Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
4 Apr 2024
Reply rate
83.3 %
Usually responds within 2 days
Feedback
14
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
I am a 74 year old man. I have lived here in the Trout Lake valley for over 30 years. I have raised four children here (Mostly here) I spent five years in Alaska working on fishing boats and doing boat-building and repair. In Trout Lake, I worked for the Forest Service for seven years and have done many different jobs to survive here. My favorite forest service job was in the Wildlife Department searching for spotted owls. I consider myself an environmentalist.
I live on 9 acres of timbered land, No one is immune to change so I no longer have the farm animals that I once had and it is in some ways a sad transition for me yet life goes on and I still have the farm! So I live in the country and live simply. I spent many years as a feltmaker and was accepted into the primitive skills community as a teacher and participant, mostly through the Rabbitstick Rendezvous and the Glass Buttes Knapp-In. I teach primitive skills (fire by friction, flint knapping, felting, etc.) at primitive skills gatherings, I have also taught at Ekone Ranch and Cascade Mountain school.
I also have a website which gives extensive information about me and my homestead.
I am also a lifetime student of edible and medicinal plants and their uses. I love music and dance and am presently teaching myself to play the piano and Ukulele.
I do not live a totally primitive lifestyle: I have electricity, a washing machine, a dryer, internet connection and hot water! We are five miles from the town of Trout Lake and 25 miles from a sizable town.(White Salmon) Trout Lake is considered the gateway to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. There are mushrooms and berries to pick in season, and the area is known for its many caves. There are white water rivers and mountains to climb. Good hiking abounds in this area. One of my personal projects is creating a cross County trail!
Portland, Oregon, is our big city about 80 miles away. We are 25 miles from the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, which is a world-renowned wind surfing area. One of my nearest neighbors is the Trout Lake Abby -- a combination spiritual retreat center and bed and breakfast -- owned and operated by a Buddhist Monk and a Druid Priest.
I am retired and live on a modest social security income. I like to maintain a very small environmental footprint, heating with wood, using a composting toilet and a bioswale for greywater. I like to hike and travel across my county with my friends and sometimes by horse power! I hope to include more people on my hikes!
I do have internet access!
I do have two cats!
I am not a smoker of tobacco, and do not care to be around it. I am a little bit leary of vegetarians yet it is not a deal breaker!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Elderly Companionship
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Most of my workaway guests come here to experience the area, so I try to make sure we get out and hike or go caving or go to local events or what ever they express an interest in! If they are interested in any crafts that I do I try to include time for crafts!
Help
What I need help with varies with the season! right now in the summer I am getting ready to go hiking so a hiking companion would be helpful! There are on going preparations for winter however! I am always needing more bark chopped for it's tannic acid for tanning hides! I need help transcribing my 34 years of log books that I have kept of my life experiences ,so knowing how to type would be helpful.. I also make mead and do some distilling and make medicinal tinctures. And there is ongoing gardening and house repair!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
I can always use Spanish practice
Accommodation
What I have for guests are two loft areas attached the the house for sleeping and during the summer months, lots of campsites for tents. I have a 20 foot yurt where I spend most of my time and it is the grand central station so to speak. I do have full access to the basement of the house for myself and my guests and that includes a large bath tub a great shower and a work space for felting and making of mead and distilling
What else ...
I mentioned earlier the possible things to do like rafting, and water sports in the gorge (25 miles away) mountain climbing, caving, hiking. Also, there is an AMTRAC train leaving Bingen (25 miles South of here) daily to and from Portland, OR. or East to Chicago
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
I have a good internet connection
Space for parking camper vans
we can talk about it if it is a possibility
Can possibly accept pets
possibly if you have need of a service animal
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (12)
So sad to leave… but so happy to have had this enriching experience in this beautiful place.
Jack is a volcano, I guess that Trout Lake is the right place for him (Mount Adams is a sleepy snowy volcano and you can see traces of lava flows all around and underneath the valley). He is so full… read more
Feedback
So sad to leave… but so happy to have had this enriching experience in this beautiful place.
Jack is a volcano, I guess that Trout Lake is the right place for him (Mount Adams is a sleepy snowy volcano and you can see traces of lava flows all around and underneath the valley). He is so full… read more
Jack is a gracious host. He not only opened his home to us, introduced us to families and friends, also showed us around the beautiful Pacific Northwest. He is kind,… read more
From picking 23 lbs of delicious blackberries(and making jam), to taking his horse out… read more
We were luck enough to arrive on Sunday, which is sauna day in the winter months and met some of Jack's visiting family and friends. The week that followed involved looking after the place while Jack was away and helping out (and learning) when… read more
skills teaching of Rabbitstick Rendezvous in Idaho. The work was quite simple; it is just feeding the chickens, sheeps, dog and cats, and the horse with carrots, and watering the orchard and garden.
I would have like to work more like building a HugelKultur… read more
