Blog #8: Mountain Biking Home

Ready to ride

Greetings all!

        I wrote this blog sitting in a sea of green leaning against a big spruce tree. In front of me Liam was tending a crackling fire. Edie sat a ways away peacefully journaling while Ma’or was silently reading. A little tired from our long days Emily was napping. Georgie was cheerfully cutting vegetables and Havah and Luke were telling jokes. Dusk was settling and slowly I could see the flickering light of the fire on my page. Hannah and Seth had biked the 6-mile ride to Kroka so that we could have our last night alone in the woods together.

Lillian with Champ, the goose

We just finished our final expedition of the 2018 winter semester program! Biking for twelve days, we went from Fort Ticonderoga to Kroka’s basecamp in Marlow New Hampshire. Throughout the twelve days we visited amazing farms and did service work. We traveled a lot on single-track trails, which was a new kind of riding for our group, and it brought an exciting element to our travel. This final expedition was all about enjoying each other’s company and seeing what we can bring to the world when we put our hands and hearts to good use. Interacting with people that we met and asking them questions about their lives, we were again blown away by the kindness and generosity that is in every human being.

Another abandoned egg without a nest. Another bird to hatch?

It all started when we crossed Lake Champlain and paddled to the Vermont side. After doing a big resupply we hopped on our bikes and rode to Golden Russet Farm. The farm owners Judy and Will were very excited about us arriving, and we were glad to have a big open field to exercise our new camp set up skills that only involved setting up two small tents and the fire screen. After life on the winter trail, setting up camp in the spring felt like a breeze! In the morning Judy gave us apple cider from the previous year’s harvest, and we helped weed the gardens and spread compost on beds.

At Golden Russet Farm

Morning study cuddle puddle

Service work at Golden Russet

Leaving the beautiful farm, we set off on our first long biking day, traveling through big open prairies and past small neighborhoods. Eventually we made our way to the D&H rail trail, that took us into the heart of Poultney, VT. We ended up 40 miles later in Green Mountain College’s backyard. We dunked in the cold stream by our campsite and set some intentions for the week. The next morning we went and watched the Green Mountain College graduation. Sticking out of the crowd like a sore thumb with our cycling outfits and loaded bikes, we thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the event.

Daily journal prompts keep us writing, reading, and observing the world around us

 Passing by a market later on, we bought fresh fruits and made our way to a series of trails, called the “endless brook trails.” These are a part of the Slate Valley Trail association’s evolving trail network. We dropped our gear at the base and learned from our instructors the basics of single-track riding. Then, we began to climb up and up! Up we went on Hardy Hill, for the first time experiencing what it feels like to fly up single-track trails without loaded bikes. Our group loved getting to ride on trails. We began learning how to go over large rocks, logs, roots, and to pivot around tight turns. Mountain biking downhill is one of the most exhilarating feelings! You rise up to the excitement and become clear of thoughts, completely focusing. Down the mountain you guide your bike upon the trail, and soon enough you’re at the bottom wishing you were at the top again.

At the summit of Hardy Hill

After completing some more trail riding, we later rode on double track to Tikko Freillich’s house (a 2017 Ecuador semester alumni). Tikko’s family runs a bakery called Naga Bake House, and we stayed in the field below the bakery for two nights. We also had our first and only non-traveling live-over the next day. During the sunny day, we bathed in a crystal clear icy running brook and also read more of our hero books. At this time, everyone in the group is studying a modern hero, and some titles include: Into The Far North by Margaret E. Murie, Borderlands La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua, and also This is My Story by Helen Keller. In the evening, we got to have supper with Doug, Julie, Ellis, and Tikko. They brought extra loaves of artisanal bread with them, after a busy farmers' market weekend. We were delighted to have fresh loaves of blueberry ricotta, and cheese and spinach filled bread. We then said goodbye to this hard working family and continued our journey south.

Our route took us over a three mile uphill. Uphills are a great way to test your endurance. The whole time you are pushing with all of your strength into your pedals. It felt absolutely amazing to get to the top of it, and we all sat on a patch of grass afterwards laying down and looking at the sky. I think I remember Emily saying, “If we can do that, we can do anything we want to.” That evening we hiked to our campsite at Merck Forest and farmlands, as they do not allow bicycles on their trails. During our walk to “The Glen,” which was our campsite for the night, Hannah showed us many edible wild plants. We harvested ramps and basswood, and enjoyed learning about such ephemerals as “Dutchman’s Britches,” and “Spring Beauties.”

The crew

Bike mechanic Ma'or leads the way

Emily!

After a morning session of doing service work, we left and headed east, flying down the other side of this steep mountain, towards the Dorset single track trails. After “shredding” the more technical terrain, we started our ascent into the Green Mountains. Someday Farm welcomed us with open arms. Scout, the amazing woman behind it all gave us a tour of the farm. There was a bounty of spinach and kale growing in the green houses and her 500 chickens blew us away. Someday Farm was very special for us because of how much we were given, not only in comfort, but also in emotion. Scout looked us all in the eye and said, “You can do anything you want. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something! Ask for help because people want to see you succeed.” After completing service work there the next morning, we went off and sadly waved goodbye to Someday, wishing we could stay longer.

Handstands and waterfalls

With Scout at Someday Farm after a wonderful morning of service work

Up and over the mountain we went again, this time on technical double track trails, and just before descending our teachers Seth and Hannah said that we were going caving. I had no idea what caving was, so I followed Seth’s gear check and followed the line up of the group to the rock face in the mountain. Once we were in the rock my whole idea of caving changed. Down we went into a rock tunnel that seemed to never end. All of us had our rain jackets, rain pants, helmets, and our headlamps. Deeper and deeper we went, and then after many pinches and army crawls we reached an open corridor. In the dark we sang songs, hearing the echo of the melody. Seth led us to a “lake” farther in the cave, and Havah and Luke tried to get on a deflated raft, but soon realized there was a fist sized hole, which kept it from staying inflated. We left the caves and were so grateful to have open space around us.

Into the cave we go!

Tired after all of these endeavors, we camped in a dump right by the caves. Hannah had stayed back and treated us to hot bowls of pesto pasta upon our return. The next morning, we zoomed up Mt. Tabor and attempted to go down the other side on a series of woodland trails. After two hours of bushwhacking on an abandoned trail with our bikes in the 90-degree weather, we decided to head back up to the roads. Flying down the mountain we had climbed, we ended up on the Burr and Burton Mountain Campus’s doorstep. That night, we showered for the first time in ten days and were blown away by how much dirt came off our bodies, even though we had been bathing almost every day in the rivers and streams.

Crossing streams along the way...

Bright and early we met the Mountain Campus students and hiked up to the fire tower on top of Stratton Mountain. The Mountain Campus is a five-month semester with high school students. This school is an offshoot of a school based in Manchester, Vermont, and they offer a free semester program to their students, which involves place-based learning. In their curriculum, they cover many of the topics we cover at Kroka, such as living with sustainability in mind, studying renewable energy, environmental science, ecology, and humanities. It was fascinating being in their classroom where everything is tended and maintained by the students, from the cooking to the cleaning. All of the energy the beautiful building uses comes from solar panels, and the corners of the building correlate with the cardinal directions. We ended our visit with a song (singing is something that both programs love to do) and headed on towards Misha’s home in Londonderry.

From the top of Stratton

Arriving at the house we were greeted with ice cream by Dylan and Lillian! We split and stacked tons of wood and then had a pizza party. We left early in the morning after saying goodbye to our semester mates, who would ride bikes with us on our last day. We hopped on the west river trail and rode on intense terrain with our gear. The whole group was lit up by the challenge, yet we did fall a lot, losing our balance trying to go over rocks. Then it started to rain making us wet, but we continued on riding the trails and eventually ended up in Townshend. Cold and soaked to the bone, we made our way into a super market and bought ice cream. We ate the ice cream on the floor reading romance novels and giggling. The people at the store were so kind to us, allowing us to stay as long as we wanted, and to dry our gear inside. It had been ten hours straight of riding on trails, so we were exhausted. We then reached out to an old Kroka family in the area and asked if we could stay on their property.

Goofing at the playground

After another ten miles of riding, we arrived at their house and they greeted us with brownies and a crackling woodstove to dry our wet gear. We slept in their barn, warm and dry, and in the morning Charly and her dad came with us to ride up Putney Mountain towards the Windmill Hill Pinnacle trails. After reaching the top, we parted with our friends and went on the single track trails lining the ridge over to the Pinnacle Cabin. Emerging from the thick woods we saw the Pinnacle cabin, a stone cabin perched in a meadow. Sweeping views of rolling green mountains crossed the horizon, and the sunset turned the clouds pink.

A much needed rest after a long day of peddling

     
Leaving our last high point the next morning, we went down and over the Connecticut River, back to New Hampshire over the bridge. While crossing, we blew kisses and yelled the Vermont state song to the state that had held us for the past month.

Liam in the morning light

On trails we rode hard together uphill over roots for one of the last times. Six miles away from Kroka we camped, having our last night in the woods at Darby brook. We ate a wonderful hot soup and went right to bed. Waking up really early, we excitedly packed our bikes, because for the past twelve days we had been waiting for this moment. Georgie’s family, a few miles away, hosted us for breakfast. We ate so much! Pancakes, strawberries, sausages, bacon, potatoes, milk and orange juice were served. Peggy and Kevin, Georgie’s parents, were amazing and so gracious to host us hooligans! At one point Bea, Georgie’s sister and alumni of the 2016 Winter Semester, hugged Georgie and smiled exclaiming, “You smell like trail!” We all laughed. Dylan and Lillian met us and we all biked the final five miles to Kroka on roads. There was a last haul up a hill and then we saw the green fields and blooming flowers of Kroka with staff and community singing us in from our four months away. Arriving, we danced, sang together, and ate fruits and embraced. What a feeling it was, to be at our Kroka home again.

Luke, finishing his biography book during a break from cycling

Home at long last!

Our next two weeks will be jam packed with final academic projects, small group projects around campus and in the community, and many kinds of celebrations. We look forward to seeing you all on June 2^nd, at the Kroka boathouse, for our graduation! The festivities begin at 10:30 AM. See you there!

Signing off,

Your scribe Martina VioletaJ

Happy Spring!

More photos from the expedition below!