই মন্তব্যটি লেখক দ্বারা সরানো হয়েছে।
Yancey Ward বলেছেন...

Bet he didn't spend a single night roughing it in Camden.

Pillage Idiot বলেছেন...

I bet the "clothes on his back" included a good knife, a way to make fire, and some snare wires.

Exactly the same things that readers of the NYT carry with them every day.

minnesota farm guy বলেছেন...

As with mountain climbers who take one chance too many I am suspicious of "survivalists" like Brown. I always wonder how many tried to follow his example and ended up the worst for it. A little like "the Bear Guy" Timothy Treadwell who gotten eaten by a bear who he thought was his pal. As I have said in other Althouse posts where someone underestimates the dangers of the outdoors and pays the price: don't f**k with mother nature!

RCOCEAN II বলেছেন...

Brown wrote that, from the age of seven, he and his childhood friend Rick were trained in tracking and wilderness survival by Rick's grandfather, "Stalking Wolf" (whom Brown stated was Lipan Apache). Brown wrote that Stalking Wolf died when Brown was 17, and that Rick was killed in an accident in Europe shortly thereafter.

LOL. How conveient that "Rick" and "Stalking wolf" both died in 1967 - LOL. I bet all the NJ Libtards lapped that "Stalking wolf" crap up. How boring to be just a white guy who knew about the outdoors.

Paul বলেছেন...

I am not a 'Naked and Afraid' survivalist... but I do read and watch the works of 'Survivor Man', Les Stroud. This is due to me living in Texas and hiking a lot. I can tell you that living in the woods is a very dirty and hard life. A literal 'root, hog, or die' life. And animals that live there know that.

But humans evolved from that life. So our DNA tends to make us want to at least find out what it is like. I've been on survival campouts... and man did we get hungry and most of our traps failed (you need a dozen traps out for even one to show up with something to eat for the day!!)

The main danger we have here in Texas is the heat.. and forgetting to bring enough water!! You can make big mistakes in the National Forrest here in Texas just hiking with no supplies!

As for Mr. Brown, RIP. You got to do what you loved to do and make a living out of it! Few of us do!

Original Mike বলেছেন...

I always enjoyed the Survivor Man episodes. That Bear Grylls guy was a poser.

RCOCEAN II বলেছেন...

At least Brown didnt claim to be part Indian ala Senator Warren. I swear 1/2 of all Southerners claim to have a great-great Indian Grandmother - usually Cheokee or Creek. None of them ever claim to have a Indian Grandfather.

RCOCEAN II বলেছেন...

I loved doing survivalist stuff when I was younger. Now, I prefer to do my "surviving" in a camper with a hot meal and comfy chair

Quaestor বলেছেন...

"...world-renowned survivalist dead at 74"

The obvious is best left unsaid.

tcrosse বলেছেন...

My French-Canadian mother had some Indian grandmothers, for the simple reason that for a long time there was a shortage of French women in New France.

Lilly, a dog বলেছেন...

Euell Gibbons welcomed him to the afterlife with a bowl of Grape Nuts.

rehajm বলেছেন...

The obvious is best left unsaid

I came to say the unsaid…

Humperdink বলেছেন...

Somehow the words New Jersey and wilderness don’t seem to be a good match. On the other hand, with Bidenomics transitioning to Commielanomics, it’s a great idea to teach survival skills in blue states. The homeless living in tents in major liberal cities appear to be one step ahead.

Old and slow বলেছেন...

If he was gaining weight on his adventures in the New Jersey "wilderness", I suspect he brought a bit of folding money with him. I call BS on this one.

rehajm বলেছেন...

In NJ there’s always a WaWa over the next hill

n.n বলেছেন...

Would a wood chuck chuck would chuck wood?

john mosby বলেছেন...

"He would disappear into the woods for weeks at a time, often with nothing but the clothes on his back, and emerge ruddy in health and even a few pounds heavier...." From your headline, I thought this would be another article about RFKJr’s roadkill exploits…

JSM

n.n বলেছেন...

Socioapartus.

M Jordan বলেছেন...

Just sleeping in a tent one night is roughing it for me. But I’m always glad I did when I did.

Rusty বলেছেন...

And Grizzley Bears don't kill you before they start to eat you.

wild chicken বলেছেন...

Oh THAT guy...I saw him drink his own piss once. For survival! Who was running the camera anyway? Always wondered rhat.

wild chicken বলেছেন...

There was another PBS show Eco-Challenge which Survivor ripped off. I really liked Eco-Challenge but never watched the other one. Sounded terribly fake.

Original Mike বলেছেন...

"Oh THAT guy...I saw him drink his own piss once."

Who?

traditionalguy বলেছেন...

Sounds like the Boy Scouts camping trips to me. Lots of fun except for washing your utensils in cold water.

But did he have a Coleman lantern and gasoline?

gilbar বলেছেন...
এই মন্তব্যটি লেখক দ্বারা সরানো হয়েছে।
gilbar বলেছেন...

you'd be Staggered, in the number of bears in New Jersey
More than 3 Thousand, and growing and growing..
Interestingly, by my count, there were 25 states with more, so New Jersey is right (about) in the middle

Hey Skipper বলেছেন...

My idea of wilderness camping is a hotel without a mini-bar.

Original Mike বলেছেন...

"Students sleep in tents on the ground, eat around a campfire and use field latrines,"

That's just camping.

Narr বলেছেন...

When I spent my year as a Boy Scout, we ate in tents, slept around the latrines, and shat in campfires. Something like that.

Narr বলেছেন...

Yabbut, what about bears per square mile?

Howard বলেছেন...

You Flatlanders seem proud of your weak azz creature comfort couch potato lifestyle. Must be a prerequisite to be in the Obesity Army of Confederacy. Althouse is nice to provide a testosterone-free safe-space for you.

Humperdink বলেছেন...

Howard is quite the keyboard warrior. Prolly checks in at 5’1”, 310 lbs. Tell us again how competed as a tri-athlete every weekend for a month, how you climbed Mt. McKinley in your shorts in February last year, and about the time you swam across the English Channel.

Bob Boyd বলেছেন...

I bet there’s no Grizzlies in New Jersey.

Tom T. বলেছেন...

His son went in for wilderness survival as well. Nice to see that kind of connection.

Narr বলেছেন...

Swim? He jumped it.

Hey Skipper বলেছেন...

@Howard: “ You Flatlanders seem proud of your weak azz creature comfort couch potato lifestyle.”

A few weeks ago I finished riding my bicycle from the mouth of the Columbia River to Portsmouth, NH.

Pound sand, Howard.

gilbar বলেছেন...

Narr said..
Yabbut, what about bears per square mile?

Exactly!
California has (about) TEN TIMES more bears (~30 thousand)
BUT! is about EIGHTTEEN times more bigger (163,670sq mi vs 8,722sq mi)
so.. New Jersey has (about) TWICE as many bears..
{assuming that my facts and my math have ANY relation to reality }

gilbar বলেছেন...

twice as many bears PER SQUARE MILE, that is

Old and slow বলেছেন...

Hi Howard, I run 85 miles per week and do barbell squats and deadlifts. May I join your tough guy club? I don't think I have time to devote to too many meetings, but I'll do my best!

rehajm বলেছেন...

Aren’t you from Chicopee?

rehajm বলেছেন...
এই মন্তব্যটি লেখক দ্বারা সরানো হয়েছে।
Captain BillieBob বলেছেন...

Bob Boyd said...

I bet there’s no Grizzlies in New Jersey.
There are no Grizzlies in NJ. Except for the ones that may be in a zoo some place.
There has been one fatal bear attack in NJ that I am aware of but it was a few years ago. They are a nuisance but generally not a threat to us humans. Your irritating little dog might be another story.
Dear Leader Murphy caved to the animal rights idiots and suspended the bear hunt for a year or two and the bear population exploded and now they are adapting to living adjacent to humans in a semi-suburban environment. The danger, as I see it, is da Humans becoming complacent forgetting da bears are wild animals.

Jamie বলেছেন...

Where else would a tent be but on the ground?

I guess they have those fancy ones that pop up from on top of your truck ...

During field camp, we slept on tents on the ground, ate around campfires, used field latrines, AND produced a paper, with hand-drafted figures, about the geology of the field area. Which those who could afford it typed their final drafts of from a hotel room an hour or more away, but which I typed on my mom's college manual typewriter in my tent, on the ground

Rusty বলেছেন...

More people are killed every year by black bears.

Michael K বলেছেন...

We saw that movie about the free climbers. The guy was killed the next year, as I recall.

Rusty বলেছেন...

Give it a rest Howard. The UP has a lot more wilderness than NJ and you're still no more than 5 miles from a road.

Michael K বলেছেন...

Howitzer Howard checks in.

lonejustice বলেছেন...

Yeah, but where is Grizzly Adams when you need him?

Goetz von Berlichingen বলেছেন...

The Cuck vibe from Howard is strong...

Aggie বলেছেন...

I see that the webpages link is down, so I can't paste in the link to read the article.

I don't call BS on this one. I've spent time in the Boundary Waters, a million-acre preserve in northern Minnesota that spans over into Canada. No mechanically-driven equipment is allowed. No motors, no chainsaws, no generators. It's pack-in, pack-out. And I'll tell ya, I've seen some salty-looking dudes traipsing around up there, everything on their back including their canoe, portaging. Some of the ones I've come across had been in there for months, living off what they caught and what they foraged - and doing quite well, thank you. Well - except that they were hungry for conversation.

Michael K বলেছেন...

I stopped in Banf Canada one time. Talked to the ranger. They had had a fatal grizzly attack the week before. Two reporters showed up a couple days later and wanted to know where the attack occurred. They
planned see the site. The ranger warned them that the bear was still out there. They went anyway.

Michael K বলেছেন...

Guess what ? Another bear hit the jackpot.

Original Mike বলেছেন...

"I've spent time in the Boundary Waters, a million-acre preserve in northern Minnesota that spans over into Canada. No mechanically-driven equipment is allowed. No motors, no chainsaws, no generators. It's pack-in, pack-out."

My old stomping grounds. I've done many multi-week, solo canoe trips, especially in Quetico. Loved it! One of my biggest regrets about getting old is not doing those trips anymore.

policraticus বলেছেন...

Second largest recorded black bear was harvested in Clinton, NJ. 830 lbs. If you are wondering about scale, your average male black bear runs about 250. The average grizzly bear only averages about 500!!

Lawnerd বলেছেন...

Ever eat a tree? Most parts are edible.

Lawnerd বলেছেন...

Wonder if he ever ran into the Russian mobster Pauli and Christopher lost in the wilds of New Jersey?

Aggie বলেছেন...

Read: The Pine Barrens by John McPhee.

David53 বলেছেন...

I attended Tom Brown Jr High. It made me tough, I survived.

Rocco বলেছেন...

He would disappear into the bathroom for hours at a time, often with nothing but a roll of toilet paper, and emerge ruddy in health and quite a bit stinkier…

Kai Akker বলেছেন...

I had always wanted to do one of Tom's tracker classes. The Pine Barrens are a trackless expanse. Every tree is the same and the sandy soil doesn't hold much shape or relief. But later on, there were questions about Tom and his schools. The cult accusations or exploiting the overly credulous. Yes, those friend deaths were among the question marks. And there was a certain bureaucracy that you had to endure. I never did one. I did used to canoe down those twisty, windy rivers, which are great.

chuck বলেছেন...

Mary Cleave died at 77, that was a surprise to me. I knew her when she was at USU, she was the last person I expected to die that young.

Howard বলেছেন...

Good job, Lance. I'm proud of you.

Howard বলেছেন...

Impressive.

Howard বলেছেন...

Only my hairdresser knows for sure

Howard বলেছেন...

Poleta Folds, Papoose Flat Pluton and the Christy Anticline on Santa Cruz Island.

chuck বলেছেন...

you need a dozen traps I knew a guy who was one the lottery winners for trapping muskrats. He threw in with two other winners who had boat, but regretted it. He would come back with 100+ every day, they would manage a few between them. I recall all the skins hanging up to dry, so can attest to that. Think of the difference between an Olympic athlete and the average guy on the street, he was that much better. I could tell you stories ...

Howard বলেছেন...

Euell Gibbons married Linda Lovelace. They met at a log eating contest.

Howard বলেছেন...

Poor guy. He died in an immaculately clean hospital bed with all the creature comforts available. It must have been hell

chuck বলেছেন...

You can see him in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUxPWx4YW20

Jim বলেছেন...

Five to one baby. One in five. No one here gets, out alive.

Quaestor বলেছেন...

"He would disappear into the woods for weeks at a time..."

But did he stay in the woods? If Tom Brown really disappeared, who can be certain where he was.

Old and slow বলেছেন...

If he was actually gaining weight on these trips, then no, he was not staying in the the woods. That's why I suggested he must be carrying folding money.

Al বলেছেন...

k

MadisonMan বলেছেন...

I'm suspicious of claims such as "disappear in the woods for weeks at a time" because, as others note, there's nothing to show me he stayed there. Skepticism R Us.