Join our mailing list:

Vermont Semester Program Journal 6 June 31 May 29 April 24 April 1 April 24 March 10 March 27 February 15 February 2 February 26 January 18 January 16 January 2004 Semester Program Photos Semester Program Sponsors

Vermont Semester
A 600 Mile Journey By Ski and Canoe (January-June 2004)

27 February, 2004

This update is an interpretation by Jane Larsen of what the second section of the trail was like. When you read this, keep in mind that it is an interpretaion of how I felt and it is my personal feelings. Other members of the group did not have the same experiences or the same feelings, nessecarily. For example, because I am not as accomplished a skier as some of the other members of the group, I mention falling quite a lot. Other members of the group did not fall as much and so had a different feeling about this leg of the trail.

Meeting Mathias, a new instructor
A crazy rush of cleaning
Piled into a truck of gear
Dropped off after a quick ride
That took hours of walking
Short day out on the skis

Strapped on the orienteering table
Bushes snap across my face
Narrowly missing trees
Frightenly steep downhill
Working towards Moses Pond
Food is reorganized to keep us happy

Formations on the down hills
Spectacular wipeouts
Wonderful flying on packed snowmobile trails
Terrifying buzzers scare us all
A miss too close to be safe
Bushwhacking following snowboard trails
Powdered crust doesn't slow us down
Roadwalk on hard ground
Down a sugar bush hill to a face full of snow

Layover day
The quincy a dug out pile of snow
Projects to be done
Needles lost among the boughs

Up hills that never end
'Till a ski hill where some fly down
And some watch and rest
A backflip with skis at the end of the day
Causes pain for one girl
Laying the floor and setting up home
A warm place for the night

Began going up and up
Followed by a steep down
Tried a train at the top of the hill
Piled up in a massive mess
Wonderful flying downhill that blew away all worries
Stream at the end of the day
A camp with water much faster for food
Boughs are far and I'm called back

An all day traverse
Up and down over and over
Finally one huge hill at the height of the land
Everything comes clear on the map
And we fly down, making bets on who would fall

Layover of cleaning ourselves and our clothes
Cutting wood all morning
Very warm especially while working
Through the wood to the chopping block
The wood splits perfectly
Reading from The Alchemist
Discussing ways to understand it

Spent the morning working on downhills
Headed back to camp wet and happy
Work on coal burning a spoon
Then the rest of the group returns
And our guests come to camp
Chris and Ashirah Knapp, our spring instructors
And Mirone, Misha's son, full of boundless energy
The night is spent on stories of earlier in the trip

Cooked all day with breaks for work Worked on snares with Chris and Ashirah Sewed at the end of the day Listened to stories that Chris and Ashirah told about themselves

The morning is spent on skinning a hare
Taught how to deal with everything
My first emotion is that of anger and tears
Then it turned to wonder as I watch the process
We move across the Chittenden Reservoir
Cold wind from the west
To ski trails groomed and neat
Camp is set on an old beaver pond

Spent a good part of the day talking to Ashirah
A girls talk of what's going on
Up hills over a switch back
See a yurt in a field
Apple trees grow by the trail
Eyes look at beaver swamps
Watching for tracks and forest changes
Out under the stars I sleep

Early wake up in morning dark
Sweep the camp out
Moving towards our destination
Groomed trails move us closer
Found our place to stay
Settled in and relaxed
Dinner in a group
A smaller group a bit lonesome
Sleeping in a warm dry place