Winter Semester 2025 Begins: Beginning, Basecamp and Beyond! 

2025 Full Circle Blog #1

Beginning
                     ~
Now I walk in beauty
Beauty is before me
Beauty is behind me
Above and below me 
                     ~

At last, here we are! Through waiting lists and packing lists, fitness logs and preparations, we persevered and made it to arrival! 

Upon arriving at Kroka we found ourselves feeling both nervous and excited, in a jumble of new faces. After our potluck meal with all our loved ones, we joined hands in a circle; a circle of support and joy from our families.With our loved ones and the greater Kroka community at our backs, we said our goodbyes. One at a time we crossed over from the arms of our families, and into those of our new group. Each gifted with an axe from a semester alumni–given to us with warm blessings of “well cooked kasha” and “dry socks”–we then took hands, and began with a walk in silence through the woods. 

Bringing in the batch 

MEET THE 2025 BATCH!!

Alexa

Yeah she pulled up from Gent, NY, keeping it real- if Alexa’s around you bet the spirits are high. She’s got a harmony for every song. She’s strong, steady and always ready!

Anneliese

She’s steezy on skis, Anneliese from Calais, VT. Whether it’s resort or backcountry, not even phenomena can keep her off the slopes! Her smile and laid back aura put everyone at ease!

Cecilia

Quickly dubbed the “heart of the operation”, Cec is just that. She knows when and what to say. Her artistic perspective inspires our creativity. She’s always there to lend a hand, or help you mend your sweater!

 

Delilah

If you see kindling flying every which way and a pile of split wood, you can bet someone let Delilah into the log yard. From North Hampton, MA, she’s a sensation on the drums (the five gallon bucket). She’ll leave no task unfinished!

DorothyA wonderful conversationalist, she comes to us from Naples NY. Dorothy Nettle Leasure is always ready to help out, and in a special way, knows when not to. Like a magnet to music she can join in on any song. Dorothy challenges and inspires us to be our most authentic selves. We are grateful to have her.

Jem

From Prattsburgh, NY, you’d never know he had only three days to prepare before semester. Jem’s always there with a curious question! He’s got a sense of wonder for the world that fuels our classroom. You can always count on him to notice the little things, and check in when you’re feeling down. His open mind, friendly spirit and intelligence keep us on track!

Justin

You guessed it…from Marblehead, MA we’ve got Justin! Whether it’s a ski adventure, a lengthy game of chess or a piano piece, you bet he’s “ready to rumble!” After all there’s “nothing a polar plunge can’t fix!” 

Lillian

Is the yurt too warm? You can either crack a window, or just ask Lillian to stop smiling- she brought the sunshine all the way from Sebastopol, CA! She works magic in the kitchen, and is our resident master storyteller. 

Lucia

She’s been there, she’s done that–Lucia (most recently) from Corinth, VT. She’s well read and widely traveled. We’re so lucky to be graced with her angelic voice, and endless bank of songs. With a collected, grounded and playful energy about her, she’s a pillar of our community!

Runa

Her name means “secret wisdom”, and true to it she is! Runa, from Danbury, NH! Her sense of curiosity for the world, and enthusiasm for whatever we’re learning is almost as strong as she is. She brings dedication, and an unparalleled love of running. Always there with an ear to listen, you’ll not find another like her; she’s entirely her own. 

Schuyler

Playing hookie from engineering school to be here with us, we proudly present Schuyler Allan Johnson, from Sommerville, MA, here to crack jokes and send it where it most counts: the Kroka sledding hill. His eagerness and enthusiasm are contagious! 

ThomasOur circle isn’t quite right without him- the glue of the group. From Winchester, NH, we’ve got Thomas! He has a gentle, understanding and witty presence. Always there to listen, or simply shoot you a wink of encouragement. We’ve yet to find an instrument he can’t play!

Zz

She’s got song in her soul- you can find her dancing at any time, anywhere. From Roxbury, CT–Zinnia Mae! Whimsical and always in search of magic. Her place in our circle radiates light and love!  

 

 

Big Jobs
In preparation for our expedition, we’ve each been assigned a specific ‘big job’ which will stay with us throughout our entire winter adventure! Our big job teams… 

Energy : Lillian and Zz are our energy managers! They’ll be working to ensure we all have charged headlamps to light the way, that our winter stove is in working order, and manage our axes and saws. 

Navigation : Delilah and Jem are our master navigators! Working tirelessly to study our route on our paper maps, they’ll be keeping us headed in the right direction (North!). 

Food : Alexa, Thomas and Schuyler are the food management team! They organize, manage and plan out our menu for the next several months. They’re also in charge of packing out our food, and making sure we have adequate supplies to refuel with at our resupplies! 

Gear : Critical to keeping us gliding along the snow, we’ve got Lucia, Cecilia and Runa on gear management! They repair, pack and keep our gear together and in working condition! 

Medics : Our medic team is Justin and Anneliese (or as they say, “Janneliese”)! They’ll be keeping our hygiene management under control on trail, and ensuring we have complete first aid kits and beautiful toilets. Much of their work to date has been in blister care! 

Scribe : Our scribe is set to the task of telling you our story as it unfolds! Dorothy will be managing the academic logistics along the trail, as well as working to keep our blog posts routine. 

 

Basecamp
1/14/25

Today was a long day of getting acclimated with the people around and with our daily rhythm. Our first main event for the day was to join my group and make our way to the workshop, where we got to meet Laurel and learn knife hafting. It was a nice time to get to know everyone else better, and work with our hands. Laurel is a fun teacher, being very open to having us experiment with things, including ‘epoxy-sawdust pizza’!

Following knife hafting, my group had our fitness test, which was causing a good amount of anxiety. We started out with a warm up and dynamics, and then we headed down the road for our 3 mile timed run. It was a very hilly course and the going was difficult, but I pushed through to the best of my abilities. I really liked seeing how much we were all cheering and supporting each other, though we have only known one another for a day. We did our burpees and crunches, and wound down with hot, steamy showers all around!” 

  –Journal excerpt from Lucia 

The majority of our days keep to a pretty similar flow…

5:45 AM ~wake~Either Rebecca or Hope wake us with a song, and we rise just before the sun. We’ve been remarking at the difference in the light each morning, since when we first arrived at Kroka. It’s just a bit lighter each day when we wake!

6:00 ~morning movement~Facing East, we greet the sunrise with a morning movement practice. Waking our bodies and tuning into the breath to begin the day!

6:30 ~chores~It takes many hands to keep the Kroka campus and farm running smoothly, and morning chores is where much of that is done! We choose a chore at the beginning of the week and work each morning with that same chore. We work on farm chores, wood spitting in the log yard, “camp hormigas” (campus maintenance), lighting fires, cooking breakfast and often shoveling our pathways free of snow! 

8:00 ~sit spot~We each have a select spot in the forest that we visit every morning, and take just a bit of time out of our day to be alone and tune into our surroundings. With all of the hustle and bustle throughout the day, the half hour of silence is well needed! 

8:30 ~breakfast~The breakfast cooks put together a wonderful array of breakfast each day, which is quickly devoured. Some favorites have been crepes, latkes, loaded oatmeal and Hope’s delicious kasha!

9:30 ~morning academic block~Each week we work with a different staff member, and throughout the week work to create the finished product of a “Book of Wisdom” page relating to the topic of the week. Our Book of Wisdom pages will all be compiled throughout semester and put together to create the final Book of Wisdom for us all to take home a copy of. We’ve enjoyed knife making with Laurel, energy class with Chris, WFA (Wilderness First Aid) training with Dave, poetry with Liz, sewing class with Gia, compost chemistry with Jacob and social justice and communication discussion with Rebecca and Hope.

11:15 ~fitness~We work everyday to ready and strengthen our bodies before beginning our rigorous expedition. We go for runs, and often we ski with a pack full of wet wood! We practice falling down with our packs on, and work to improve balance on our skis. This will often be followed by calisthenic stunts, as well! 

12:30~lunch~Lunch made by Jennifer (Kroka’s food manager) is always beyond wonderful. After a good plunge in the frozen pond, we all can take an out breath when walking into the sunny farm house. And with a hot shower to follow! 

 

1:30 ~afternoon block~Our afternoons look different everyday; We hafted knives with Laurel and Chris has led us in forestry (in which we work to identify trees to harvest, and learn how to safely fell those trees for firewood). This time is often used for expedition prep as well; dehydrating food, baking our 700 sourdough buns to bring on trail, sizing gear and big job work as well. 

4:30 ~little jobs~Similar to morning chores, our little jobs are assigned as an afternoon chore; this includes managing and washing our laundry, farm chores and lighting fires for the earth dwellings. 

5:00 ~study hall~At this point we have all made our way back to the Big Yurt, and we have designated study hall time to work on assigned homework, and journal entries/prompts. 

6:00 ~dinner~While the yurt begins to warm up, we hold hands and sing to bless our meal. Bowls are passed and we share tales of the day while we eat! Once bowls are licked clean, we wash our dishes and make sure the yurt is “happy” (meaning everything appears organized and well cared for). We then hopefully have time where the instruments come out, and the mugs on the shelf rattle with the pounding footfalls of people dancing. From there we wind into our evening meeting. We open with a poem, a reading or a song, and then we often have a personal sharing prompt. A favorite is when Hope leads “circle humming”! We discuss logistics for the following day, and scurry off to our respective dwellings for sleep!

And thus the days go by, one after the next! 

Weekends ~The typical rhythm of our weekends here at basecamp is that we have an adventure day and a rest day. We’ve taken ski adventures and adventures out into the community! We’ve explored different spaces locally, attending a Christian church service in Marlow, attending a community breakfast, working on service projects in the community, and participating in a Quaker meeting practice as well. We then have dedicated time to rest, finish any homework, and write our letters home! 

Storytelling with Jake~We got the chance to spend an evening with Jake Lewis, who came to tell us a story. I think it’s safe to say that each one of us was left wide eyed. There are no easy words to tell you about the experience of hearing one of his stories; I think you must hear it yourself! We all look forward to seeing him again along our journey!

Farm House Contra dance~A group of students from Rutgers University joined us at basecamp for a few days in our first week. After their adventure up in Maine, we got to welcome them back to Kroka and hear stories of the trip. And, of course, if you come all the way to New England you must experience a Contra dance! So where better than the Farm House? After enjoying a beautiful feast cooked by the Rutgers students, they shared their skit with us. They told a beautiful story through the skit: at the very dawn of our own adventure, it felt so exciting to see the sunset of theirs. Ezra called a dance, and we quickly had to open the windows to cool us down! 

Skiing~We have taken several day trips to go on ski adventures! One exploration took us on a long ski at Hubbard Hill, packs full of wet wood. We didn’t make it out until after dark, and we were grateful to the bright moon that evening (and our headlamps)! Another day we loaded the trailer with skis and bagels and the van with people and anoraks, then headed to a local ski hill with Dave and Liz. The whir of the t-bar lift and blaring music are not the sounds we’re most accustomed to skiing with! We hiked up, and then got to work on our tele turns coming down. As a fellow ‘free-heeler’ telemarker skied by, he yelled “free the heel, free the mind!!” 

Beyond
In just two days from now we will depart from Kroka and begin our expedition. We are met with anticipation and excitement as we finish the last of our preparations and say goodbye to Kroka! 

 

Until next time! 

Your major and minor scribes, 

Dorothy & Zz 

              ~
Fire of creation
Fire of illumination
Fire of transformation
Fire of a peaceful nation 

And it starts very quietly
And its starts with a spark
And it starts at the center
And it starts in our hearts
                ~