Rodney Thompson
Camping Wilderness Skills is built in Saint George, Georgia, in Okefenokee country. Fifty-three years in Charlton County, a mile from the house I grew up in. My wife Tina paddles bow.
Where this started
In June 2025 I started filming our trips with a single camera. I did not start it to chase an algorithm. I started it to stop time. Those films became Blackwater Outdoor Journeys: real canoe camping trips through the blackwater rivers and swamps of South Georgia and North Florida, the Okefenokee, the Suwannee, the St. Marys, the Satilla and more, filmed the way they happened.
Camping Wilderness Skills grew out of the same water. It is the training, the community, and the app for the people who want to go out there themselves and come home.
Why the app is built the way it is
A canoe on blackwater does not care about view counts. It cares whether you read the current right, whether your camp holds through the night, and whether you and the person paddling with you come home. The app is built around that.
- Offline maps, so the map still opens where the phone loses signal.
- A float plan, so somebody at home knows your route and when you will be back, and is told if you are late.
- A trip planner that starts from your route, your group and your experience.
- Skills courses you can learn before you launch.
The river notes, landings and hazards come from trips we have run and from the Paddler's Guides we publish.
Talk to me
Questions about the app, a river, or a trip you are planning: get in touch here.
Watch the trips on YouTube, or start with the app and the free lessons.
Stay Rugged.