• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • John F Dean
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • paul wheaton
stewards:
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Leigh Tate
  • Devaka Cooray
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Matt McSpadden
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Food

If you are coming as a boot, we provide basic staples.  Mostly vegan, with some eggs and sometimes fish and cheese.   If you enjoy a richer diet, you might want to bring your favorite stuff.  We don't provide coffee, but we do provide tea - so if you are a coffee drinker you might want to get that.  

If you are coming to a workshop or event:  Some events are basically extensions of the bootcamp - so you get the same staples and you cook for yourself.  Some events might have somebody cooking food, which you can have - but it might not be what you are keen on.  

If you are coming as a SEPPER, Ant or deeproots, you generally provide your own food, but if you help in the bootcamp for half a day, you can join the boots for a meal.   If you help for a full day, you can join the boots for three meals.  

Reasons why you might want to bring a LOT of snacks:

402:  Maybe sometimes the food served is not the stuff you think is the tastiest.

403:  Sometimes the food served does not meet your dietary restrictions.

404:  Sometimes you like to eat your food at a time that is different than when the food is served.

405:  you like lots of tasty snacks between meals.

406:  you are socially awkward, but if you share snacks with others, you make "friends."  

407:  you have some sort of super cool food you would like other folks to try.

408:  you stopped by missoula and found some really cool stuff to try.  

408.1:  and for the other folks in class

409:  In the evenings, you like to spend a little time sitting around a campfire eating snacks

410:  You want to experiment with the many rocket cook stoves, TLUD cook stoves, solar ovens, etc.


maybe bringing something for the community pot:

507:  maybe you are bringing some beef, chicken, pork or cui you raised yourself!

508:  maybe you did a bit of a walkabout and scored a bunch of morel mushrooms, or other wildcrafted foods.

509:  maybe you were at the farmers market on the day off and you picked up a bunch of fun things to add to a meal

510:  maybe on the day off, you stopped by the good food store and thought "ham, everybody should have more ham."



Safety Gear

- safety glasses
- ear protection
- gloves
- water bottle
- small backback with a first aid kit
- good work boots


Tools

We will provide all the tools for all the tasks, but some people develop a deep relationship with their tools and like to bring their own.



Clothes

It can get cold in montana.  And we work outside.   The key to working outside when it is cold is layers.  Natural materials are best:  wool and silk.  Cotton is good for cooling.  In a cold climate, there is the expression "cotton kills", although many people seem to do just fine with a lot of cotton.


Tent and Sleeping bag and stuff

All boots will get a warm bunk in the winter.  And most boots are offered a bunk in the summer, but seem to prefer the privacy of a tent.  

We have a few tents, sleeping bags, pads and cots that people have donated over the years.  I think we could use a few more ...



Your junk is our treasure

Maybe you are driving here and have some stuff that didn't sell in your last yard sale.  You can drop it off here and we will try to put it to use.

- hand tools
- nuts, bolts, screws, doo-dads, wire, rope, hose clamps, washers, all thread, nails, doomaflotchies, hooks, pipe, hose, cotter pins, spring pins, zircs ...
- blankets and pillows
- broken (yet repairable) tools
- books (fiction and non-fiction)
- fishing gear
- bows, arrows, targets ...
- duct, stovepipe, brick (especially clay brick)
- metal barrels - espeically the ones that are smaller than 55 gallon.
- wood barrels, or even wood half barrels
- lumber (nothing with glue, like plywood, waferboard or particle board please)
- hardwood branches or logs for making handles or other projects
- lawn chairs
- tents
- sleeping bags
- wool: hats, socks, blankets, anything. Including raw wool
- steel scraps for welding bits and bobs (we have a welder and a plasma cutter)
- metal roofing
- cedar shakes
- bicycles and all sorts of bike parts/tools/baskets/racks/etc.
- plates, cups, utensils, knives ... all sorts of kitchen gear
- seeds and plants



COMMENTS:
 
author and steward
Posts: 52580
Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)
hugelkultur trees chicken wofati bee woodworking
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have to confess, that for years it has been crazy expensive as stuff just disappears.  We have to buy mountains of new gloves and safety glasses.  And dishes.  I guess they just wind up people's cars as they leave.  

And I hear from other sites that say that they accumulate mountains of the same things.  

The difference is that those places provide a "what to bring" document.   And then people tend to bring too much stuff and leave a lot of it.  

I'm such an idiot!  We should have created this document years ago!
 
Posts: 42
Location: Omaha, United States
55
4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Paul. Eric here. I have not received permission from you to come to your place. If you give me the go ahead, I will need directions. We are coming from the East on I-90 We are self contained so you will not have to do anything special for us. I would just like to look at your kitchen facilities and your shop. It would be nice to meet you, but if not ok. We refigured our arrival time to be on the 24th of Aug. We have a bunch of stuff that you have on this list that we will bring.

 
paul wheaton
author and steward
Posts: 52580
Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)
hugelkultur trees chicken wofati bee woodworking
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Eric VonRaderson wrote:Paul. Eric here. I have not received permission from you to come to your place. If you give me the go ahead, I will need directions. We are coming from the East on I-90 We are self contained so you will not have to do anything special for us. I would just like to look at your kitchen facilities and your shop. It would be nice to meet you, but if not ok. We refigured our arrival time to be on the 24th of Aug. We have a bunch of stuff that you have on this list that we will bring.



I just sent you an email ...
 
gardener
Posts: 1331
Location: Miami, 11a, Am, apartment dweller
886
8
hugelkultur kids forest garden trees books wofati cooking bike rocket stoves
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
An extension of 403/510: Generally speaking, bringing coffee enough for one to enjoy (or better yet, share) is a good idea.

Specific to right now, I daresay y'all are overstocked on coffee.


I personally try to take the approach of "I'm a houseguest, not a hotel guest."
 
steward
Posts: 21596
Location: Pacific Northwest
12091
11
hugelkultur kids cat duck forest garden foraging fiber arts sheep wood heat homestead
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Ash Jackson wrote:I personally try to take the approach of "I'm a houseguest, not a hotel guest."



I think this is a HUGE and important distinction. I think people often view Wheaton Labs as an event place. I know I did for a long time. And then one day I was sitting and chatting with Jocelyn and Paul, and it hit me, "How would I feel if I had people constantly in and around my house? In my kitchen? Camping on my land?" That was terrifying to think about! (I'm an introvert, so it was extra terrifying)

Wheaton Labs isn't just a cool place to learn and make awesome things happen. It's Paul's home. It's Jen and Fred and Josiah's home. I think the mental distinction between house guest and hotel guest is so important!
 
Ash Jackson
gardener
Posts: 1331
Location: Miami, 11a, Am, apartment dweller
886
8
hugelkultur kids forest garden trees books wofati cooking bike rocket stoves
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
510.1, The Good Food Store or The Natural Grocers on Reserve
 
pollinator
Posts: 113
Location: Western Washington
41
2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Add a temperature range for us out-of-state visitors under the 'clothing' sections.

We weren't fully prepared for 102 degree days!  The weather report we looked at was for 90 degrees, and that 10 degrees is a huge difference!
 
paul wheaton
author and steward
Posts: 52580
Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)
hugelkultur trees chicken wofati bee woodworking
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
We haven't seen 100 degrees for five years ...
 
Briana Great
pollinator
Posts: 113
Location: Western Washington
41
2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Yeah, but it happened Just posting a range "summers are typically in the 90's from 2-5 p.m., with occasional bouts up to 100.  Evening lows range from 45-60.  
Winter lows are typically (what, 10 degrees?) and dip as low as (-20?)
 
paul wheaton
author and steward
Posts: 52580
Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)
hugelkultur trees chicken wofati bee woodworking
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
It seems about half the winters here, we don't go below zero, but we get close.

Last winter got us to half a degree below zero.  

We did have a winter going down to 12 below, and our first winter went to 26 below.
 
Nicole Alderman
steward
Posts: 21596
Location: Pacific Northwest
12091
11
hugelkultur kids cat duck forest garden foraging fiber arts sheep wood heat homestead
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I live over in the mild Seattle area. When people talk about weather here, no one ever says it gets over 100. We usually tell people it's usually in the 70s and 80s, and sometimes in the 90s. Some areas here did get up to 100 for 1 day this year (the same hot weather that then went to Montana). But, that was really rare.

The problem is, our weather is a lot crazier now than it was when I was a kid. We never quite know what to expect. For example, for two years in a row we hand a months of just forest fire smoke blocking out the sun and polluting the air. That NEVER happened when I was a kid. I never would have told someone moving to the Pacific Northwest to come ready to deal with a month of smoke where you can't go outside.

It's sad we can't trust our historical climate knowledge. I guess Paul could have mentioned, "These are our normal weather ranges. But, you know, the climate is wonky now. So, your guess is as good as mine as to what the weather will be. Who knows, maybe it'll snow in August. Maybe it'll be 100 in May. We'll all just have to make the best of it."
 
Posts: 64
25
2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hello all!

First, I just want to say how grateful I am for this community and the kind souls that inhabit it. I've learned so much from these threads and podcasts, just a ridiculous amount of information, collected here for carefree perusal, truly astounding.

I will be arriving at WL for Bootcamp on the 19th of June. After reading through everything bootcamp related I could find on the site I have a few questions in anticipation of that, I'm hoping someone with experience can help me out.

1. As far as pitching a tent goes, how much room are we allotted? How big of a tent can I pitch? Would a 6 person tent + a 10x10 canopy be pushing the boundaries?

2. What's the deal with open flames while camping? Anything I should know about there?

3. How about the use of propane/camp stoves?

4. Is there a washer/dryer available for boot use or are we on our own?

5. Will I be able to keep my car (small hatchback) next to my campsite? If not, how close, on average will they be to each other?

6. Anything I should've asked but didn't think of?

Thanks so much in advance for any help and apologies if any of this has been covered elsewhere, it's a big forum.

Much love to everyone who reads this.
 
Nicole Alderman
steward
Posts: 21596
Location: Pacific Northwest
12091
11
hugelkultur kids cat duck forest garden foraging fiber arts sheep wood heat homestead
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Cory Shires wrote:
4. Is there a washer/dryer available for boot use or are we on our own?



I'm not sure about the other questions, but I think I can answer this one. I believe all boots have access to the washing machine in Fisher Price house. Maybe another boot can chime in as to if there's scheduled times for sharing the washing machine, etc. I think there's a dryer there, but I'm not sure if anyone uses it, because I know Paul is keen on hanging clothing to dry.



There's also an outdoor washing machine and clothesline over by Willow Wanka, I believe

Here's a quote I found in best, simple summary of all things wheaton labs

boots - boots to roots thread

  • 24/7 access to FPH, including kitchen, showers, FPH washing machine, boots fridge
  • TP and food supplied by Paul
  • bunk(s) likely though expect to be portable as bunk priority is given to paying guests, long-term residents/employees, or instructors over boots

  • This is the manual laundry machine mentioned above:



     
    steward
    Posts: 15518
    Location: Northern WI (zone 4)
    4853
    7
    hunting trees books food preservation solar woodworking
    • Likes 2
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator

    Cory Shires wrote:1. As far as pitching a tent goes, how much room are we allotted? How big of a tent can I pitch? Would a 6 person tent + a 10x10 canopy be pushing the boundaries?


    I think the limit is based on how much flat ground you find/make.  I doubt there's a limit.

    Cory Shires wrote:2. What's the deal with open flames while camping? Anything I should know about there?


    My guess is that they're discouraged, especially if in view of the road.  Rockety stuff on the other hand is encouraged.

    Cory Shires wrote:3. How about the use of propane/camp stoves?


    I believe that's cool.

    Cory Shires wrote:5. Will I be able to keep my car (small hatchback) next to my campsite? If not, how close, on average will they be to each other?


    Depends where you set up your tent.  If you put it in Arrakkis, you can have it pretty close (assuming Arrakkis is available for tents).  If it's up on plum plateau they will be quite far apart since a hatch back likely wouldn't make the drive up.  But you could kick rocks off the road and make it passable and then maybe you could keep your car up there.  Not sure...
     
    paul wheaton
    author and steward
    Posts: 52580
    Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)
    hugelkultur trees chicken wofati bee woodworking
    • Likes 3
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    fire: using your firewood when there is no danger of wildfire - all fine.

    parking: if you stay on the lab, you can have your rig with you.  If you stay at basecamp - it depends on where you decide to put your tent.

     
    Cory Shires
    Posts: 64
    25
    2
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    Thank you both Paul and Mike!! Makes my packing list that much easier to plan.

    Just a heads up, I haven't been receiving notifications when a thread I'm watching has been replied to. I'll post this in the appropriate "fiddling with the site" thread, just wanted you to know if you're watching.
     
    Posts: 35
    Location: North FL
    25
    home care personal care building
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    Hello 👋  Incoming boot here.

    I see that a tent and sleeping bag  is suggested but you also sometimes offer a bunk and have a few spare tents. I’ll be flying across the country and lugging a lot of gear sounds dreadful if it’s not completely necessary. Can someone tell me if there happens to be anything available for this coming  Sunday? I haven’t got my return ticket yet as I wanted to see how things were first but I anticipate that I will probably stay about a month long.

    TIA
     
    Cory Shires
    Posts: 64
    25
    2
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator

    Briella Ac wrote:Hello 👋  Incoming boot here.

    I see that a tent and sleeping bag  is suggested but you also sometimes offer a bunk and have a few spare tents. I’ll be flying across the country and lugging a lot of gear sounds dreadful if it’s not completely necessary. Can someone tell me if there happens to be anything available for this coming  Sunday? I haven’t got my return ticket yet as I wanted to see how things were first but I anticipate that I will probably stay about a month long.

    TIA



    Hey Briella!

    Yes, there are tent supplies for rent and bunk spaces available.
     
    paul wheaton
    author and steward
    Posts: 52580
    Location: missoula, montana (zone 4)
    hugelkultur trees chicken wofati bee woodworking
    • Likes 2
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator
    You will have bunk and tent options.  Easy peasy.

     
    Briella Ac
    Posts: 35
    Location: North FL
    25
    home care personal care building
    • Mark post as helpful
    • send pies
      Number of slices to send:
      Optional 'thank-you' note:
    • Quote
    • Report post to moderator

    Cory Shires wrote:

    Briella Ac wrote:Hello 👋  Incoming boot here.

    I see that a tent and sleeping bag  is suggested but you also sometimes offer a bunk and have a few spare tents. I’ll be flying across the country and lugging a lot of gear sounds dreadful if it’s not completely necessary. Can someone tell me if there happens to be anything available for this coming  Sunday? I haven’t got my return ticket yet as I wanted to see how things were first but I anticipate that I will probably stay about a month long.

    TIA



    Hey Briella!

    Yes, there are tent supplies for rent and bunk spaces available.



    Sweet, ty!
     
    Thank you my well lotioned goddess! Here, have my favorite tiny ad!
    turnkey permaculture paradise for zero monies
    https://permies.com/t/267198/turnkey-permaculture-paradise-monies
    reply
      Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
    • New Topic