Blog #10: The End

Arriving back to Kroka Base Camp felt like coming back from Mars. We left four months ago and we were stunned by its new springtime beauty; the cows were grazing, baby chicks had arrived, and the pond was no longer frozen.

We got right back into the swing of Base Camp life with our final service projects in small groups: Expedition, Farm, Logging, Woodworking, and Trails/Camps.

Grace, Emma, and Andrus were on the Expedition crew and they set off early Monday morning with a truckload of canoes and our group stories. For the week of service they would take a school group on a journey down the Battenkill River. On the second day they split into two groups, boys and girls, and the boys met their first rapid with 5 of the 8 canoes capsizing, sending a plethora of gear into the fast-moving water. Luckily for them, the girls group had come down the rapids the previous day and were able to help retrieve floating items at the bottom of the rapid. By the end of the voyage Grace, Emma and Andrus had learned how to hold a group of young students on expedition, and when we greeted them at the end of the week there was a new spark in their eyes.

The Farm Crew spent the week learning the ropes and maintaining the systems of the Kroka farm. Simone, River, and Zaboski gained a lot of respect for the capabilities of Lynne and Ice, Kroka’s two farmers, as they learned how to balance the schedule of the animals' needs with planting times, and on top of that processing the daily dairy into kefir, yogurt, and cheese. It was exhausting and incredibly gratifying. Even after the week of service was over these students continued to seek and find ways to assist on the farm whenever they got the chance.

The Logging Project consisted of Bobby and Rosa, under the tutelage of Peter Renzelman, a lifelong woodsman. They went into the Kroka woods, clearing trails and felling trees that would later be used in the renovation of Kroka's farmhouse. Throughout the whole week semester students would take an hour at the end of the day to haul enormous logs out of the forest and into the trailhead parking lot where they were sawn into flooring, and stacked. Each tree could weigh upwards of 175 pounds. By the end of the week all the trees that had been felled were taken out and the trails made had been marked so that future semester students can use the space for new projects.

The woodworking crew spent their week working with Hugh, a long-time Kroka staff member, to make a kiosk at the trailhead parking. Fynn and Wahanik learned how to design a beautiful structure, prepare materials, and bring plan into reality. The time and effort that they put into their work was noticed by all who watched as the kiosk was constructed bit by bit. At the end of the week the shavings were swept away and maps were placed behind the plexiglass, leaving a beautiful finished product.

The last crew was the Trails and Camps crew that consisted of Sophia and Callie. With Misha as their mentor they not only learned how to clear trails and set up an A-frame, but they got to experience a glimpse of what being the director of Kroka entails. These two were also tasked with putting new systems in place, taking people on tours, and assisting other projects when needed. It was a lot of work but by the end of the week, among much else, they had created a new summer programs campsite at Kroka, named Camp Moondog.

Our last week at Base Camp was jam packed, but we still took time for our community to come together and give final full disclosure from the duration of the semester, helping us come to a place of closure, at least in this context. Though it was difficult it was deeply moving work that needed to be done.
We also celebrated the 25th anniversary of Kroka. The evening was beautiful. As students we helped valet, serve hors d'oeuvres, and bus dishes. Then later in the evening we performed our skit for the audience and Misha gave a talk on the capital campaign. At the end of the evening we danced and laughed and enjoyed some of our final hours on semester.
Graduation day arrived soon after and took us by surprise. How had it all gone by so fast? 147 days together and soon we would go our own ways just like that. To commemorate the day we decided to gather in the big yurt one last time and appreciate the last few months we had spent together. Soon after we had our last performance in the boathouse for families- some of whom we hadn't seen since January at the beginning of the program. It was an emotional moment for all of us. At the end of the performance Emma and Rosa finished their skit by turning around and acknowledging the rest of us for the impact we’ve all had on each other.
This experience has been like no other. We have traveled to places very few people will ever know, but also experienced overwhelming population density. We’d lived on skis for 25 days straight and in canoes for 37. We’d traveled 25 kilometers in a day by ski, 42 miles in a day by boat, and 47 in a day by bike- through Manhattan!. Through all of these feats we grounded each other and stood together as a community. Going back to the world we knew before will be a difficult expedition in itself because we will once again have to be just ourselves, no longer 1 of 12 in an efficiently working team powered by love, respect and altruistic will.
To my semester mates who can now read the blog from their own various journeys: Thank you, you all hold a piece of my heart that will live inside me wherever I go. I am so proud of you all and the ways in which you've evolved since the beginning of semester. I cannot wait to see where you go and who you all become. I love you.

Goodbye readers of 2019 Arctic to Manhattan blog

and once again thank you for reading,

-Zaboski