Peter "Bigfoot" Busnack

Peter “Bigfoot” Busnack is not American Indian, as his nickname might suggest. He was born in Summit, New Jersey, and grew up fishing, hunting, and foraging in the woods near his home. In 1964 he came to Arizona and began to learn about the wild plants of the Sonoran Desert; one of his first teachers was a member of the Pima tribe. During the 60s and 70s Bigfoot worked as a carpenter and backpacked around the world during the summers.

In July of 1976 Bigfoot made the solo foraging trek that changed his life. He hiked across 85 miles of the Sonoran Desert during one of the hottest, driest seasons then on record. He took no food or water and foraged for all his needs – but at the urging of a friend he did take a camera and tripod. When he returned alive, he gave a slideshow that was reported in the Phoenix newspaper, and after that he was much sough after as a teacher of desert survival.

In 1979 while hiking with a group in the Superstition Wilderness, Bigfoot discovered an uninhabited homestead on private land within the Tonto National Forest. With the help of attorney John Goodson and many friends and supporters, Bigfoot created Reevis Mountain School of Self-Sufficiency, and work began to renovate the old farmhouse, put in a garden and orchard, and build shelters.

Since 1980 Bigfoot has made his home at Reevis Mountain School. Here, he teaches classes in plant study, wilderness survival, natural healing, and homesteading; he also mentors interns, grows food, and makes a line of herbal remedies.