INTRODUCTION TO WHITE WATER I: – A RIVER JOURNEY Teachers: Thomas Dammer and Kroka’s Advanced Paddlers 7 days, Moderate Skill level: Beginner Ages 11 – 13, June 22 – 28 Adventuresome students are invited to join this fun-filled kayaking, canoeing and rapid swimming week! After learning basic paddling techniques on the Ashuelot River we will begin a 4-day river expedition. Each day, students will have a chance to paddle kayaks and tandem and solo canoes. Students will learn to read the river’s current, catch eddies, and ferry across the water. Time will be given to white water safety and swimming in fast moving waters. In the afternoons, we will set our camp in the woods or on sandbars. After gathering fire wood and doing camp work, there will be time for play and discovery. Days will end with crafts, a campfire meal, a story and songs rhythmically in tune with the moving water of the river.

INTRODUCTION TO WHITE WATER II: – SKILL DEVELOPMENT Teachers: Misha Golfman and Kroka Advanced Paddlers 7 days, Moderate Skill level: Beginners with interest in paddling and graduates of previous paddling programs Ages 11- 13, July 6 – 12 This is a sequel to the first week of Introduction to White Water I. It can also be taken independently. Here is a unique opportunity to learn one-on-one from experienced Kroka paddlers. The ongoing members of Paddlers Journey Up North, under the guidance of Kroka teachers, will lead students in discovering the exciting secrets of white water. Most of our week will be spent at the Deerfield River in Western Massachusetts. We will camp in the woods by a clear mountain stream and hike down to the river each day to practice kayaking, tandem and solo canoeing, surfing, rolling, river reading and white water swimming techniques. Working cooperatively with more experienced paddlers will allow students to learn the skills necessary for safe passage in Class II white water and for those who are ready, some Class III paddling, toward the end of the week. PADDLERS JOURNEY UP NORTH is recommended as the next step in the white water progression. Back to top

ADVENTURES OF A BIKE FARMER Teacher: Chris Knapp 7 days, Easy - Moderate Skill level: Beginner - Intermediate Ages: 11 - 13, July 6 – 12 Have you ever eaten a whole meal that came right from the ground where you picked it, or just a short bicycle ride away? If you like biking, eating good food, baking bread before sunrise in a giant wood oven, harvesting a field of vegetables, or trying to milk a cow, then this trip is for you! Leaving Kroka, we will bike from farm to farm on small roads and forest trails through the beautiful countryside. We will help farmers and earn our daily food through work with our hands. Along the way we will swim in lakes and streams and make camps in the wilderness. Our days also will be full of great fun and some work with crafts. Our journey will take us from our home in the upland plateau down to the Connecticut River Valley and across to visit our old farmer friends in Vermont. We will be traveling four to eight easy miles per day. This trip is appropriate for beginners. Note: Students need to bring their own bikes. (Bikes may also be rented from a local bike shop.) Back to top

WILD CRAFTS FOR BOYS: A WEEK OF BOW HUNTING AND FISHING IN BEAVER COUNTRY Teachers: Michael Kohout, Tom Rosenberg 7 days, Easy Skill level: Beginner Ages 11 – 13 Session I: June 29 – July 5 Session II: July 20 - 26 The week will begin by settling into our traditional dwellings made with poles and sod (dug up grass) on the edge of the forest and learning the use of tools. The next day we will start maing long bows, arrows and fishing gear. Once the gear is ready, we will paddle birch bark canoes through the chain of beaver ponds searching for trout, wild edibles and stumps to practice our achery. We will study animal tracks and signs, wildlife habitat and the enchanted life of the forest. There will be lots of fire starting, woodcarving, and explorations and hikes through the wild forest and field. And, of course, there will be forest games, swimming, and even a day of rock climbing. Everyone will return home with their own bow and arrows and in addition, a great respect for all living things. Back to top

INTRODUCTION TO ROCK CLIMBING Teacher: Mathias Dammer 7 days, Moderate Skill level: Beginner Ages 11 – 13, July 13-19 This adventure for beginner climbers will take students on a rock climbing expedition to spectacular cliffs hidden deep in the forest. The first few days will be spent living at Kroka Village forming our community, making moccasins, working in the garden, learning knots and a multitude of climbing and living skills. Once the group is ready we will travel to the climbing site. We will create our own wilderness base camp and everyone will get busy “ learning the ropes”; belaying, rope handling, safety and climbing and rappelling techniques. In the afternoons we will hike down to the river or the waterfall for swimming, while gathering berries on the way. Our days will end joyously with campfire stories and songs. Back to top

WILDERNESS ADVENTURES FOR GIRLS Teacher: Johanna Gardner 7 days, Easy-Moderate Skill level: Beginner Ages 11-13, August 10-16 Attention Girls! Do you like swimming, climbing trees, taking mud baths and exploring the forest? Do you like to spend time with other feisty, fun and adventurous girls? Join us as we venture into the outdoors together, paddling across a remote lake to a magical, hidden cove, where we will create a wilderness home. There we will begin our mornings by rolling out of our tents to the call of the loons and mists on the water. Days are filled with fun activities, such as exploring the lakeshore, making crafts, tracking our animal friends through the woods, and building fairy houses in the forest. Of course, there will always be time for swimming, singing, and play, as we follow the rhythm of the days. In the evening, we will settle down for stories and songs, before drifting into sleep to the lapping of the waves. Our program will end with a special day of rock climbing. Back to top

THE LOST TRIBE OF THE ASHUELOT Teacher: Tom Rosenberg 7 days, Moderate Skill level: Beginner to Intermediate Ages 11-13, August 3 – 9 Walking silently, The Lost Tribe of Ashuelot follows a secret path through the woods to their hidden camp. Walking along the Moose Path that skirts the Porcupine Cliffs they reach their home of canvas and boughs gently placed beside a talking waterfall. Welcome to an exciting week of living in Nature! We will venture by foot into a deep forest and begin by setting up our shelter. You will see how to start a fire without matches and how to find things to eat in the forest. We will make useful crafts, practice archery and knife skills, canoe across beaver ponds and scale up vertical cliffs. We will learn to walk silently through the forest. Our eyes will get accustomed to the dark and our ears will open to the sounds of the wilderness. Our hearts will open to the community of plants, animals and each other. We will sing, drum, chant and tell ancient stories. There is so much to learn from the “beings of the forest” and much to bring back to our “community of the world.” Back to top

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Everything about the trip was unique and in the realm of the mystical: the values, the materials, the community, the philosophy was inspirational and something that goes to the heart of the person and stays inside them forever. – As heard by a parent from a student.

She was glowing when she returned; it was like some inner light in her had been nurtured and brought into being. She was quite different for a week or so – more focused, confident, serene.