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| Expedition preparation with Misha |
Our knives are named, our stuff sacks are all sewn and our mitten shells are completed as we keep preparing for the winter expedition. Almost every day now, we have expedition preparation with Misha. Today we received our compasses and laid out all the 30+ maps on the yurt’s floor. We found our route north through the Green Mountains of Vermont. Misha and head navigator Julian gave us a navigation/map reading class and told us of the terrain we will face on the trail.
After being taught yogurt making by Emily, we tried our own yogurt. It was delicious, but watery. We think it was too warm during its incubation period, the eight hours in which yogurt has to sit, undisturbed, at about 46°C.
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| Another veggie dehydration party |
Our trail food manager Rosa has been on a roll with drying sourdough biscuits, vegetables and jerky. We have spent many nights crying around the table of the big yurt while cutting a sack of onions to dry. We have been experimenting with all kinds of sourdough: from dry biscuits for the trail to pizza, pancakes and brownies.
The weather has been fine up here in Marlow, blessing us with a very snowy winter. Only yesterday the weather angels went astray and sent us a wave of sleet, covering all the snow with a layer of ice. From experience I can tell you that there is almost no way of slowing down or turning while skiing downhill on ice. We hope that the upcoming snow will cover the ice before we go on expedition on February 1st.
With the weather came a wave of illness, which has been sweeping through Kroka village, leaving students and teachers left and right with nasal congestion and coughing. Many theories have arisen about how we all became sick: some say it’s the cold (though it’s been heating up here lately) and some, like myself, say it’s because we’re not outside enough.
Tomorrow we will be going to Granite Gorge for downhill skiing, with a lift ticket! We are all very excited for this opportunity to practice our snowplows and tele-turns, in addition to adding variety to our routine of sewing and skiing.
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| Mathilde Vikene from Norway |
After being taught about the properties of Egyptian cotton, a strong, tightly woven fabric, we will be going to Conway for 3 days to sew the tent with master sewers from Tentsmiths company, who make traditional tents which are often seen in movies.
That is all for this week. The next update should come right before parent weekend!
-Nimrod
The Poet’s Yurt
Silent needles knit
The fabric of my sanity,
Weaving calm consciousness
Into the cluttered rush of my mind.
Time fades with each stitch,
For each row a moment in my life.
The finished work will tell a story,
Not of fame and glory, no
Of inner growth and letting things go
And so I’ve found knitting lets your mind flow,
In a special way.
A kind of meditation
Like a monk in a crazy creek.
-Zane Reid
Quote of the Trail: "Perseverance, secret to all triumphs" -Victor Hugo
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| Rosa conquering the big hill |
"The people I love the best can’t fit into a stereotype, or even necessarily, a generic sneaker size. The people I love the best are entirely their own, present in whatever form they represent. The people I love best are forever honest, to themselves and to others. The people I love the best, love themselves, their own skin, their own bones and soul. The people I love the best, get so much love and hard work from me, for I love their rhythms, uniquely radiant. For, the people I love the best are the people whom I love the best."
-Chloe Walier
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| Tobias |
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| Tim drilling holes in our skis |
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| Serene and Julian |
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