Dear Friends and Family,
I write home to you, telling you we have made these woods our home. In the whispering wake of dawn, we skirt effortlessly in the midst of the forest, telling the trees our tale.
Where the wind whispers I find home.
Where the waves collide with land I find safety.
Where the stars burn brightest, my heart aches to be.
Ever slipping through the woodland, like the shadows of the night,
I find my home in a fresh wake, never touched by my eyes before.
The road is my companion and its shifting hills my home.
Ever changing is my home.
Ever growing is my home.
Never shall I return home, always I shall go home.
These past two weeks we traveled towards, over and among the Green Mountains. We set out by foot from our notch in Marlow and soon descended into the Connecticut River Valley. On day three we crossed the Connecticut River and began our trip up to the spine of the Green Mountains. We stayed along snowmobile trails for the most part, slowly gaining the strength and skills to travel farther distances each day. By day eight we reached the Catamount Trail upon which we will ski most of the way to Canada. On day nine we turned in our waterlogged boots for our skis, and Chris Knapp switched in for Misha. We broke camp that day with a fresh load of food, a new smiling face, and our skis wobbling beneath our feet.
A typical day on the trail consists of Yarrow and the daily cooks rising at five a.m. Yarrow must light the fire early so it’s warm for cooking. The rest of us wake after five to a cozy warm tent. We begin packing up our sleeping bags and getting our gear out of the tent and into our packs. Before breakfast we find ten minutes for quiet contemplation as we watch the day dawn. Then Anne orchestrates hand-washing and we funnel into the tent for a hot breakfast that feeds us and warms our blood. Before we put on our ski boots, Melody helps us attend to medical issues like blisters, cuts bruises. We then grab our snack bags and enter the whirlwind of nomadic activity. The stove must be dismantled and the coals emptied into the snow. Once the stove is out of the way, everyone starts untying the tent, folding it up and packing it away. into Scott’s backpack. Lastly, we spread clumps of boughs around the woods making small burrows for the snowshoe hares.
We travel for most of the day. In mid- to late afternoon we search for a suitable campsite along a river or beaver marsh. When looking for a campsite, we take into account shelter from the north, flatness of the site, amount of boughs and firewood in the area, and closeness to water. Once we locate a good site, we must quickly and efficiently set up camp before nightfall. We chop poles to hold up the tent, cooks start cooking on an outside fire, firewood is collected and chopped, and the stove is set up. Yarrow has taught Eliot the careful steps of assembling the stove. Eliot passed his knowledge on to Anna. Anna and Eliot have been setting the stove up, and will soon be ready to teach others. Once the tent is up, people begin laying down fir and spruce boughs on the snow inside. From outside you can hear laughter and merry singing as people lay a thick layer of branches to keep us warm that night. After everything is prepared, we pull off our wet socks and envelope our sore feet in warm mukluks. We bring our wet boots and socks inside for drying. We lay out the sleeping pads and are finally able to sit down for dinner. Our bowls are filled with a hot meal and seconds are always cherished. When everyone has eaten, we have an evening discussion and divide up chores for the following day. Below is a typical night in the tent, as described by Anne:
“Ari is vigorously licking our serving soup spoon which is caked in cheddar from our white potato and sweet potato butter soup. Elliot is singing a Tom Lehrer song to himself with his headlamp illuminating his nose. Erica and Martin are sorting biscuits into bags, Paul is washing spoons, and Yarrow is passed out at my side, mukluks crossed, head almost out the tent.” When we finally crawl into our sleeping bags, we can hardly imagine something more wonderful than sleep, and our heads are filled with the wonders the woods brought us that day. We stoke the fire one last time. We sit in our bags and listen as Chris reads us The Education of Little Tree. Then our heads hit the boughs and we are out like lights.
Occasionally we have a “liveover day” when we set up a camp and stay there the whole next day. This gives us time to wash our clothes, sharpen tools, and catch up on journaling assignments. Kendra helps with sewing advice and Oliver assists with gear repairs.
On days when we set an early camp, we have time for learning. Chris has started teaching us ways of identifying trees and about the many uses they have. We now fill our cuts with fir pitch, which prevents infection and helps speed the healing process. We also enjoy spruce, hemlock, and yellow birch tea frequently. “Everyone has learned to appreciate the wonders of spruce gum, and a few of us are keeping careful eyes open for more. It is amazing stuff to chew on for long periods of time” (Oliver). We learned to quickly and efficiently start a fire in the snow with the resources at hand. One day we all set out for an hour-long solo. We lit our own fires and kept them going while we roasted bread on a stick. “I never thought that flour, butter, and salt could taste so good,” said Martin, after eating his warm bread from the fire. We have also learned to travel safely on ice using our eyes, ears, and a stout stick to evaluate its strength.
After the rigors of trail life, we were all ready for this layover at Farm and Wilderness. As I sit here and write, the people around me are hurriedly repairing gear and organizing their big job work. Mistral is in the kitchen whipping up gourmet treats. We spent the night filling our bellies with apple roasted pork, cabbage salad, fluffy biscuits with salty butter melting in streams between their pores, roasted squash and potatoes seasoned with thyme, and thick chocolate cake with caramel layers and apricot frosting, generously brought by Martin’s parents. Martin has been editing and uploading all the photos he’s taken along our journey. Scott and Ari are planning the second leg of our journey. Anna is organizing our stay here and repairing our tents, and Erica is beginning to get the food for our second leg in order. 
So we’ve made it this far. Our hope has only grown stronger as has our will. Who knows what drives the fire in each of us on this journey? But together the power comes from each other. As one, the miles seem less, the mountains not as steep, and the river not so wide when we realize there is, and always will be a strong hand there. “After a long day of travel, we’re home together.” (Melody)
Yours truly,
Iyla Theresa
Martin
