For students who are interested in adventure sports training and practicing Kroka’s lifestyle in the middle of a busy vacation destination. Join us for an extraordinary week of adventure sports, sun and sand at the amazing ocean of Cape Cod. This trip is a must! In partnership with our friend, Eric Gustafson of Fun-Seekers, we will surf on surfboards and kayaks, windsurf when the winds allow, and swim and paddle in the bay. Camping in the forest of the Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary we will mountain bike on single tracks to our daily destinations. Proven to be a fantastic experience, this trip is an awesome way to start your summer.
Experience the thrill of adventure and wilderness while creating a close circle of new friends. This program is designed as an introduction to Kroka and will cover the basics of our curriculum: navigation, backpacking, canoeing, camp craft, and rock climbing. After two days of "Kroka 101" training at our base camp, we will depart for our journey by foot and paddle, experiencing the beauty of the wilderness as we swim, craft, and spend evenings by the campfire. This program is designed as a bridge for students who are new to Kroka's expedition lifestyle, and participants will be able to enter any intermediate Kroka program with competence and confidence.
The White Mountains are famous for their dramatic rocky summits and steep valleys, and boast the highest peaks in the northeast. This exciting multi-sport adventure connects many hidden gems of the Whites and introduces students to all of Kroka’s core adventure sports. We begin at Kroka Village preparing food and equipment for our extended expedition. Setting off on foot, we follow the Appalachian Trail up and over Mount Moosilauke (elevation 4,802) and down to a network of old logging roads perfect for practicing map and compass navigation. Switching from backpacks to mountain bikes, we travel for three days along stunning singletrack bike trails to the headwaters of the Pemigewasset River. Here we find canoes awaiting ready for a paddle down the swiftly-flowing river that takes us to the foot of one of the most famous rock climbing crags in New England. Along the way we will be rewarded with breathtaking views, practice low impact camping, and study geography, geology and ecology of the Eastern Alpine.
For students with interest in self-propelled exploration off the beaten track. This mountain bike expedition will follow a maze of hidden trails to epic adventures known by few and discovered by Kroka guides over years of exploration. We will begin by a series of training rides and bike mechanics classes, tuning our bodies and our equipment. We will work on the farm preparing food for the expedition. When ready we will leave Kroka village by way of bike, riding trails down to the Connecticut River Valley and up through the Green Mountains. Along the way we will pick berries, jump in refreshing swimming holes, take showers in spectacular waterfalls, taste local ice cream and climb cliff faces set deep in the mountains. Sometimes we will camp in the wilderness and other times we will be hosted by friends of Kroka at the farms and homesteads scattered along the trail. Navigating with map and compass we will thread the way to our final destination; a mysterious cave on the other side of the mountains!
You cup it gently in your palm, the most powerful force on Earth, the source of life. This miniature sun spun to life with wood gathered from the forest has been enlivened from your gentle breath to become fire. During this adventure we will learn to make fire as was done in ancient ways with friction and flint and steel. As we travel the forest, we will learn to carry the fire with us, and to bring it to life in the wet and rain. Coals from the fire will burn the branches that become our spoons. As we deepen our relationship to this sacred element, we will learn to make, tend, use, celebrate, and care for it. We will come to know Fire as a sacred part of our lives. More than this, traveling through the wilderness will teach us to connect with the living Earth, be it gathering wild edibles or building an overnight shelter. We must all come prepared to carry an overnight backpack through the mountains, leaving modern conveniences behind, and proudly carry our inner flame of community.