{"id":5185,"date":"2025-10-17T14:47:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/?p=5185"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:49:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T22:49:20","slug":"legends-of-tracking-skills-fest-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/legends-of-tracking-skills-fest-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Legends of Tracking 2025 &#8211; A Retrospective"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5185\" class=\"elementor elementor-5185\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5cfb95e4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5cfb95e4\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-938ddb2\" data-id=\"938ddb2\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4ef1e3c0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4ef1e3c0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>A Family Skills Festival in the Forest<\/h2>\n<h3><em>A Retrospective<\/em><\/h3>\n<p><i>Check out the video below or <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/LedCg3kWpgQ?feature=share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>watch it here<\/b><\/a>!<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>Imagine a weekend where kids, parents, educators, learners, and mentors gather under towering trees to rediscover the art of living close to the land.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what happened at this year\u2019s <strong>Legends of Tracking Skills Festival<\/strong>\u2014a weekend of campfires, craftsmanship, and community. Families, friends, and educators from across the Pacific Northwest joined our Trackers team at Camp Roslyn in Sandy, Oregon for an incredible weekend of hands-on workshops, storytelling, and connection. It was part wilderness skills fair, part family reunion, and entirely unforgettable.<\/p>\n<h3>Learning Old Skills in New Ways<\/h3>\n<p>From the spark of the forge to the scent of cedar shavings, the forest became our classroom. Adults and youth side-by-side learned to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83d\udd28 Forge tools at the forest blacksmith station<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\udeb6 Weave cordage from cedar roots and flintknapp stone blades<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc3e Track local wildlife such as elk, deer, bobcat, and bear<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udd25 Light friction fire with bow drills and natural tinder<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc0f Learning to butcher on of the sheep from our farm<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf3f Craft herbal salves and remedies<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf72 Share a community feast\u2014complete with food we prepared together<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even the legendary black-powder demonstration lit up the crowd (and the sky) with cannons firing blank, powder-only charges! Each skill became a bridge\u2014linking generations, families, and friends through the rhythm of doing, making, and learning.<\/p>\n<h3>Community in Action<\/h3>\n<p>One of my favorite parts as a mom was watching my 14-year-old son, Robin, work alongside his mentors and friends from our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/trackerspdx.com\/youth\/school-year\/apprenticeships\/trackers-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trackers A-Team Program<\/a>. In true Trackers style, the our Trackers A-Team teens stepped into leadership through action\u2014sharing their own skills in workshops and learning even more from our amazing guest and community instructors: Nicole Apelian, Brian Schuch, ProudStar Espinoza, Dan Clark, Tim Smith, and Tony Deis. Huge gratitude to each of them for passing on knowledge with such generosity and heart.<\/p>\n<h3>The Spirit of Legends<\/h3>\n<p>The real magic of the weekend wasn\u2019t just the skills\u2014it was the laughter, the smell of woodsmoke, and the feeling of belonging. Around the fire, people traded stories, songs, and handmade treasures. The forest rang with hammer strikes and bird calls, the quiet hum of a community remembering something ancient and true: <strong>we learn best together.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>See You at the Next Skills Festival!<\/h3>\n<p>Building community is the heart of Trackers, and we\u2019re already planning an even bigger, family-friendly Skills Festival for next October. Expect more hands-on workshops, live demos, and campfire feasts open to everyone. Whether you\u2019re brand-new to outdoor skills or a lifelong Tracker, this is your invitation to join the circle. Check out our upcoming Community Events:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf83 <strong>Oct 29:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/trackerspdx.com\/community\/events\/open-goblin-market\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Track-or-Treat + Goblin Market @ NE Portland HQ<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc3e <strong>Nov. 16:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/trackerspdx.com\/community\/events\/tracking-club\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Community Tracking Club @ Camp Roslyn (Sandy, OR)<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf81 <strong>Dec 20:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/trackerspdx.com\/community\/events\/holiday-faire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trackers Holiday Faire @ SE Portland HQ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/trackerspdx.com\/community\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Community Events page<\/a> for details, photos, and updates. Come learn, laugh, and make something real. We can\u2019t wait to see you in the forest!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/d3k81ch9hvuctc.cloudfront.net\/company\/Tmy8m2\/images\/9169eab4-4999-425f-9bc5-69fad80c5351.jpeg\" alt=\"Molly Deis\" width=\"135\"><\/p>\n<p>See you in the forest,<\/p>\n<p><strong>Molly Deis<\/strong><br>Trackers Earth<br><em>Founder &amp; Mom<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a440609 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a440609\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c653dc1\" data-id=\"c653dc1\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc94bdf elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"fc94bdf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;youtube_url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/youtube.com\\\/shorts\\\/LedCg3kWpgQ?si=uzyRWpGark_ORCe9&quot;,&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;youtube&quot;,&quot;controls&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-video\"><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Family Skills Festival in the Forest A Retrospective Check out the video below or watch it here! Imagine a weekend where kids, parents, educators, learners, and mentors gather under towering trees to rediscover the art of living close to the land. That\u2019s what happened at this year\u2019s Legends of Tracking Skills Festival\u2014a weekend of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-awareness","category-wild-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5185"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5210,"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5185\/revisions\/5210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackersearth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}