2025 Full Circle Semester Blog #4
Living in the moment
Taking my time
Easy and breezy
All of the time
Peace in my heart
Peace in my soul
Wherever I’m going
I’m already home
Lucia, Delilah and Justin on a “boil up” (hot lunch on the trail).
We’re writing here from Stannard, Vermont, at the end of our Winter expedition! We did it! We skied/walked over 2o0 miles from Kroka to Lazy Mill Farm (Penny’s House)!
The whole entire group on Chittenden Reservoir!
Leg 3 was an adventure, through and through! From muddy road walks, to the deep snow of mountain peaks, we’ve watched the first signs of spring come upon us as we travel. There have been many challenges, and surprises along the way, but met with joy and perseverance. One huge upset for us was the departure of 3 members of our group for this leg (all for different reasons). We felt very incomplete and looked forward to reuniting at the end of this leg. Here are a few memorable moments we’d like to share with you from the past few weeks of our adventure…
At the end of Leg 2, we arrived at our layover in the Mad River Valley! We were warmly welcomed by Misha and Lynne (Kroka’s founders who now reside in the Mad River Valley, working and living in the local community), and a few of their neighbors, who kindly hosted us.
Lillian and Misha splitting wood.
During our stay, Misha and Lynne organized for our group to meet with several local people and organizations. We spent a wonderful day working at Lareau Farm (home of the original American Flatbread!) and enjoyed a lunch of fresh flatbread afterwards!
George at the oven!
Enjoying pizza at American Flatbread after working on Lareau Farm. George’s words of wisdom on caring for the earth and people were inspiring – thank you for the visit!
We had a chance to explore some of the Mad River Path: an incredible project, working to connect the three towns within the valley through a foot and bike path. We also got to work with the people at Yestermorrow Design and Build School, building several picnic tables, which will be used at a local park (and Kroka)! There is a lot of meaningful work being done in the community there, and it was wonderful for all of us to see some of that work in action and meet inspiring people!
Cecilia, Schuyler, Delilah and Thomas, as they build tables at Yestermorrow.
Dorothy diligently making cuts.
Alexa making cuts, while Dorothy holds the wood, as they make tables.
Sitting on one of our finished tables. Thank you to Geo and Nick for their guidance and teaching!
A group favorite activity is a mid day “Chris fire” on the side of the trail. Chris famously will build a fire anywhere and anytime, then start toasting jerky over the fire. We have since adopted the ritual, and build a fire whenever we have a break on the side of the trail!
Dorothy and Runa roast their bannock on a “Chris fire” at the end of Leg 2.
Schuyler’s mini frying-pan was the perfect size for heating up a single hard-tack.
Anneliese, ZZ, and Alexa “boil-up” on the trail.
Going up
to the mountain
and I ain’t coming down until the morning
Going up
set my soul free
I ain’t coming down in chains
Great spirit inside of me
all I wanna do is set it free
Great spirit inside of me
I ain’t coming down in chains
Inside the winter tent–sketch by Cecilia
Bolton Trapp traverse
By day 5 it began to seem that the longer we went on the less snow we saw. Prefaced by several days of hiking along the muddy Catamount trail, and down long dirt roads, we reached the Winooski River with anticipation.
As we began trudging up the snow-less face of Bolton Mountain, in the pounding sun, our dreams of powdery snow and skiing were crushed. It was a hot day, our skis were heavy on our packs, and the road seemed to stretch upwards and onwards forever and ever. But up we trudged, on and on!
Together we sang songs and pushed forward until we could just spy the top of the road. Could we have made it? One by one, the parade of weary travelers crested the top. Much to our disbelief and astonishment, we were suddenly in feet of snow! With cheers of joy we skied off into the forest, beyond the setting sun and found once again, our wintery home.
Lillian and Anneliese enjoy a pristine snowmobile trail – before we lost snow!
If we’ve learned anything it’s that what goes up, must come down! The next morning, we reached the highest point on the Catamount trail, skiing across the stunning mountainside, overlooking the Green Mountains.
We found it quite amusing when the sign on the trail read “EXPERTS ONLY”. Well, I suppose that makes us experts! This day was truly incredible; the sky was blue, and the sun was shining brightly as we carved our way down, through the snowy mountain forest. It was some of the most beautiful skiing we’ve had all along, and also the last of it!
From the busy ski town of Stowe, we divided up our gear, and set out for the next section of adventure; small group independent travel!
Jem coming out of the woods on the Bolton-Trapp traverse.
On the “Experts Only” ridge before descending the glades north of the Bolton-Trapp traverse. From this viewpoint we could see most of our travel of the previous days of skiing.
Lucia descending
Schuyler in the glades
Small group independent travel
For our last four days of travel, starting from the bottom of the traverse, and all the way to Penny’s house in Stannard, we were split into three small groups. The expectation was that we would be traveling independently within our small group, for the set distance left. This was a true test of our integrity to the expedition and of our competency in the skills we’ve been practicing!
The point system
+5 every person you interview
+5 every drawing of a skyline from your campsite
+5 every sign of spring you notice and report
+1 each piece of trash
+10 for group with the most trash in the end
The Luna Moths, performing their skit after completing small group travel.
I spoke with each of our three groups, and here is what they have to say about their adventure together:
The Luna Moths!: Lucia, Delilah, Anneliese and Runa are enthusiastic and determined!
Q: What is the origin of your name?
A: Well we had a lot of different names, but this one was our best option, and felt most fitting. We are the only group of all women, and so it felt special to have something representing the moon in our name.
Q: What is a highlight memory from your travels together?
A: After our longest day of hiking, we got into camp and everything went so quickly, with such efficiency! We are an awesome team, and I could feel how we work like a well oiled machine and are competent in our skills at this point.
Q: What was a challenging moment?
A: One day we paused to take a break, and we still had about 3 kilometers left before we’d get to camp. We were all exhausted, and my feet hurt so much. We knew we had to push on though, and we made it to camp!
Q: What was the most beautiful thing you saw?
A: Probably it would be the long road walk on our first day out together; the mountains lay out before us in the distance, with the sun setting over them. It was absolutely beautiful.
Q: What strategy did your group use to gain points in the point system?
A: None.
Justin and Cecilia on Bolton-Trapp, clearly readying themselves mentally for activating Chill Beef in small group independent travel.
CHILLL BEEF : Cecilia, Thomas and Justin are creative and silly!
Q: What is the origin of your name?
A: So, we wanted to think about our ethics, values and morals as a group. We were brainstorming different words as a group: we thought about being called Kasha… But the idea of CHILLL BEEF came along, and felt perfect to align with the values we represent. CHILLL BEEF stands for Calm Hearty Insightful Living Laughing Loving Best Exuberant Expeditioning Friends!
Q: What is a highlight memory from your travels together?
A: I would say roasting bannock over the fire with our friend who we met along the trail. We were telling stories about our adventure, laughing and singing songs while the sun set.
Q: What was a challenging moment?
A: Well Justin and I had beef, but it’s chill. We were pressed by the oncoming weather, and we all became a bit tense. But in the end we laughed and worked through it.
Q: What was the most beautiful thing you saw?
A: Looking back on the mountains to the south east and seeing the mountains we had just crossed, where the light was hitting them… And, well the mud was beautiful! And the river near Rogers Brook.
Q: What strategy did your group use to gain points in the point system?
A: Well, we got the trash bug. And we couldn’t stop. It was like the moment we started looking, we couldn’t stop collecting. We thought “That trash don’t belong in there”! I’d say we also went at it from the interview angle; we interviewed quite a few people.
Cecilia and Schuyler in a “boil up.”
And finally:
JSDA Wandering: Jem, Schuyer, Dorothy and Alexa are driven and dedicated!
Q: What is the origin of your name?
A: Well, we found that the first letters of all of our names spell JSDA, which happens to sound like “Just a…” and we are wandering along, after all. This also comes from our group’s quote which is, “Not all who wander are lost. We are JSDA (just a) wandering”.
Q: What is a highlight memory from your travels together?
A: One highlight was studying the maps together beforehand and planning our route. It was also exciting when we figured out where we were on the map when we got lost!
Q: What was a challenging moment?
A: Challenging moment? *struggles to think of one*
Q: What was the most beautiful thing you saw?
Q: As we get farther and farther north, it is so beautiful to see all the cedar trees! And the soft wood, conifer forests we camped in. And the river in Hardwick!
Q: What strategy did your group use to gain points in the point system?
A: Well the other people in the group did most of the trash gathering… and the interviewing… but really we weren’t focused on getting the most points. However we did take the opportunities when they came.
Dorothy, on what little remaining snow she could ski on.
We’ve arrived soundly to our Spring Layover, here in Stannard, Vermont! As we conclude our Winter Expedition, we are enjoying engaging with the community here. This means local service projects, and getting to know both the place and the people nearby. We await our upcoming parents weekend with great anticipation!
Until next time!
Your scribe,
Dorothy
Bonus! More Photographs from Leg 2:
Thomas cruising down from Lincoln Gap.
And once, on Leg 2, there was a stream that was two deep to wade across (or was it?). And so the group, under Anneliese’s leadership, constructed a bridge.
Viola! Alexa crosses.
Jem crossing
