MIXED AGE PROGRAMS

Teachers: Mathias Dammer and Nicole Marchan
14 days, Moderate
Skill level: Intermediate- Advanced
Ages 12-15, June 21-July 4

For brave souls who dare to meet the gnomes, trolls and challenges of the underground and vertical worlds!

This program will combine rock climbing with underground climbing and exploration.
The first half of the program will focus on above ground rock climbing and rope skills. We will learn belaying techniques, body movement and knot tying. There are many wonderful cliffs hidden in the forest around our camp and every day we will climb, swim, see new places and enjoy base camp life. At last the time will come to pack our food and gear for our caving adventure! We will set our camp in the Western Green Mountains. A day of farming at Someday Farm in Dorset, Vermont will provide us with our own harvested vegetables and eggs before we venture underground. Each caving day we will explore new caverns, going deeper into the underground world, as we gain experience in caving. We’ll scurry through tunnels, wade through underground streams and witness beautiful rock formations that have been forming for thousands and thousands of years. Corkscrews, sump holes, sinks, slots and siphons will become familiar terms. After swimming and washing off the cave mud in a mountain river or a waterfall, we will spend our afternoons at camp learning how to start a fire using the bow-drill, making baskets with bark and roots, gathering wild edibles, and living joyously and simply in the forest. We will end our days with campfire stories and songs.

Teachers: Ken Gagnon and Misha Golfman
14 days, Moderate-Strenuous
Skill level: Beginner to Advanced
Ages 13 and up, August 9-22

With thanks and gratitude, the final swing of an axe and a thump, the tree falls. It is limbed and cut into log length and then brought over to the sawmill with Brita, our work horse. Here the tree is milled into posts and beams which are then joined together with mortise and tenon. The stack of timbers grows each day. Finally, one day, there is the excitement of a barn raising party and at the end of that day a stately timber frame outlines the shape of the carriage barn. Students with a curiosity for traditional woodworking are invited to join our very first Timber Framing Program. The process of raising Kroka’s carriage barn has been carefully divided into several sections. Working together, the team will focus on one complete section of the barn. We will be using traditional hand tools: chisel, mallet, axe, cross cut saw, brace and plane. In the afternoons, when our hands have grown tired, we will bike to a nearby lake to jump off cliffs into the refreshing water. We may explore waterfalls or go canoeing or rock climbing. Hiking a local mountain, we will be rewarded with sweeping views and a snack of wild blueberries. Life at Kroka camp presents many opportunities for farm and garden work as well as observing wildlife by the side of a beautiful beaver pond. One day we may take a break from building altogether and go white water rafting or climb a big mountain. Combining Ken’s and Misha’s expertise in woodworking and adventure this program promises to be a special experience and an opportunity for students to be part of Kroka’s history!

Teachers: Thomas Dammer, Misha Golfman, and Kroka junior white water staff
14 days, Moderate-Strenuous
Skill level: For students who have completed Intro to White Water or Paddlers Up North programs or have other previous white water experience.
Ages: 12-18, July 19-August 1

We are so excited to return to our traditional training grounds with a new generation of paddlers!
Our first few days will be spent at Kroka Village packing, reviewing basics and making a piece of white water gear (in the past students have made helmets, paddles, life jackets and rescue ropes).
When ready, we will move our camp to the Androscoggin River in Northern New Hampshire and spend several days at Errol Rapids (Class II). Here students will work in small groups practicing tandem and solo canoeing, kayaking and white water swimming. More experienced students will take day trips to the nearby Magalloway River and Pontooks Rapids (Class III). At the end of our Androscoggin experience, we will take a day to visit our friends at Mahoosuc Guide Service for a service project on their sled dog farm. On route there, we will slide down some amazing, natural water slides.
The next day we will paddle across the spectacular Lake Umbagog into Maine to the mouth of the Rapid River and establish a bush camp. Surrounded by the quiet wilderness of the northern forest the Rapid River has beautiful white water to offer for all experience levels (Class II-IV). We will spend our last several days paddling, fishing and playing at Smooth Ledge—our favorite surf spot. Our ride home will incorporate a stop at the infamous pink ice cream shack!

Introduction Kroka Camp Offerings All Programs at a Glance Day Programs for Ages 6-11 Programs for Ages 9-11 Programs for Ages 11-14 Programs for Ages 14-18 Mixed Age Programs White Water and     Ocean Paddling School Rock Climbing and     Caving School Wilderness Living School Programs for Girls Programs for Boys General Information About Kroka’s Teachers Barter Guildelines 2009 Summer     Tuition Worksheet (PDF) Register Now!

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