It’s the
last leg of expedition and we have entered the realm of society. Society is a
wakeup call, a reminder of what lies ahead of us. Biking has been our
transition leg, and we are grateful for it. Though there is anticipation of
returning from the woods, it was an adventure to see the external world once
again.
I wish you could see the sunrise, sleepy one—
While you rest it crests through mountain haze
And rises into the blue sky.
I want you, slumbering soul,
To smell the brisk morning air;
It waits to invigorate your being to welcome you to today.
~Sebi Crocetti
Our views of travel have been transformed: the fierce bite
of skiing, the rhythmic moving of hiking, the soft breezes of paddling, the
blaring sun of rowing, and now the screaming wind of biking. It is as if we
have attached wings and flown all the way home.
I can’t stop smiling:
As I speed downhill,
The wind in my face,
I realize that my cheeks ache from grinning so widely.
On flat stretches as we fly by with such ease,
I smile and imagine
how long these distances took us on foot months ago.
Even on uphills I smile,
At the determination within me to reach the top,
And at the satisfaction of getting there.
~Kendal Pittman
We have
spent the past thirteen days biking home. Though we could have made it in a
much shorter amount of time, we took the scenic route filled with adventures
along the way. On our second day of travel we stopped and took off our gear to
explore our first single track! The ride was a jungle of spring; green leaves
and grass surrounded us as rivulets streamed down from above and the sun beat
down on our backs. This was our first time on trails together, exploring the
world on our glorious bikes. There were definitely a lot of adjustments to be
made and lessons to be learned:
Example of a Daily
Log:
19-mile bike ride
today, plus an additional 6-mile single track. There was 4 miles of steep
uphill. Going down the mountain was very fun and got us quickly to the single
track. We then unloaded our bikes and went on single track. Afterwards we went
to Dorset town and got lunch from the general store. They were very generous
and gave us a free water gallon and let us full our water bottles up in the
sink. Tanner popped a tire so some of us stayed behind while it were fixed. We
had to replace it cause the patches were taking to long. The general store gave
us Clementines! We bike 7 more miles to Someday Farms and had a tour/intro.
They gave us 96 eggs! They are delicious.
~Adam Mekki
5 Tips for Beginner Mountain Bikers
1.
When
pumping uphill, make sure to balance your weight between front and back to
avoid spinning out of tipping back.
2.
Don’t
just go from point A to point B- find good lines and ride them.
3.
Build
momentum in higher gears before downshifting to climb a hill.
4.
Look
where you are going, not where you are.
5.
Shred
the gnarr!
~Rory Wade
Summer is here! We are the
smelliest we have ever been. After a long while of swimming in the cold river
and lakes to bathe, we have developed a certain stench of the woods: we smell
of wonderful dirt and well-earned sweat.
Throughout the winter and spring one theme
tended to come me, especially at the beginning of a new leg. This theme
manifested itself into the form of this song to the tune of “here comes the
bride”:
“Here comes the stank,
All strong and rank,
There goes the clean,
Never to be seen!”
~Sam Trowbridge
Our smell and the weather have called the bugs to our camps.
Here is a song about the horror of the infinite bugs:
Black flies, the world’s greatest pests
More vicious than all of the rest.
I’m trying to write
Yet I’m plagued by their bite,
So these insects from above I detest
~Caleb Kennedy
Though the bugs are everywhere,
the weather has brought good things too. The warmth is a haven and a newfound
freedom. The days are so long that there are some nights when we are tucked in
our sleeping bags before the last light of day has even said her farewell.
Along with
the changing of the weather we have had a major change in environment as well.
After living in the woods for some time, it has been a definite transition to
come back to the bustling world. We have
stepped back into the flow of things, however, and spent many days talking to
various people and communities and visiting a variety of farms. We suddenly
have access to things we never dreamed of in the winter, the most prominent one
being food. We would go to local co-ops every few days and also got a lot of
fresh food from the farms we visited. There was even a day in Londonderry when
we stumbled on…
The morning is warm and the sun is working
hard to burn his way through the muggy haze. We bike down six miles from our
camp on Mount Tabor to an IGA grocery store in Londonderry. As our food
managers find and buy our food for the next few days, the rest of us lie on the
grass, kick around a soccer ball, and explore the loading docks behind the
store. A cardboard box is found there, full of foods just past their expiration
dates. In this treasure chest are strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, basil,
grapes, and one precious mango. We run into the store and inquire about the
destiny of this box. We are told that it usually goes to pig farmers, but
anyone is welcome to it. Suddenly, our already much-anticipated lunch becomes a
feast.
~Hailey White
The first farm we visited was Someday
Farm, a small organic farm located near Dorset, Vermont. There we did service,
clearing a pasture and mulching a raspberry bed.
Our visit to Someday Farm was a
great experience. We got to learn from Scout, Maria, and Tree about their
passion for the work they do. The food grown at Someday Farm provides healthy,
organic good for their community. At the farm they have three houses where
their various vegetables are grown. They also have two cows and hundreds of
chickens. When we walked up to the chickens they puttered about our feet giving
us questioning looks of, “food?” The farm was an inspiring place to learn about
how we can be so connected to our food.
~Bea Bittenbender
The next
day we headed down on a long descent to go caving. We went in small groups into
the cave, crawling through extremely small tunnels and wet squeezes to where we
met back up in the big cavern. From there, we continued our explorations to the
underground lake, waterfall, other secret passages, and a deep hole called the
corkscrew. We all made it through despite getting stuck at times, and embraced
the sun as we scrambled free.
Into the hole I go
Not exactly in the know
Of what this cave will show.
Down the marble I slide
In the darkness I confide
What is it I must find?
Through the mud I crawl
Why am I so tall?
It helps to be small.
Up a rock I climb
Not thinking of the time
And leaving my search behind.
~Finn Anderson
The next
day we met Roger Haydock, a geologist. He took us for a hike at Mt. Baker and
taught us of the very rocks we were standing on. Soon after hearing about all
the rocks of life, we went rock climbing! We went in pairs to explore the
seemingly infinite climbing possibilities.
Looking up at the rock, it seemed that many
possible handholds and their bouldering potential looked promising. Instead of
gripping rock, however, my hand loosened dirt and moss, which rolled down the
rock and covered me. After multiple attempts in different areas, I had simply
achieved coating the ground in more moss and so I reluctantly moved on to a
less mossy boulder, eager to climb.
~Claudia Danford
The second place we visited was
Fair Winds Farm and Wild Carrot Farm, which share land to run a horsepower
program while growing food. We spent a lot of time talking to Jay and Janet
about their farm and how they function. They live a wonderful lifestyle and
have many stories of how they came to work on a draft-horse farm. Our service
work was planting strawberries and flowers with Caitlin and Jesse. It rained
the whole morning; it was a light, warm sprinkle that made the world smell like
the fresh dirt we were planting in.
At Fair Winds Farm I talked with Jay, a
farmer who works with draft horses. He was interested in working with horses as
a young man because of their low impact on the earth and the general appeal of
working with animals. He taught himself to farm in this way with a pair of old
Amish-tramped horses that knew much more than he did and was very patient with
him when he messed up. Now Jay is a very skilled driver who teaches workshops
on draft horses to others who are inspired to farm in this manner. Despite it
being less profitable and more challenging, they enjoy this method above the
use of tractors.
~Julian Lindholm Fiske
The last
farm we visited was Basin Farms. They are an amazing community that run a farm
together and rely on each other. Throughout the semester we have spent a lot of
time understanding how a balanced community works. Basin Farms was a beautiful
example of how important the people around us and in our lives are.
Every member of a community has
their own specific role. Each individual within the community must take
ownership of his or her role to ensure that the community stays functional and healthy.
~Tanner Bogner
We were truly going
home.
The last full day of riding culminated with
a woods trail full of mosquitos. It had reached about 90 degrees F during the
heat of the day, and had cooled to a bearable ‘sweltering’. We then started climbing
a hill on the trail. This hill might as well have been the ascent from the
River Styx back to the world of the living. The mosquitos waited as ghosts, and
the heat was completely real.
This day was a wonderfully ice
cream-filled last full day of expedition. We said farewell to the simple
pleasures of trail life and prepared for the busy dance of basecamp. The next
day we packed up and headed home.
We were back in this place that we had dreamed of for so long,
This place that was only a whisper of a memory.
But once we arrived the whisper became a loud voice
Belting our memories that flooded back to us.
We remembered how much had been different,
And yet so much was still the same.
We were coming home,
And we were glad to be back.
