2025 Full Circle Semester Blog #3
And as the snow falls
Out on the sleeping fields
Everything is cold and still
I dream
I dream of poppies
Shimmering skirts of red
Dancing in summers breeze
I dream
Hello from the beautiful Mad River Valley! As we wrap up Leg 2, we reflect back on our many adventures over the past few weeks…
From Farm and Wilderness, in Plymouth Vermont, we packed our packs, and got back out on the snow again! The day before, a South East wind began blowing in, and the falling snow quickly changed to drizzle.
This was the first rain we had traveled through so far, and definitely the warmest it had been yet. We followed the Catamount up and over the valley wall, for a long morning of switchbacks, as we ascended. At the height of land, it was beautiful to look back at the valley where we had just come from.
Schuyler preparing for a tough day of navigation
As the Catamount converged with the Long Trail, we began descending the other side of what we had climbed up, and skied some really fun hills, practicing our tele turns. As the sun began setting, we were in search of camp for the night, but as we continued, we were still not seeing any worthwhile spots. It seemed we may have to settle for a difficult site, when suddenly the trees parted to reveal an open beaver pond, with plenty of flat tent spots!
From our tent, looking West was Mount Killington in full view. We were all ready and happy to be back in the fresh air, and it was a beautiful camp set up as we watched the sun set over the mountain in the distance. It was an exciting first night back out, as we all adjusted and settled into the rhythms with the new team of instructors. Although we missed Hope and Chris and their leadership, we all felt lucky to get the chance to learn from and work with Rebecca, Alex and Dave for this leg!
Rebecca returned to the group with her positive, kind and determined sprit to help lead us
Our new enthusiastic leader, Alex!
In the morning, we watched a coyote wander near camp, before bolting off to the woods again. The wind continued to blow in from the South, as a thick mist moved over. We began skiing with confidence and ease, as the map showed that we’d be contouring along a ridge for a rather flat day of travel. With both a strong snow flurry blowing in our faces, and a bushwhacking route that slowed our pace, we ran out of daylight to complete the kilometers and decided to find camp before our original destination. We called this place “Camp Halfway There”. We found a lovely brook we could drink from, and made a good home for the night. The NW winds brought back our winter weather again, and we gratefully re-layered and skied out on fresh powder!
Lucia and the pow pow!
We had a day of pristine ski conditions, and cold sunshine, bringing the spirits high once again. We found camp amidst an old, thick spruce forest, where wood and boughs were plentiful: a perfect spot for our liveover day. We took a cozy liveover, mending clothes and gear, washing laundry, bathing, playing games in the tent, drinking hot chocolate, lying in the sun and reading from Braiding Sweetgrass. Well rested, we were ready for the adventurous day we had ahead of us, along the back Southern side, then across the shoulder of Pico Peak, we crossed Route 4, and ventured upwards on the Catamount. This was definitely a memorable ski section, as the woods opened up, and we could cruise back and forth down the slopes in the powder…
Justin bravely ventures forth
Delilah enjoying the incredible conditions
Camp set up that night proved quite tedious, as our site was in a hardwood forest, with very limited firewood, and no boughs. Camp that night was dubbed “Lawn Chair in the Tent Camp”, because our tent site was quite hilly, and required some snow sculpting within the tent. The next day, we skied on, following the blue blazes of the Catamount; cold blue skies and sunshine.
Alexa “cheffing up” some tasty bannock
The whisper of the wind and the calls of the birds (and a text from Kroka) foretold that there was a lot of rain coming in about two days. We had planned to take our liveover day the next day, but as a group we decided to push and get to our resupply destination, before the rain was said to hit. We crossed the beautiful Chittenden reservoir, and found camp right on the shore. The sun was not up when we rose early the next morning to meet our resupply and say goodbye to Dave.
Lillian the stove master!
From Chittenden Reservoir, we needed to make it to camp, so we could wait out the rain the next day. We skied on, into the dark, determined to make it. Some snowmobilers stopped, warning us, again, of the rain, and the South East wind then began to blow! Finally, we reached Kettle brook and hurriedly set camp nearby. With just minutes to spare, we tied tight the fly on the tent before the rain began! And we slept warm and dry as it poured and stormed outside! The next day, we took our bird baths and explored the creek and the culvert it passed through underneath the snowmobile trail. That night from inside the tent, we heard a huge crash, then a roaring rush that came from the stream. We ran out to see what had happened, and saw the stream that had earlier been a quiet flow was now roaring and rushing over the banks! An ice dam just upstream had given way in the warm rain and sent a flood running downstream.
From Kettle brook, we contoured around Goshen mountain, then set off down the power lines, where we had to cross many flooded streams. Here, we could see the Greens out in the distance and imagine that that’s where we would be headed next!
ZZ, Anneliese, and Delilah with heavy packs and bright smiles
The next day, we hit the reservoir we had planned to cross, but ice conditions did not hold, so instead we bushwhacked around the outside of the water. We came to a stream we needed to cross, but quickly realized the water would be too deep to wade across, so we decided, “of course we must build a bridge!” We made quick work together, harvesting trees then lifting and laying them across the water. The bridge held soundly as we ferried across all of our packs and skis, and everyone made it across with no wet toes! We laughed afterwards, as we realized we easily could have just turned around and skied around the other side of the reservoir, but maybe we all needed to build the bridge together!
Just as we decided it was time to scout for camp, the trail turned into an enchanted spruce forest. There was dry, dead firewood everywhere, a clear flowing stream, and a perfect clearing. We call that camp “Bough Haven”, and it has been one of our favorite camps to date.
Jem in the log yard!
From there we skied upwards! Following the Catamount, and heading North, we found camp on the edge of a large beaver pond, a stunning view of the distant soft wooded landscape, and Mount Abe to the East. 
Cecilia studies Catamount map!
We awoke to fresh snow, and had an eventful and full liveover day, with a Geology of Vermont class with Rebecca, and fire solos in the afternoon. This was a highlight of the leg for many of us; we adventured off alone, finding a spot to build a fire and write. From our individual spots, we all watched a brilliant sunset over the pond!
Jem lights pinecone on fire; Thomas strikes heroic stance in background.
Runa and Dorothy, master tent rollers
Rebecca and Lucia look at maps with the winter tent in action in the background
We packed up camp, and had to say goodbye to ZZ, who had to come off trail to get rest and care for her belly. The group doesn’t quite feel right without her, and it was really hard to send her off! From here, we began our travel day, only making it a few kilometers before Lillian tumbled, spraining her ankle. We decided to camp there, unsure of Lillian’s ability to ski on her injured ankle. We walked her out that night to the nearest road where she was picked up and transported to our layover to rest and recover. Cecilia taught us this song, especially for the occasion of our missing members…
You may walk a lonely road
My road my twist and bend
But we will be happy together tomorrow
Together tomorrow again
Together tomorrow my friend
Lillian and ZZ washing clothes at a liveover
Without Zz and Lillian (both of our Energy managers!) we felt very empty, but had to stay strong, and get to Lincoln Gap! With an early start the next morning, we ate the last of the food (Gluten Free mac and cheese soup, no salt) and hit the trail.
The day before, we worked on a project to figure out the timeline of Vermont, as to scale with our day. We figured out that we’d be traveling 11 k, and if we began (in the timeline) at the Grenville Orogeny (100 Million Years Before Present) then each kilometer we travel through the day is equivalent to 91 Million Years along the timeline. As we skied, we could see different historical events taking place (after a couple of kilometers we reached the Taconic Mountains, then the Acadian Mountain building event, eventually the Greens, Allegheny and then all within the last meter we traveled was all of human history). This definitely gave perspective to the age of the rocks and mountains around us!
And we made it to Lincoln gap!
Who says we can’t walk on water?
We do it all the time
On this giant snowball
Spinning round the sun.Living in a world of ice and snow
Where every step is a hanging question,
Will I sink?Will I ever feel the dirt between my toes again,
See the tree roots embrace the Earth,
And trust the ground beneath my feet?Dripping trees and chirping chickadees
Whisper of warmth and swelling buds
Planting a seed of hope for spring
And all it brings.
-Lucia
“BUSINESS IN THE FRONT, PARTY IN THE BACK!”
Throughout this leg, we’ve been exploring and discussing leadership. We’ve adopted the practice of “Leader Of the Day” (LOD), where we each have a chance to take on the role of LOD, and lead the group for a day. This means being confident in decision making, being comfortable giving and receiving feedback, and learning to better be aware of the group needs. Rather than the leader, we often will call it the Observer of the Day, because what you really are tasked with as leader is observing the group, and making decisions based on your observations. During Schuyler’s “administration” as LOD, he started a system for communicating from the back of the group to the front of the group, while we’re skiing. If we break, or for whatever reason need to communicate that we are all there, the leader in the front asks, “Business in the front?,” and the “sweep” in the back responds, “Party in the back!,” and we then know we are all there and ready to go!
Along with learning leadership styles and skills, we have been learning about and practicing communication and healthy feedback. On a liveover day, Alex taught a class on the three main types of feedback; Objective, Stylistic and Interpersonal. This has been really helpful for our communication with each other, and as a group. Dave taught a class on Decision Making as well, which has been a great tool especially while practicing being leader.
Late night camp setup is bound to bring out silliness even after a long day on trail!
BLISS IN THE BUSH
As we meet people along the trail, they often remark on how difficult the cold must be, and that we must wish for the warm weather. In truth, that could not be farther from how it is! The specific winter camping systems that we are using work perfectly if they are used in the right conditions. Luckily for us, we could not ask for better winter weather than what we’ve had on our expedition so far! What people might imagine is that in the cold things just get more and more difficult. But what we find with these systems is that the colder it is, the better everything works. One example of this is our tent. The tent is a tightly woven cotton, and when it’s cold, and there’s lots of snow, the material stays dry. When the material is dry, it is very light to carry, whereas it gets very heavy when the fabric is wet. We harvest green wood for the center poles, and with the several feet of snow on the ground, we can stake the poles right into the snow, as well as stake the tie-outs in the snow. Conditions have been ideal for this tent!
One way we stay warm and keep ourselves dry in the bush is making sure you don’t sweat throughout the day. As Chris says, “There’s no shweatin in your dungarees!” This is because it is important that clothes do not get wet, as wet clothes make you cold quickly. The freezing temperatures make temperature regulation much easier while skiing, and therefore help us stay warmer overall! Secondly, the cold regulates blisters. If our boots and feet are warm, then we are much more likely to get bad blisters. We’ve also learned about the process of sublimation in cold temperatures. When socks or mittens are hung outside in the cold, the moisture will sublimate into the air, leaving them dry (this also keeps the smell trapped inside!).
When there are extended periods of freezing temperatures, such as this winter, it means most water we should need to cross has ice thick enough to ski across on. This provides us with a easy mode of travel. Lakes are open and we can travel very quickly with no obstacles in the way.
Playing a quick round of “Big Booty”, before we leave our camp in the morning
WHAT MAKES AN EXPEDITION DIFFERENT THAN ‘GOING ON A TRIP’?
Expeditions are used to figure out what everything means to me. Trips and expeditions make lasting memories, but the latter has the potential to illuminate what I value most in the precious time I have on this earth. So far, this trip has done just that. I’ve been tempted, exhausted, and challenged. Life has taken on another dimension, through the hardship of the day. Now, I live simply, from meal to meal, yet the complexities of the world around me reveal themselves to me.
The trees, skies, animals, waterways and the land itself form a complex dance invisible to the naked eye, but on expedition, I have the ability to join that sacred dance and feel the beating heart that is the natural world. -Schuyler
An expedition is a journey, and a journey is growth over time. An expedition implies an intensive journey with a lot of preparation over an extended period of time. During an expedition, you face challenges and find solutions, adding tools to your arsenal.
-Justin
WHAT DOES SUCCESS MEAN TO YOU AND TO SOCIETY?
I feel success in the log yard when I split a round perfectly in two. When my brain said to my eyes, “Where should I strike?” and my eyes signal to my brain and my brain signals to my muscles. Blade strikes wood. What was imagined is reality.
Success for me is when I’m able to get my journaling done in time before dinner.
I am pondering whether success needs prior intentioned goals. Success for society is evaluated based on my own goals, and visions, for how I want to live and feel. There is no inherent success for anything. We create plans, we create and evaluate. – Jem
Success is getting or doing what you want. To me success means something like happiness or freedom, it means feeling full. Success is individual in a way that each person had a different definition of the word. I think you can be happy without being successful in the ways society defines it. Society defines success as status, money, and a pretty house, partner and kids. Not a lot of that sounds appealing to me. …A business man who lives in a big city with his million dollars might say he is successful, but is his life full? Does his heart feel brimming with wonder at the beautiful world? Our society puts success at the top of our priorities, assuming it equals happiness. I don’t think you can be successful by societies terms and still be happy. The ideas seem to contradict each other. So to me success is happiness, in the way of it being freedom and a way of living life not to an unreachable goal, but to feel full. – Lillian
Light is returning
Even though it is the darkest time
Mother Earth is calling
Her children home
Mother Earth is turning
Turning on her path around the sun
Nothing can hold back the dawn
Your scribe,
Dorothy
(and Lillian, your injured energy manager)
