Vermont Semester Update #4 : Departure

A heavy snowfall was a perfect way to send the Vermont Semester off on their 300 mile ski northward!

At mid-day, fourteen students and three teachers eagerly jumped out of the van, strapped on their skis, hefted their packs, and set off north from Route 9 onto the Catamount Trail in southern Vermont.

Vermont Semester Update #3 - Final Preparations!

Hi all!!

This is going to be a very short update because we are very pressed for time. I am so sorry.

Last week each person gave a presentation and example of how their Big Job component will work once we are on trail. For example Kevin, along with the help of Misha, showed us how to set up the tent that all seventeen of us will be sleeping and eating in on trail. It looks like it belongs in the circus! Finn explained the use and function of all the items in the med kit. Later, we had an entire lesson on navigation with Cassandra and Nathan. In that lesson we learned a little bit about the geography of Vermont, how to read a topographic map, and followed the course of our winter ski journey on the map.

Finn giving his Big Job presentation as Medic

Misha and Kevin describing the steps to put up the tent

...and up it goes!

Kevin's outline of the personal gear to be packed

Cassandra giving her presentation on navigation

The winter skiing portion of the expedition
all mapped out -
from Somerset Reservoir to Sky Meadow Retreat

On Saturday the Kroka campus was bustling with family and friends because it was Parent’s Day. It was very strange to suddenly be surrounded by so many people who we love dearly but who haven’t been a part of our life for the past three and a half weeks. We had a lot of fun preparing a presentation/skit for our visitors and I think it was greatly enjoyed because I heard many laughs.

At the beginning of the week, it was a frantic struggle to find time to complete all of our started preparetory projects. It was very stressful but we have lots of good news! Nine cords of wood were split and stacked! Two hundred plus hemlock poles were harvested for the Cree inspired lodge construction in the spring! Eight pairs of mitten shells were sewn for those who need them! Day food bags and twenty one food stuff sacks were also sewn! 

Forest and Joe doing some bike maintenance
in preparation for the spring section of the expedition

Forest preparing another pole to be brought in

A slightly bigger project that is being completed as I write this, is our knives. All of the knives  are finished and they are so beautiful! Some people still need to wax their sheaths tonight. Each knife is so different and every time I look at my knife handle, I find new patterns in the wood. 

A beautiful set of handcrafted knives!

Besides completing projects we also did the food pack-out for the entire six week long winter expedition! I am truly in awe of Meg for organizing the whole thing, along with Hanah, and for making the process straightforward and easy to follow. The whole operation took two days. When we arrived in the food room, we were each charged with packing one type of meal for the whole expedition. A meal that I packed was spaghetti. That meant packing six portions of pasta, six baggies of tomato powder, six packages of meat, six ziplocks of dried veggies, six butters, and a whole lot of cheese.

Meg and Molly dividing up food stuffs

Finn bagging some dehydrated onions

Alright. Now I am off to do some more last minute packing!

All set to be loaded up and headed for the trail!

Something to be looking forward to in the upcoming updates will be writings from  peoples’ journals and pieces of academic work!

You will hear from us again in two and a half weeks once we arrive at Farm and Wilderness in Plymouth, VT!

-Maja

Vermont Semester Update #2 - Skiing, Knife Making, and More Skiing!!

Sunrise at Kroka base camp

We have been very busy this past week, focusing on skiing and working diligently on big job projects.

Oliver, John, Adrain, and Helen at Grafton Ponds

On Monday, we started off our week with skiing at Grafton Pond Outdoor Center in Vermont! When training at Grafton Pond with Misha, Becky and Oliver, we split into two groups to work on two different styles of cross-country skiing: classical and skate. Classical is pretty standard; it is a gliding step motion with your skis running parallel. When skate skiing, you point your toes outwards and the motion is like ice skating, hence the name. These two styles are both good ways to work on technique and to build up our endurance for the upcoming expedition.

Cassandra 

On the home stretch!

At the start of the week, skiing was quite a challenge for me. On our first day at Grafton the wind was blowing the snow up in huge gusts. It was so strong that you could just stick out your arms to get pushed along, but then had to work twice as hard going back against the wind. As new muscles that we don’t usually use got accustomed to their new tasks, skiiing became more smooth and we were able to take on the bigger hills (my favorite part!).

Maja finding the bigger hills!

Knives with the handles roughed out

On Wednesday and Thursday we started making knife handles with Laurel and Linda. We are crafting the handles out of cherry burl. A burl is like a wart on a tree. The wood grain in a burl goes every which way with many knots creating beautiful and unique patterns in the grain of your handle. It is incredible to have the experience of crafting a tool that is so useful, that we will always carry it with us. We put extra care into crafting it and shaping the handle in such a way that we can cradle it perfectly in our hands.

Forest preparing the knife blade

While one half of the group was working with Laurel and Linda on knives, the other half worked on their big job projects. For me this meant working on this blog post, for others it meant planning menus, gathering together gear, repairing the expedition stove, making resupply kits, doing repairs and completing tasks which need to be done before we can head out onto the Catamount Trail.

Students out on half day ski through nearby Grassy Brook

Becky enjoying a beautiful winter day

Adrain and Becky navigating 

Maja starting up a fire for lunch

Our weekend task was helping Hans with pig slaughtering and butchering at Two Girls’ Farm. It was very intense to watch even though I know that Mr. Barrow, the pig, was well cared for and loved. We talked about the circle of life and how after we as humans care for an animal, it then cares for us in the form of nourishment. Once the pig had been scalded and all of the bristles removed, it was time to gut it. Removing all of the intestines and organs was a really cool learning experience. You get to see right there in front of you, how everything connects and how an amazing being is able to live and breath. It also connected well to our nutrition lesson with Hanah!

Adrain making a fire in his dwelling

Between the skiing sessions and countless projects we have made sure to squeeze in time for journaling, showers, letter writing and personal reflection. This time is very important for personal health and wellbeing so we can be rested for the full week ahead of us.

On Sunday morning we had our first math session with Katie Crowe, a math teacher at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School. It was a different experience from any math class that I have ever taken. Most noteworthy of all, it was in a yurt. Katie started the class off with telling us about her background in math and art, and how she became interested in teaching. She taught us in two groups based on our level of math understanding.

In the afternoon we were scheduled to help out at Orchard Hill, a school, bakery and community center just a couple minutes up the road from Kroka. There was some miscommunication and so when we went there wasn’t much to do though we did help move a pile of firewood. Anton was gracious enough to let us use their beautiful sauna that smells like cedar. It was so nice and relaxing. The snow and pond water wasn’t too cold allowing us to rinse off after getting all sweaty. I felt really refreshed and it was a perfect way to end a long week of hard work.

Rosa on a sweet last run of the day!

We are looking forward to spending next Saturday with family and friends!

Keep your fingers crossed for snow!

Until next week!

-Maja









Other images from the week:

A task that always needs doing!

Rosa and her newly made anorak!

Forest, Finn, and Adrian doing some balance work

Molly out for a ski in her new anorak