Hello Again Flying Clouders!

We are getting pretty close to the summer now. In just a couple weeks all of the summer staff will be arriving at Farm & Wilderness to start getting ready for the arrival of all the campers. It’s an exciting time of year here in the Valley and I wanted to let you know a little bit more about the summer. I have already introduced the Support Staff of 2011 to y’all, and now I am very excited to be announcing the first batch of Lodge Counselors that will be in the clearing this summer.These are the staff members that will be living in the Tipis and the Yomes with the campers. Some of them are returning from 2011, some from summers past, and some of them are brand new to the clearing.

In thinking about how to introduce all these wonderful men, I thought “what would be the best way to give you an insight to who they are?” Everyone gets excited about Flying Cloud for different reasons. Some are more similar than others, but in the end we can all say that we are thrilled to be at Flying Cloud. So here are their voices on why they are excited to be working at Flying Cloud this summer!

After a brief absence from Flying Cloud (Lodge staff in ‘05 and ‘07) Michael “Sunrise Mist” Dyck had the following to say about why he excited to make his return to the clearing:

“Outside of camp, I am a physical therapist, musician, and nature enthusiast. This will be my third summer back at the Cloud, and I am eagerly looking forward to the hiking, exploring, skill practicing, playing, and many more activities that make up our wonderful summers. I am also excited for the community building and the heightened sense of presence that are perennials at Flying Cloud.”

A former camper making his return to Flying Cloud for his first summer on staff is Langston “Night” Epps. I am personally very excited to see Night back at camp after having had the opportunity to work with him as a camper and watching him grow into a wonderful young man. When asked about what he was excited about, Night shared this with me:

“I look forward to being a part of memories that will last a lifetime. That, and setting the boys on the path to discover their own meaning of manhood.”

Changing camps and moving farther up Saltash Mountain, I am excited to introduce Daniel Filstien. A former Saltash Mountain Counselor from 2010, Dan will make a great, experienced addition to the team. Dan shared these sentiments:

“I’m waiting in great anticipation for this summer, my first at FC and second at F&W, where I know we will have an incredible time building a community together based on respect and appreciation for each other and for nature. I am looking forward to getting to know each one of you and sharing many experiences learning and improving our wilderness skills and growing as humans toward personal and collective awareness.  A beautiful summer in the Vermont woods awaits us!”

New to Flying Cloud, but not a stranger to Farm & Wilderness, I would like to welcome Nick Canby to the Flying Cloud family.  Nick shared this:

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to set foot in the pristine wilderness of Vermont and smell that fresh scent of early summer. I’ll be looking forward to really immersing myself in the forest and forgetting all about these pesky computers and phones and technology that we spend so much time with these days. I look forward to really slowing down and getting to know you all this summer, and to seeing how the community develops over our time together. I’m sure I have much to learn from all of you, and I hope we can all come to this experience with open minds and just see where it takes us.”

And for today I will introduce one last Lodge Counselor. Please welcome Jensen Morgan to both Flying Cloud and Farm & Wilderness. Jensen is brand new to our family and community and we are very excited to share with him Flying Cloud, and also to see what he has to share with us. The following is what Jensen said when asked about introducing himself to y’all:

“This will be my first summer at Flying Cloud and I am ridiculously excited!  I am from Utah where I have six siblings who love to laugh and wrestle and play games all day long.  I hope that they, someday, can experience F&W, and that my brother can experience Flying Cloud.”

For today, I’ll leave y’all with these introductions to read over. Check back next week for the remaining five lodge staff that have been hired this summer. We have a pretty incredible team! I feel confident that this crew will help us all have an amazing summer experience! Until then, be well and enjoy he wonders of discovery. Maybe you can take a long walk in the woods and see how many different signs of animal life you can find!

Greetings Flying Clouders, Families and Friends!

I would like to start by apologizing for the lapse in blog posts. I recognize it has been awhile since the last post and now that things are picking up it is time to start letting you all know about the preparations for Flying Cloud Summer 2011!

This summer is truly gearing up to be an incredible experience for all involved. As often happens with a director change, we have a number of staff members changing their roles and taking on new responsibilities. So without further ado, let me introduce to you the Support Staff (a.k.a. the “Funkies”) for this summer!

Stepping into a new position this summer, Tends the Grove will be filling the role of Assistant Director. Tends the Grove has been a part of F&W for quite some time now. As a former camper at both Saltash Mountain Camp and Tamarack Farm, Tends the Grove then made a shift to summer staff by starting as a cook at Timberlake in 2006. In 2007, he made the transition to Flying Cloud and has remained at FC in the subsequent years. He has spent three of the last four summers as our Food Coordinator. So, I would like to thank Tends the Grove for all his amazing summers on staff as Food Coordinator and welcome him into his new position!

Sun Panther Gives returns this summer as our Program Director and Trips Coordinator. Sun Panther Gives has been in this position with great success for the last four summers. I could not be more confident in his abilities and feel incredibly supported by his continued presence.

River Sways steps up to fill the position of Food Coordinator this summer. He has been a Lodge Staff for the last four summers and has become a quintessential Flying Cloud community member in his time with us. Although Food Coordinator is a notoriously difficult position, I feel confident that River Sways is the brother for the job. He will also have plenty of support from our former Food Coordinator, Tends the Grove, and from another staff member stepping into a brand new Flying Cloud position I am very excited to be telling you about next.

In pursuit of a more streamlined food system at Flying Cloud, I am very excited to announce that Kodiak Weaves the Thunder will be stepping into a brand new position - the Cook Crew Head. It will be his primary responsibility to work with the cook crew of the day to ensure the quality, quantity, and diversity of our meals - and to make sure that people are having a great time while prepping all our meals! If you have had the honor of meeting Kodiak Weaves the Thunder, then you know that there is no one better for the job than him!

And the last member of our Funky Team is also a returning staff member filling a new position. This summer, I am proud to announce that Badger Pool will be our Sensible Health Person. He is incredibly well qualified to be providing the on-site medical care for our community. Badger Pool is certified as a Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), a Wilderness First Responder (WFR), and has his Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) certification as well. He has been working in the field for a some time now and most recently spent this last winter working as Ski Patrol here in the beautiful mountains of Vermont. As a former Sensible Health Person myself, I feel very confident in putting the medical system of Flying Cloud into his able hands. Further, we are happy to have Earth Ray Traveler returning as the Ninevah Nurse. Badger Pool will be working closely with Earth Ray Traveler to make sure that FC stays healthy and that any emergency that arises is dealt with in a efficient manner.

Well, I think I will close the staff announcements there. We are close to being done hiring the Lodge Staff and as soon as I lock those guys in you will hear from me again. But, I can assure you, the campers at Flying Cloud are going to be in absolutely spectacular hands. As Flying Cloud’s director for my first summer, I could not feel more optimistic about the upcoming summer’s experience for all of us. The team is coming together and, before we know it, the Flying Cloud Community of 2011 will be circled around  the inside of Kahunkakona as our Firekeeper crafts the first coal and we begin another incredible summer!

Be well!

Greetings Fellow Flying Clouders!

As the title of this post indicates, winter has come to Flying Cloud! In preparation for Ice Cutting, Kyle Watrous (the Farm and Wilderness Maintenance Coordinator) and I spent last week up at Flying Cloud renovating the ice house. We have put in a good deal more insulation on the walls and we plan on further insulating the roof as well. We hope that next summer will prove it’s never been easier to provide proper storage for food at Flying Cloud.

I would like to extend a very big thank you to Kyle for all the work he has done for Flying Cloud. For those of you who don’t know, Kyle is the man responsible for our water system (from well to spigot) and all other maintenance needs we have. Without him, Flying Cloud would be hard pressed to function as well as it does.

Well, the snow is falling, the mountains are open for ski-season, and we are getting closer and closer to the New Year. If you haven’t done it yet, I recommend getting your application in for Summer 2011. The Early Bird Discount this year runs until December 31st! Visit the F&W website to download our application or give us a call at (802) 422-3761 and we can mail you an enrollment packet.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and look forward to seeing you all at Ice Cutting in February. Until then, keep checking the blog for more updates each month and enjoy this winter greeting from Flying Cloud!

Be well!

FF

Greetings Flying Clouders!

So, I know we are still closer to last summer than 2011, but I am just getting way too excited about 2011 to not start talking about it. The first piece of information that I want to let you all know is our camper leaders for the summer of 2011!

As Speaker, bringing his calm and collected demeanor to the team, will be Heartwood Visions.

Representing the spirit of Flying Cloud, with his constant enthusiasm, care and love for FC and its woods will be Earth Dreamer, our new Spirit Keeper.

Providing the rhythm to guide our hearts with his ever positive outlook is Summer Lights the Sky as our new Drum Keeper.

Bringing his ferocity, energy, and inner fire to the crew will be Sprinting Wolf, our new Fire Keeper.

Please join me in celebrating these amazing young leaders as they step into their new roles. Being a camper leader is always a difficult task but I am sure that these young men will make a spectacular team! I know that I am very excited to be working with not only these Flying Cloud leaders but also all you other returners that keep the Flying Cloud love alive!

Be Well,
~FF

Hello Flying Clouders!

I couldn’t be more excited to post this entry in the Flying Cloud blog. It seems like it was just yesterday that I walked into the clearing at Flying Cloud for the first time. Just like I am sure the rest of you,  I still remember that day so vividly. Standing there in front of Two Kettles, looking out at the clearing, I never would have imagined I would find myself where I am today. It all happened so quickly, so I just want to take some time here to tell you all a little bit about how I came to find myself here.

I was born in Washington, D.C. but raised in Takoma Park, MD. I attended Montgomery County Public Schools through High School and then moved on to college. During my time in grade school, I discovered a truly wonderful place, Farm and Wilderness. At the age of 12, I began attending Timberlake. I spent three summers there. While there, I even swam a grand circuit (completing the full perimeter of Woodward Reservoir, including every cove). After Timberlake, I made my way to Tamarack Farm. TF served as a critical part of my transition from a young boy into a young man.

After two summers at TF, I took a break from Farm and Wilderness. In 2006, I returned to F&W as a staff member at Flying Cloud. I spent two summers as a Lodge Staff ( my lodges were Sage in 2006 and Obsidian in 2007). In 2008, I became the Sensible Health Person and remained in that position in 2009. In the Spring of 2010, F&W began the search for a new Flying Cloud Director.  I submitted my application and was offered a full-time position, which I gladly took. I spent the rest of the spring, the summer and most of the fall training for my new role. Now, the official transition has been made.

Outside of working at Flying Cloud, I spent the last handful of years pursuing my undergraduate degree. I graduated summa cum laude from Green Mountain College this spring with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production.

I would also like to take a moment to thank Valley Zephyr for all of his hard work and care for Flying Cloud. He accomplished a great deal of wonderful things for Flying Cloud and we could not be more thankful for all of the energy that he invested. I wish him the best in all of his future adventures and I am happy to know that there are people like Valley Zephyr out there, touching the lives of so many individuals in such a positive way. May we all hold him in the Light.

Before I close, I just want to let all of you know about a couple things we are working on here at Farm and Wilderness. If you haven’t received them yet, your re-enrollment packet is in the mail. Also keep an eye out for a house party in your area. Myself, Jeff Bounds (SAM director), Tulio Browning (TL director) and Amy Bowen (the new IB director) will be making trips to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. areas over the coming months. I have also started a Facebook page where you can see photos from this year. I also plan to put up photos from previous summers as well!

Flying Cloud Summer Camp Facebook Page

Make sure to check back regularly on the blog and the Facebook Page. I will try to at least post updates on Flying Cloud every month until the summer, when the blog posts will be weekly.

I would also love to hear from all of you on how your year is going since leaving Flying Cloud at the end of the summer. Feel free to contact me at Zach@farmandwilderness.org.

Until next time, be well!

~ FF