Product Description

Discover nature by using it! Learn to meet your needs for shelter, fire, water, and food. Tom's guide gives you a direct, hands-on experience of the world around you. With this book you will discover the thrill of staying warm and comfortable without even a blanket! Experience the magic of starting a fire by friction. Learn about the edible plants of the Rocky Mountain region and the techniques to process them, plus "primitive gourmet" cooking skills.

Braintan the hides from your fall hunting trip and manufacture them into durable clothing. Also covered are: sinews, hide glue, backpacking, felting with wool, fishing by hand, stone knives, wooden containers, willow baskets, twig deer, cordage, stalking skills, trapping, and tire shoes.

Participating in Nature includes dozens of innovative skills and nearly 200 illustrations, plus an encompassing philosophy. Tom does extensive experiential research. He places an emphasis on publishing new information that is not found in any other source.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #599201 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

David W. Attala, AL
"I've read MANY books on survival. Enough that I rarely find fresh ideas in a new one I read. But yours is full of things that I haven't read in many other books. Thanks not only for the fresh ideas, but also for the fresh format. The narrative is wonderfully inspirational. I almost feel like I'm out in the field with you. I don't know if we'll ever meet (I hope we do), but if not I feel like I know you through your writings."

About the Author
Thomas J. Elpel had the rare opportunity as a child to spend hundreds of hours with his grandmother Josie Jewett. Together they explored the hills and meadows near Virginia City, Montana, collecting herbs, looking for arrowheads and watching wildlife. Grandma Josie helped Tom to learn about native plants and their uses, igniting a passion for nature that has inspired him ever since. She also sparked his interest in survival skills.

"All I ever wanted to do as a kid was to go to Grandma’s house," Tom said. "When she moved from Virginia City to Pony, I followed her. Renee and I eventually bought land just a couple blocks from her place."

At the age of 16, Tom went on a 26-day, 250-mile walkabout in the desert canyons of southern Utah with Boulder Outdoor Survival School. The following year he and Grandma Josie went together to Tom Brown’s Tracker School in New Jersey.

Tom spent thousands of hours practicing and developing survival skills in his "backyard" in the Rocky Mountains. He is now the director of Hollowtop Outdoor Primitive School (HOPS) in Pony, Montana. Participating in Nature grew from Tom’s desire to help people become more aware of the natural world around us. Tom is also the author of three other books inspired by nature: Botany in a Day, Direct Pointing to Real Wealth and Living Homes.