Dear Friends & Family,
Our second leg was a success! From spoon carving to tree identification, we learned new skills each and every day. Cassandra Sherts, 2014 Vermont Semester Alumni joined us for the entirety of this leg, and brought along her own knowledge of life on the trail.
On March 7th, long-time Kroka teacher Chris Knapp joined us for a two-day live-over. and shelter-building workshop. On Sunday morning we awakened early and followed Chris into the woods. He led us to the shelter he had carefully created the evening before and described the key elements of successfully building and using such a shelter. The main elements we sought were: protection from the wind, the nearness of resources, (such as boughs and firewood) and a good reflector/base wall. After the lesson, we broke into pairs and went in search of shelter sites. Some picked overturned tree roots, others chose the sides of rocks, and others still decided to build their own reflector walls. Once locations had been agreed on and our temporary homes created, we built fires and began cooking ourselves dinner. The rest of the night's events were unique to each group: some stayed awake all night to tend their fire and others settled down in their sleeping bags to get some well-earned sleep. The next morning was a joyful reunion of tired smiles, hugs, and hilariously exaggerated stories. We relished a breakfast cooked by teachers, bid farewell to Chris and set out on our skis.
Our second leg was a success! From spoon carving to tree identification, we learned new skills each and every day. Cassandra Sherts, 2014 Vermont Semester Alumni joined us for the entirety of this leg, and brought along her own knowledge of life on the trail.
On March 7th, long-time Kroka teacher Chris Knapp joined us for a two-day live-over. and shelter-building workshop. On Sunday morning we awakened early and followed Chris into the woods. He led us to the shelter he had carefully created the evening before and described the key elements of successfully building and using such a shelter. The main elements we sought were: protection from the wind, the nearness of resources, (such as boughs and firewood) and a good reflector/base wall. After the lesson, we broke into pairs and went in search of shelter sites. Some picked overturned tree roots, others chose the sides of rocks, and others still decided to build their own reflector walls. Once locations had been agreed on and our temporary homes created, we built fires and began cooking ourselves dinner. The rest of the night's events were unique to each group: some stayed awake all night to tend their fire and others settled down in their sleeping bags to get some well-earned sleep. The next morning was a joyful reunion of tired smiles, hugs, and hilariously exaggerated stories. We relished a breakfast cooked by teachers, bid farewell to Chris and set out on our skis.
As the leg wore on, we began to find ourselves coming across outsiders more and more often. Just two days before we reached Kingsbury farm, we made some particularly memorable friends. We sat at the bottom of Lincoln Gap, resting and practicing our tree identification before making the long uphill trek to find camp. Down the trail came two friendly faces who stopped to make conversation on the way to their car. After a pleasant exchange, they brought out some sweets that seemed almost foreign after being on trail for so long. However, this was not the extent of their generosity…
The following day, we had a unique agenda. Leaving our camp set up, we received some visitors from Kroka: Hanah, Meg, Lisl, and Nimrod. Our merry crew then proceeded to hike up to the top of Sugarbush, and had an enjoyable ski down the mountain- all without packs! To get back to camp, the group made their way back to Lincoln Gap and happened to pass a junction with the Catamount Trail on the way. We found a note and were soon led to a trail sign laden with goodies. Chris and Sue, if you are reading this, you are true angels!
This leg of our trip was full of adventures, many more than can be described in the short period of time I am given to write this update. We are all overjoyed to be here at Kingsbury Farm preparing for our last leg of winter trail; 18 days of skiing, natural history, and adventure. We are sending our love and joy out to our parents, loved ones, and the Kroka community at large.
Happy almost spring!
- Mayah
Andrew and Nathanael:
“We enjoyed the creativity of building a frame with Y sticks
as well as creating a bough floor and back wall reflector and then settled down
in our sleeping bags warmed by the radiating rock wall and protected from the
falling snow by our slanted roof. The next morning we skied in to camp and enjoyed
a warm bowl of kasha.”
Mayah and Emma:
“Our shelter was constructed relatively quickly and
efficiently, and by the time the sun set the fire was lit and dinner was
cooking. We had the interesting challenge of making spaghetti in a frying pan,
but it worked out in the end and our meal was concluded with delicious cheesy
biscuits created by Emma. The rest of the night consisted of reading,
conversation, and fire watching. In the morning we skied back to camp with a
better understanding of each other and the wilderness we are existing in.”
Sam and Chase:
“We started early and ended early! A lot of creative ideas
were bounced around, and the finished product was something we were proud to
call home for the night, even if our roof looked like it was “laid by a bunch
of wild boys, not Cree women.” We slept warm, and had a blast in the woods.”
Cat, Rachel and Noa:
“The perfect work-brings me through day and into night as a
complete reflection of my inner soundness working under swaying trees, bent
into the bush, then hushing beside a flame; arms entangled around friends and
our central tree, and waves of warmth. The snow falls just beyond my nose, the
moon wanes, the stars pour down. I am safe in every move.”
Ezra and Jamie:
We built a shelter using two fallen trees to our advantage.
We shoveled out the snow and then laid poles and evergreen boughs over the
sides. Just as our dinner was finished, we realized that the fire was a little
bit too close to the wall, and decided to evacuate. Nevertheless, we had a
great night.
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| Alone with a fire |
Letter to fire
Chase
To my friend and companion old man fire:
I wanted to thank you for the natural warmth you give me.
The idea of warmth comes from you and is used greatly. To me fire is a source
of life and can die but always is brought back.
You give many people hope and love with all the things you
can do. Individuals consume this energy without knowing what its greatest power
is. To me its “life” it can take or give hope and life that is more powerful
than the warmth it gives.
To that I thank you with my being and inner warmth. Thank
you for life, hope, warmth, and love.
With regards,
Chase Jaye
Mayah’s Haiku
The wind shall carry
Bolder breath into your lungs,
Even through blizzards
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| Digging out a shelter |
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| Our "Quinzee" Snow Shelter |
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| Here they come! |
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| There they go! |
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| Mount Abe |
