Simple living
As society speeds (careens) towards complexity we have come to believe that a simple life is a better fit for us. We utilize an ‘antiquated’ skill set and attempt to have as little reliance on outside systems as possible.
We try to keep things simple.. which for us feels so much harder sometimes. Punching a clock, going to a grocery store, turning up or down the thermostat seems simple enough but we feel like there is something lost when you become removed from tasks that can keep you alive.. gardening for your produce, hunting for your meat, chopping wood for your heat, ripping logs for a dwelling and all the countless other things that go into a handmade existence.
Progression of Regression
Keith is cut from an old cloth. Nature and the outdoors has drawn him in from an early age. Growing up in the rural Ohio River Valley of Kentucky, he had the privilege to be let free to roam feral in the hills and hollers honing his outdoor prowess.
His skill at trapping and sign reading started with his first trapline for “spending money” at the ripe old age of ten where he utilized modern to primitive deadfalls and snares.
As a lifelong avid hunter he believes in the progression of regression in the fact that he now almost solely hunts with primitive gear which is often of his own making or those made by friends.
Keith’s survival and outdoor skills were put to the test on Alone Season 7 where he was taken out of his familiar climate and environment and into the harsh and rugged terrain of Northern Canada where he learned many valuable lessons that can only be taught in extreme survival situations.
Blacksmithing and wood working are two of his many passions. Combining the two for primitive weapon building are a natural fit. He makes knives, flintlocks and self bows. Each handmade item adds a great deal to the hunt and where memories are made and a story in every tool to last in the twilight years and beyond.
Never backing away from a challenge
Jen hails from Juneau, Alaska where she spent most of her childhood. Her father taught her how to fish and cut firewood, two essential chores of an Alaskan. She also spent a considerable amount of time with extended family at their off grid home at “the end of the road” on Douglas Island climbing trees, fishing creeks and digging up edible plants.
After moving to Kentucky to live with her grandparents she dove into horse training and learned how to garden, preserve food, cook, sew and weave from her Depression Era grandmother.
After graduating college and raising three children, Forrest, Dawson and Cora, Jen double downed on her love for nature when she met Keith. Keith taught her how to hunt and track, however it was put on hold when she was accidentally shot with a .54 caliber blackpowder rifle (the gun was leaning against the tree in the stand where both she and Keith were perched when it became dislodged and hit a branch on the way down and discharged).
The lead ball hit waist high on her back with the shrapnel exiting about 8 inches higher. She eventually overcame the trauma and now hunts deer and turkey with modern and flintlock guns.
Never backing away from a challenge, Jen has learned how to accomplish a great many additional homestead skills such as rough and finish carpentry, plumbing, dirt work and animal husbandry.