“We spent a few days at Kroka at the beginning and end of the trip. The expedition was in the middle of it. We were out for four days and three nights during the expedition. During that time, on the last night, we had a solo. All of the chaperones left and it was just us. We made dinner, made camp and walked back to Kroka. It was a beautiful night; it was misty and there was frost on the marsh.”
“Every morning we would get up, work together to get our campsite packed up and make our breakfast. We really worked as a team to get everything ready and organized for the day of hiking. Then we would just hike for a while and usually had to stop and have lunch and explore the area we were in. We’d continue hiking until evening, when we would set up the camp again. We always had downtime at the end of the day. The best thing was stargazing. There were no lights from houses or buildings. The stars were more clear to see.”
“It was the same campsite location where we had spent our winter camping trip. It was great to see the same place in a different season. I saw four shooting stars one night.”
“At first I was behind with a gigantic backpack; I couldn’t stand up straight, and I would lean forward and almost fall over. After I took off my backpack and took a little rest, I found that I could keep going. I definitely needed the breaks that we took. I was surprised that it wasn’t that challenging for me. I was worried about that. I was definitely pleasantly surprised by how I kept up. I expected myself to be far behind the group but I ended up being one of the leaders.”
“The fourth day we were out, when we got to our campsite, the leaders of the group and teachers left so it was just our class. We had to figure out how to work together without any supervisors and figure out what we needed to get done on our own, which was pretty cool. It was really fun too because there was a lot of work, pushing through, but there were also moments where we’d sing or we’d see really cool things like a porcupine – things that made the trip more than just backpacking.”
“We saw a porcupine – it was super cute. I enjoyed it. I really liked being outside, being in the fresh air, and being in a new place with my class and seeing the other side of people. I liked looking around and hearing all the different sounds like the leaves and the water. We had to cross over some rivers and the flooding sound with the water, I love that sound. People were laughing a lot so that was nice.”
“I remember the last day when we were hiking back to the Kroka base camp. We walked out of the woods and started cheering really loud. It was the feeling that the trip was finally over and our guides welcomed us back. That night we went to this pizza place and we made some pizza and had time as a group to just talk and hang out, which was really nice, without having to worry about setting up camp and all of that. The rest of the time was mostly working on the farm.”
“I feel like there were a lot of learning experiences. I found that it was really nice to have specific jobs. I was setting up tents with Lucie and it was really nice to be in charge of something and not have to find something to do. You knew what your job was, which was really helpful, so it was structured in a way.”
“I really liked getting to know the Kroka guides. They were super awesome. They made the trip so much better. I had some really good conversations with them. I was the very last person, 200 feet back. I just talked to them about my life and they were really interested in it. Maria was also such a big help – it was super nice to have her there. I feel like she helped us bring our class together.”
“We definitely, as a class, changed. There were definitely some rough patches but after resolving everything it brought us closer and we understand each other a lot better.”
“I think it’s good that we were facing a lot of challenges because now we can communicate and work through them.”
“Before the trip, I hadn’t felt like myself. I think being outside and being with the people I have a close connection with really helped. Something clicked and I felt like I found myself again by the end of the trip.”
