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3/3-3/23/06

“We’re in the Kingdom now!” Chris exclaimed to Ashirah as they skied over a ridge, peering down into the beautiful valley. I could sit here for hours typing and deleting, typing and deleting, but in the end there are no other words more perfect and telling than to simply say what Chris has said. . . we’re in the Kingdom now. The Northeast Kingdom, which has always been a dream of mine to visit, has been here vast and peaceful, while we have climbed mountains, telemark turned in fresh powder, soared down steep slopes, hiked with our skis on our backpacks, jumped over streams, inched our way sideways across narrow logs, herring-boned uphill with the sled for two miles, and walked along paved roads for fifty days to get to her gates. Now that we have arrived the shiny gates to the Kingdom have been graciously opened to us. It’s a spectacular feeling to write to you from the library at Sterling College in Craftsbury Common, Vermont. It’s been nineteen full days of living in the bush since I last wrote to you; nineteen days of growth, change, beautiful landscapes and amazing times. So brew yourself a steaming mug of Fir tea, wrap yourself in a blanket, relax and enjoy the journey of our fourth leg.

We left On The Loose Expeditions/Maple Wind Farm the morning of March 3rd, bubbling with excitement and anticipation for our fourth and longest leg in the bush. Alex, a photographer with National Geographic Adventure Magazine, joined us for a day and night on the trail, taking nearly 1,000 pictures of our beautiful life, of which three might end up in the magazine. We skied through peaceful forests, viewed the spectacular Camels Hump Mountain, and crossed windy fields to set camp in the falling snow. That night Alex told us about his life and travels, as well as some very interesting events that he has photographed, such as an Elephant Festival in Thailand with a gigantic buffet on the ground for the elephants. He made us think about how vast this world truly is and yet, there are communities, such as our own, that live thousands of miles apart that share the same values and beliefs.

We woke up the next morning to eight inches of powder. . and it was still coming down, giving us an awesome morning of breaking trail! We waved goodbye to Alex, only to say hello to him again hours later at our “claim-to-fame” crossing of the Winooski River. Maybe this will be the next headlining story for National Geographic Magazine. . . or maybe it will just stay as the headlining story for Vermont Semester Program Email Updates. Either way it was an exciting adventure and will be a long-lasting memory for all of us. Knowing that the river would be flowing with water and not solid ice, Stefan had stashed a canoe for us “just in case”. With our two-foot long pack shovels in hand, Chris and Stefan paddled Andy and four backpacks across the river, where Stefan and Andy got out and built a fire to make hot tea for us. Our brave strong “Chris of the North” paddled back and forth, back and forth across the river, carrying small groups of people, backpacks, skis, and the sled (we felt like immigrants crossing the border). And he even paddled with Alex pointing his huge camera in front of his face, capturing this rare and exciting feat of crossing the mighty Winooski River in March. To celebrate the successful crossing, as well as to continue the tradition started by the 2004 Semester students, we indulged in five different flavors of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream that night. It was an exciting day. . a prelude to many more exciting days ahead as we had entered Bolton Valley!

“Bolton Valley! Oooh, Ilene, that is the BEST skiing of the Expedition! It’s the most mountainous terrain of the whole trip! The next few days are going to be a lot of fun for you guys!” Mathias (an instructor of the 2004 Semester Program) had excitedly told me. What can I say, the man doesn’t lie. . . the next couple of days found us in the heart of the most mountainous part of Vermont. We skied up the mountain one day, made an early camp and had a beautiful sunny afternoon to “pleasure ski”, explore the snow-covered terrain, or work on projects in the tent. This was also the only time that we melted snow for our drinking and cooking water. It’s amazing how much snow it takes to end up with one full pot of water.

The following day, March 6th, we celebrated Hannah’s 18th birthday! We skied the steepest uphill of the trip, passing a sign that read “Experts Only! This part of the trail is not patrolled and is very steep and dangerous!” We laughed at the warning to consider ourselves experts and continued winding up and up the narrow trail, through beautiful snow-covered woods, catching glimpses through the trees of majestic mountains far off on the horizon, where we had been days and weeks before. The day gifted us with amazing (and rare) conditions; cold, clear blue skies, sunny, no wind, and lots of powder. Before we started the descent we took a break at a clearing, stunned by the beautiful mountains before our eyes. This is where Hannah sunk into the snow up to her armpits. The descent was amazing! We took many a “digger”, leaving us covered in white powder, but there was not an instant when laughter couldn’t be heard ringing through the trees. It was a long and winding way down to where we set up camp for a four-day trail “liveover” with Grandfather Ray. This long and exciting day finished with Grandfather’s stories and birthday biscuits smeared with an incredibly delicious sauce of melted chocolate dollops and rehydrated raspberries.

Thus continues the creation of our paddles. The process had really commenced in January when Stefan harvested the White Ash from the woods at Basecamp in Newfane. Making our paddles was an amazing experience. Some of us had little woodworking experience and enjoyed learning from Chris, Ashirah, Stefan, and Grandfather how to use the tools, such as a block plane and rasp. We enjoyed the process of getting to know the wood and learning about the grain. “The grain taught us patience, beauty and resourcefulness” (quoted from Andy’s group journal page). One of the days we were working on our paddles, a reporter and cameraman from Channel 5 News came to interview and film us. We now have one more piece of gear that we have created and are extremely proud of. The final touches will be done in April. . . and after that they will carry us down the river.

While on this “liveover” we began preparations for the next important part of our journey, the small group solos! This was an opportunity to experience a different way of travel and test our bush knowledge and skills for six days. Stefan, Chris and Ashirah traveled together, “The Biscuiteers” (aka “Semester ’04 Tent) was Hans, Tommy, Andy, Colin, Lily, and myself (Ilene), and the other group (named “Circus Tent” depending on who you ask) consisted of Hannah, Tom, Paul-Ivan, Daniel, Evan, and Sarah. With three sets of gear and meals we hugged each other goodbye and set off in the misty rain on March 10th.

The group solos were an amazing experience! Instantly we realized the pleasures and benefits of traveling with only six people. Certain aspects of trail life become easier, such as making decisions on the trail, choosing camp chores, and having more space and time to relax in the tent. As Lily wrote in the group journal on the first night, “We were all happy, feeling independent and free, and happy about our new little families.”

Although we all saw each other in passing on the trail, we kept our distance from each other and built up our smaller communities closer than they could have become in the larger group. We experienced a different kind of freedom that this nomadic lifestyle has to offer. Here are some highlights: We stopped at farms along the way and talked to the farmers, searching for a chance to buy eggs, milk and maple syrup (Tommy succeeded in bringing back eleven eggs in his pocket, and Andy and I were turned down maple syrup because the farmer had “too much sh*t to do”), we met people who passed by us and stopped to talk about what we were doing (one interesting fellow offered us a ride to Northern Vermont, so that we could then ski South), the “Circus Tent” group hiked in the moonlight and set camp in the dark, after bottle-feeding a newborn calf at a dairy farm on a day that Tom said was “the best day of my life”, The “Biscuiteers” spent a magical night in a two-story treehouse with colorful walls that belonged to a little boy named Max, our meal creations expanded to sausage biscuits, vegetable biscuits, apple and two-cheese biscuits, chocolate and peanut butter dessert biscuits (now you can see where the “Biscuiteers” got their name), the “Circus Tent” group discovered an abandoned little “village” of cabins and A-frames filled with “treasures” and French magazine from the seventies, the “Biscuiteers” bushwhacked part of the way up Mount Elmore in the pouring rain, the “Circus Tent” group enjoyed two layover days in a row in the bush, the “Biscuiteers” took a forty-five minute trail break, built a fire and played a very interesting game involving the world’s largest biscuit, and both groups ended up purchasing Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream (although neither group knows of the other ones secret. . . . until now). We shared many special times in our groups and gained more of an appreciation for the word ‘serendipity’.

On the third day of our group solos, we all joined together at Gert Lepine’s house in Morrisville for an opportunity to learn from one of the most amazing women in Vermont. Gert is about eighty years old, although she is energetic, lively, exciting and young in many ways. Gert and her three sisters live on a dairy farm, which they have now since retired from and rent to two brothers, who are turning it into an organic dairy farm. It was amazing to introduce ourselves to them, an activity that we’ve done so many times, which usually takes less than a minute. However, these women had a hilarious story to tell after each one of us had said where we were from. We then relocated ourselves to the house of a neighbor, Barbara and Don Farr, who served us a delicious meal and offered us anything we needed (Thank you Barbara and Don!). Gert continued her story. The sisters had all worked on the farm growing up and at various other times, but it was Gert alone who owned it and was there every day, raising a herd of Jerseys that would become one of the top herds in the country. Gert said that it was always the farm, the land and home that brought the four of them back together again. It was a magical and inspirational experience to talk with Gert and learn about what life was like growing up working on a dairy farm in rural Vermont. Now Gert is working towards protecting the land around her. She has gradually bought 1,300 acres of land and put into the Vermont Land Trust. “Her story, determination and love of work was amazing and inspiring. . . Gert Lepine is beyond words; she is a true Vermonter” (quoted from Colin’s group journal page).

The group solos ended with a “snowy night, a community reunion! Downhill we hugged trees and friends. Big old tent, a home waiting, sleeping all warm together, family, kin, we live in our own life with love” (quoted from Hannah’s group journal page). We laughed together as we shared our solo experiences, listening to the wild sounds of the geese doing flips and loop-the-loops over the beaver flowage beside our campsite, which was our home for a four-day “liveover”.

The “liveover” brought many exciting lessons, discussions and activities. We learned how to use and make bow-drill sets after watching Chris blow a fire to life in his hands with the bow-drill. We enjoyed a nice ski through the woods to see what we could see of the people there. We identified tracks of Rabbit, Partridge, Otter, Mink and Coyote, as well as Beaver chews and two Canadian Geese. Chris read a fun and interesting interview done by the Vermont Folk Life Center with an “old-timer” named Buck Heath from Hyde Park, which was where we were camped. He was a teenager during the Depression and worked with his father in the saw mills. We discussed people like Gert and Buck, who hold such a great knowledge of the land, working hard everyday of their life, and know so many trades, and how much of this knowledge is being lost because of the difference in the lifestyle of young people growing up today. We talked about who will become the next “Gert” and “Buck”. . . Andy volunteered to be Buck.

March 18th, the Parent Visit Day, filled our camp with forty-two people. We watched in amazement as our camp grew, as we set our parents to do camp chores after a welcome circle and a delicious feast with bread, butter, deli meats, salad greens, and many other treats. “We were amazed by the amounts of bread and butter (quoted from Tom’s group journal page). We went from one tent to four tents, each needing woodpiles, bough floors and woodstoves. Fortunately, our families are just as hardworking as we are, so it went smoothly and was a lot of fun! We built a fabulous snow banquet hall, with a large table constructed from snow blocks, snow benches topped with boughs and a giant bonfire in the center. After chores we had a sharing circle for our families and talked about or demonstrated an aspect of this Expedition that holds a lot of meaning for us. The day ended with another delicious meal, a giant bonfire and hours of singing and playing music by candlelight in one of the tents. It was a wonderful day of sharing and spending time with the people who made it possible for us to be here. Thank you to all the families for your love and support, and a huge thank you to Barbara and Rob Borowske (Colin’s parents) for organizing this wonderful event!

After our families left it was time for us to pack up and, after spending one more night together, in which we ate cookies from Tom’s sister and Hummentoshens from my Nanny (in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim). “We went to sleep happy, with thoughts of our family and friend” (quoted from Lily’s group journal page).

The departure from camp on March 20th was a little different than usual, as we left one-by-one for our individual solos. By ourselves, we traveled for a day, built shelters to spend the night on the trail, then traveled another day to meet up again at Sterling College, covering about fourteen miles in total. I will not attempt to write about anyone else’s solo experience. . instead I will let them speak for themselves:

Tommy – I saw an Otter run and then slide on its’ belly down the river bank onto the frozen water. I began yelling for Hannah to look and she got to see it run up the river. It was amazing.

Tom – Lots of Moose sign, potato and venison stew, Spruce boughs, dry hard wood and a good sleep.

Hans – Saw a Moose first day! Lots of time to think about the trip. Very fun!

Hannah – Water from a rock, firewood from a forest with no wood, boughs from empty trees! This world is magical sometimes. Lying here, my fingers are quickly freezing, the fire is dying, the stars are peaking out of the sky and I can hear the river singing. Spruce boughs cover my view overhead, and cover the snow beneath me.

Paul-Ivan – Realized I knew what I was doing and felt safe being out on my own.

Lily – I’ve learned to make my home wherever I am. As I built my shelter I felt like I was coming home. Felt good, and had fun being with the trees.

Andy – A bootcamp of a learning experience.

Ilene – Huge fire, silent night, tall Spruce trees, waiting for dark, sparks flying away, leaning against my bough lean-to. . amazing learning.

Stefan – I got a bow-drill fire at night. Tried sleeping without a bag and got cold. It was an amazing experience.

Daniel – The world was out and I was in it.

Evan – I felt safe and happy by myself, and appreciated all my gear and food more than ever before.

Colin – I was alone and I talked to myself. I looked for camp and the forest provided. I went to bed and the shelter kept me warm. I left camp, and I left my axe there.

Ashirah and Chris– Skiing along together behind everyone tracking the “Wild Semester Student.”: A Wild Semester Student prints can be easily identified by the square toe on the front of the foot. These inhabitants of the wild lands generally migrate in a south-north direction. We hope that through future years of study by dedicated naturalists, more will be learned about these most unusual creatures.

Sarah – Being totally dependent on myself and all alone in the woods was amazing. I know I can do it now!

And that, my dear friends and family, is when I close my eyes and can tell you that we are happy, healthy and loving this life. And I don’t need to say another word. . . because, after all, we’ve made it to the Kingdom now. . . . only thirty miles to go. So long everybody and take excellent care of yourself and each other.

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