Thirteen students and four staff of Kroka’s Full Circle Semester reached Mad River Valley last week on backcountry skis. Taking advantage of steady winter conditions, the group of 16- to 21-year-olds covered 200 miles in 30 days of skiing and camping along the Catamount Trail, leaving in early February from Kroka’s base in Marlow, New Hampshire, and arriving in The Valley on March 11.
The Full Circle Semester is a high school and college wilderness travel and cultural study program. Students receive college credit while traveling 500 miles by ski, bike, and canoe. The expedition takes the group from southern New Hampshire to the Northeast Kingdom, via the Catamount Trail, then all the way down Lake Champlain and Hudson River to New York City and back to their starting point by bike. Their studies are focused on community and sustainability.
In The Valley, the group was hosted by Lynne Boudreau and Misha Golfman, founders of Kroka, who now reside in Waitsfield. The residents of 1174 Rolston Road, where Lynne and Misha live, shared their space with the students. While in The Valley, the group met with a panel of nonprofit and municipal managers from MRVPD, Friends of the Mad River, and Mad River Path.
They visited the Mad River Welcome Center with the Chamber of Commerce executive director, Eric Freidman, and got a tour of a planned residential development, Waitsfield-10 with Mac Rood.
They stacked four cords of wood at Lareau Farm and Forest and met with American Flatbread founder George Schenk, while enjoying a lunch of flatbread. Finally, the group took part in a two-day Yestermorrow course and built three picnic tables. Two of the tables were donated to the Mad River Rec Hub.
While in The Valley, the students reported being impressed with the many community initiatives that make The Valley special. The group continued north on the Catamount Trail, starting at the trailhead at Battleground Condominiums on Friday, March 14.
The last 10 days of challenging skiing to Stannard through the fast-changing spring conditions are ahead of them.
The Full Circle Semester is a fully accredited, tuition-free program, open to high school and college students ages 16 to 21. To learn more and apply, visit https://kroka.org/programs/semester-school/winter-semester/
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