Matt Furches
First Year at BOSS: 2010
Current Position: Master Instructor
Hometown: Oxford, Pennsylvania
Currently Resides In: Boulder, Utah
I came to BOSS because:
I found BOSS while searching for a place that offered quality instruction in traditional skills, particularly in the realm of wilderness travel. Since I was a boy I have felt a very strong connection to unspoiled wild places, and have had a yearning to learn how our ancestors could live and travel on the landscape in a low impact way, both for the Earth and their bodies. BOSS had just the philosophy and curriculum I was looking for. My 28-Day Field Course was an unforgettable experience.
I teach at BOSS because:
Now more than ever I believe what BOSS is doing is critically important. We live in a time and place where people can go for months without hearing birds or seeing the moon and stars. People “play” on boxes, both handheld and stationary. We live in boxes, eat out of boxes, and travel at high speeds in boxes. Considering our long history on this planet, this has all come about in the blink of an eye. Getting “out of the box” is, I believe, crucial to human well-being. While there are many top-notch programs available today that take people to the wild places, BOSS takes it a step further, teaching people that you do not need all the trappings of modern gear and “stuff” to be at home in Nature. In fact, these things can actually insulate you from the experience. Without all of the distractions, one can get to know oneself, maybe for the first time. Less is indeed more; an idea that is becoming more and more essential to the well-being of generations to come.
About Matt Furches:
Matt has been a naturalist since his early teens, with a particular interest in birds. He researches and practices classic/traditional camping skills of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century, with a special passion in traditional fire making techniques. Matt has worked with many organizations in the wilderness industry in Southern Utah, and is an avid outdoorsman on his own time too: he once slept out in the forest at -16ºF with no tent or sleeping bag (and yes, he ACTUALLY DID SLEEP!). The first primitive shelter Matt built still stands in a forest in Pennsylvania today and is over 10 years old. In 2004, he hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Matt worked as a zookeeper for eight years.
