Aspiring JMGs must learn physical skills as well as cognitive skills. Shelter and fireplace building, axemanship and canoeing are examples of the physical adroitness where first aid, tree identification, environmental concerns/regulations, map reading/orienting and identifying points on the map of Maine are examples of cognitive skills.
Around the first week of August, all JMG hopefuls gather at the JMG test site, and demonstrate to testers what they have learned. For one week, the potential JMGs live with one to four other people, keeping a campsite (which they have to build from scratch) and cooking meals without a counselor. JMG Test Camp is hard, rigorous work but looking back, was a life changing experience.
Under these conditions, I learned more than I could imagine.