Since he was chosen as a contestant on Alone, a history channel docu-series, Mahanoy City native Dan Wowak has rarely been alone. That’s because he’s been taking his extensive knowledge of outdoor survival skills to others.

Last year, Wowak was dropped off in the wilderness of Patagonia. He was one of only ten people chosen after an extensive nationwide search. He survived in the wilderness alone for 50 days, in the process dropping 50 pounds from his six foot, six inch frame.

Wowak, a graduate of Mahanoy Area High School, got a degree in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and got his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Alvernia. He got a job at Northwestern Academy, Shamokin, a facility for girls and boys 12-21 years old, termed delinquent or dependent. While working there he met his future wife, Brooke, who then worked as a counselor there. She presently is presently the Principal at Shenandoah Valley Elementary School. The two have a son, Jax.

In his spare time, Dan worked on his outdoor skills, using vacation time to attend The Pathfinder School, Ohio, run by Dave Canterbury. He started taking outdoor survival courses there, and Canterbury soon asked him to be an instructor. Wowak got the call from the folks at Alone shortly after Northwest Academy closed.

Given his experience working with students, and surviving in the outdoors, launching an outdoor skills school was a great fit. Wowak started Coal Cracker Bushcraft last year.

“We are real busy and the school is growing – our classes are always filling up,” Wowak said. “We have also opened Coal Cracker Tool Shop, which should be up and running right about in time for the holiday season, with knives, spoons, bowls and other gear needed in the outdoors.

Coal Cracker Bushcraft has a number of one-day clinics, specific for topics such as navigation, fire, and shelter. He also ran a summer camp for local school districts through the SHINE program (for Mahanoy Area, Jim Thorpe, Panther Valley, Shenandoah and Tamaqua). “I tell the kids that in school they are learning about science, engineering and math,” Wowak said. “I like to show them how those things were used in the old times, before we had technology.”

For 2019, Wowak hopes to take Coal Cracker Bushcraft to local schools for presentations. Students can visit the Coal Cracker Bushcraft headquarters, near Ringtown, as a field trip or he will come to the school.

“I really do like working with schools,” Wowak said. “There are so many skills being taught in schools, but not the old skills, such as the principals of making fire and shelter – we’re finding that the students – and the teachers - are really interested in learning about the old ways.”

For more information, go to www.coalcrackerbushcraft.com. The one-day classes are a perfect gift for the outdoor lover on your holiday list.