By Noah Stein It’s a beautiful Sunday at camp today. Those of us who are here enjoyed a great Sunday Service this morning and are looking forward to pizza night and Council Fire this evening. But many campers aren’t here to experience this great Sunday. As I write, fifty four campers are out on trail!
Wilderness tripping has been integral at Nebagamon since the early 1930s. We’ve always taken advantage of our proximity to unique wilderness areas right in our backyard, perfect for backcountry camping. Our trips are led by trip staff who each have specialized training and are all certified as Wilderness First Responders, so they are able to keep our campers safe in the wilderness while having tons of fun. They also bring lots of experience to the table. Some of them were campers here themselves and so were raised within Nebagamon’s tripping program. Others come from varied guiding and childcare backgrounds. This summer we have a trip staff who’s spent significant time as a bush guide in South Africa, folks who have guided for college outdoor programs, and a raft and snowmobile guide with experience in wilderness therapy. Needless to say, we’re lucky to have an excellent crew of trippers.
Throughout a camper’s years at camp, we expose them to wilderness experiences in age-appropriate increments. Our Swampers (second, third, and fourth graders) have a chance to canoe across Lake Nebagamon for an overnighter, and go on a two-night canoeing trip with their cabin groups to Eau Claire Lakes in nearby Barnes, Wisconsin, about a twenty-five minute drive from camp. These introductory trips allow campers to navigate beginner-level areas while practicing basic camping skills (like setting up tents and canoeing). And it’s tons of fun! Think sunsets, and stories around fires, and cooking delicious food. The point of these Swamper trips is to ease these campers into our tripping program and get them excited to be outside.
In the Logger Village (fifth- and sixth-grade campers), the tripping program evolves a bit. Fifth-grade Loggers still go on trips with their cabin groups, yet they traverse a little further and longer, canoeing in Sylvania Wilderness in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and hiking in Crosby Manitou State Park in Minnesota.
Sixth graders are offered even more extensive opportunities. They can hike on segments of the Superior Hiking Trail, a 310-mile trail running along the North Shore of Lake Superior, known for lush, forested terrain and spectacular overlooks. They also get their first taste of one of our staple trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The Boundary Waters includes over 1,000,000 acres of boreal forest with over 1,000 pristine lakes, remnants of receding glaciers. Campers paddle these lakes, portaging (carrying their canoes and gear) between them, and camping at designated sites along the way. They often encounter wildlife like bald eagles, loons, beavers, and sometimes moose (it’s also a great place for fishing). The Boundary Waters are known as one of the best canoe areas in the world; it’s pretty sweet that our campers get to explore them every summer.
Our Axemen (seventh grade campers) continue exploring the Superior Hiking Trail and go on longer trips to the Boundary Waters, typically between five and seven days. We also introduce them to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. When campers go on trips to Pictured Rocks, they witness breathtaking landscapes including vibrant blue water (seriously, look it up, the water looks Caribbean), spectacular cliffs (we observe them from a distance!) and enormous sand dunes.
By the time campers reach their Lumberjack summers (Lumberjacks are campers who have just finished eighth and ninth grade), they have accumulated enough experience to participate in even more comprehensive trips. Even new-to-camp Lumberjacks are still able to participate in these trips thanks to preparation they undertake through in-camp programming. In addition to classic trips to the Boundary Waters, Superior Hiking Trail, and Pictured Rocks, Lumberjacks are able to sign up for a Big Trip (typically a fourteen-day excursion) or a twenty-one day expedition called Long Trip, both meant to serve as a capstone experience for our campers. Many of our campers look forward to these Big Trips for years, and they live up to the hype.
Eighth-grade campers can go on a fourteen-day Big Trip to Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale is a unique National Park as it is an island situated in the middle of Lake Superior…in fact it is the largest island on the largest lake (by surface area) in the world! Campers take a ferry to Isle from Grand Portage, Minnesota or Houghton, Michigan, and then spend two weeks exploring the island. Isle Royale is known for the groundbreaking predator-prey research which has been conducted on the island for decades, tracking the interaction between the wolf and moose population over time. While wolves are relatively rare on Isle these days, campers commonly return from their trips with stories about moose sightings!
Our kids end their camper years at Nebagamon with a couple unique options. Ninth graders can choose to spend two weeks or three weeks canoeing in Quetico Provincial Park, located just north of the Boundary Waters in Ontario. These Quetico trips are memory generators. Campers come back with stories that they tell for a lifetime, long after their camping days are done. Quetico is a bit more remote than the Boundary Waters. Our trip groups often go days without seeing other travelers. There are ample opportunities for wildlife sightings, quiet introspection in a beautiful wetland environment, and bonding with friends.
So our campers have a ton of options. And I want to highlight the word options, because participating in trips is a choice that campers get to make. While we strongly encourage campers to try out at least one trip (almost all of our Swampers and Loggers do go on a cabin trip every summer), campers ultimately get to make choices about what kind of tripping experiences they want to have every summer.
This is especially true for our older campers. Imagine sitting at a table, eating lunch in the Rec Hall, and your village director walks over to your table and says, “Who wants to go to the Boundary Waters for five days?” All you have to do is raise your hand and opt in, and, two days later, you’re in a van heading north for an adventure! We firmly believe that children learn and grow through making choices and building autonomy. Both our in-camp program and wilderness tripping program are modeled around that philosophy.
Our tripping program also works symbiotically with our in-camp program. Before campers head out on trail, they learn all of the skills they need by attending various projects where they earn ranks mandatory for trip participation. For example, campers learn wilderness skills at our CNOC (Camp Nebagamon Outdoor Center) project. They head down to canoeing to learn their strokes. They learn how to use a map and compass at orienteering, and we make sure everybody is comfortable in the water at our swimming program before departure. By working through these prerequisite ranks, campers feel more prepared when they get out into the woods, giving them a boost of self-confidence, and they also learn a thing or two about the importance of preparation.
When our board of directors sent out a survey to alumni this past winter, examining what they value most about camp, the results clearly showed that our alumni view our wilderness tripping as the most important facet of our overall programming. And it’s no wonder. From Swamper overnighters to Quetico Long Trips, on trail, campers learn to work together with their peers to accomplish goals like cooking meals or paddling across lakes. With the support of trip staff, they overcome challenges like crossing tricky portages. They witness beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Through those experiences they build essential social-emotional skills like supporting each other, managing discomfort, conquering anxiety, and perseverance. Their appreciation of our natural world continues to grow. They learn that they are capable and can do hard things. Our alumni know the positive impact this had on their own lives and that these same wilderness trips will continue to have on campers today.
While we miss our campers who are out on trail right now, we know they’re learning a lot and having a blast. We can’t wait to hear all of their stories when they return.
All is well in the Northwoods…
