Camp Nebagamon

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Hang Up, Hang Out

By Noah Stein

On the last day of camp, all of our campers who are flying home ride buses to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Once we arrive and get everyone checked in and through security, we take over an empty gate where we wait together before flights start boarding. When we arrived, I expected a typical mix of post-camp emotions. Of course some campers would be groggy from the early morning wakeup, and some would want to make the most of their last few moments with their friends until next summer. But what caught me off guard was how quiet the boys were. Something had clearly changed after the bus ride. Then it occurred to me: they had their phones back. 

Looking down a row of seats, I saw camper after camper staring into their screens. After a tech free summer, the contrast was abrupt. At camp, so much of what matters is the people we’re with and the place we’re in, but in that moment what seemed to matter most to many of the campers was whatever was going on on their phones. Ok, I’ll concede, it’s hard to be appreciative of the place you’re in when you’re in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport…but sitting next to your best friends in the world and staring at a phone? Come on! So our counselors did what great counselors do, and they counseled the campers into, well, putting away their phones and being campers! We played card games, reminisced about the best cruiser days, and debated whether Louis is better than Kaplan at the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” (it’s close). We laughed and smiled and when we said goodbye to our friends…we cried. For those brief few moments before everyone departed it felt like camp once again, despite the phones.

After that day in the airport, I began noticing other similar situations outside of Camp. At restaurants I often see families sitting around a table staring down at their phones. I side-step people walking on the sidewalk more focused on what’s in their palm than where they’re going. Sometimes, I spend time with friends and notice that most of the group is on their phones. Of course I’m guilty too. I ski quite a bit here in Colorado and I know I’ve missed parts of great conversations on chairlifts when I chose to take out my phone. (I also dropped my phone off a lift and lost it once, so I really would not recommend taking out your phone on a chairlift!) I wonder what we’re all missing as we stare into our screens. What conversations around the table or sights along the street or precious moments with friends do we lose as we scroll. What would happen if, instead, we looked up at the world right around us? 

Our campers knew what they were missing at the airport because it only took a quick nudge from their counselors to help them snap out of their cyber-lives and back into the analog world where the summer wasn’t quite over yet, where they still had valuable time with their friends. Our campers know that at camp, conversations have more depth. Instead of looking down at devices, they look up. They take in everything that’s going on around them and engage with the present moment. Without screens, camp is a place where attention is undivided, friendships deepen quickly, and we remember what it’s like to simply be where we are, with the people around us. 

As the summer approaches, I find myself feeling grateful that for a couple months each summer, we all get to escape the gravitational pull of our devices. I am grateful that at Camp Nebagamon presence is the norm, not the exception. It’s not about pretending our phones don’t exist while we’re at Camp, it’s about recognizing the amazing things that happen when we put them aside for a while, so that when we go home at the end of the summer, we remember our time away from tech and can be more thoughtful about how and when we use it.  

Soon the phones will be turned off and the magic will begin. I can’t wait.

Four Square Overhaul

By Noah Stein

Four square has been a staple at camp for decades. Strolling from the Big House to the Hill, one can almost always find campers playing on one of the Hill’s two courts during free time. From those first games played amidst the excitement of arrival day to daily G-Swim rounds, the fun of four square permeates daily life at Nebagamon. But it’s more than just fun. Four square is a building block of the culture in the Swamper and Logger Villages. Ask any resident of the Hill and they’ll tell you that, while projects and trips are great, nothing would be the same without four square. Since the game is so central to half of our villages, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the game is central to camp. Four square is our identity. 

To ensure our four square games are run safely and fairly, a counselor is always present to serve as line judge and arbiter of all disputes during a game. This counselor is referred to as the “PC” (short for proximity control). 

The PC has a difficult responsibility. You see, our four square rules are rather nuanced, if not convoluted, and, under the watchful eyes of a swarm of 2nd through 6th graders, a single mistake could turn into a critical situation. Too many mistakes and we could have chaos on our hands. 

The PC’s complicated, high-pressure job includes three primary responsibilities:

  1. Discerning a two-handed underhand hit from an overhand slam, as the latter is forbidden. Oftentimes it is a fine line between an underhand and overhand and judgment calls based on the most up-to-date rules are required. 
  2. Maintaining awareness of the landing spot of a camper’s shoe when they attempt the daring and controversial “Jedi Jump” move: leaping across the court, intercepting the ball, and landing out of bounds. Sounds confusing? It is, and it speaks to the competence and intricate knowledge of the game required of the PC. 
  3. Projecting the time it takes from when a camper gets in line to when they enter the game (a cumbersome mathematical process requiring a stopwatch). If the line becomes too long, the counselor needs to quickly call for “slammin’ doubles,” when two players play in each box to keep the line moving.

Those responsibilities are vast, and in recent years we’ve seen more and more PC errors occur, undermining the integrity of the game. Some have predicted that continued PCing errors could lead to a major shift from four square to the ring game as campers’ primary Hill game. This would cause severe congestion in the central Hill area with potential overflow into the box hockey arena next to the Push Shack. Ultimately the situation would be untenable. There would be disorder on the Hill with ripple effects through camp. Further, without a thriving four square culture, who would we be? 

Clearly, this diminishment of accurate PCing is not the fault of the PCs themselves, but rather a function of extremely complicated rules. This winter, to ameliorate the problem of inconsistent PCing, we put together a PC task force, charged with bringing clarity to four square, ensuring the continuity of this cultural centerpiece of camp. The task force laid out clarifications for each of the three primary responsibilities of the PC. These changes will go into effect immediately, beginning upon the arrival of campers on June 18th. 

I want to give everyone a heads up about these rule changes ahead of time so that you all can come into the summer with a sense of relief that the complicated old rules have been done away with and have been replaced with fresh new rules. Here’s what the task force came up with:

  • To help clarify the difference between an underhand hit versus an illegal overhand hit, the PC will actually allow overhand hits in certain situations. These situations are as follows:
    • If the ball passes from box A to C and the player in box C moves their feet no more than two steps before hitting the ball.
    • If the ball is served by a player who lives in Swamper 4, and there are no representatives from Swamper 6 currently in the game.
    • If lunch was rubens, and the player in box D did not eat any tater tots.

If none of those criteria are met, overhand hits will remain illegal and the PC can discern underhand from overhand by ensuring that the angle the ball is hit at is less than forty-five degrees, regardless of whether or not the player was attempting to “spin” the ball.

  • Jedi Jumps will be deemed illegal…unless…
    • G-snack is frozen Gogurt.
    • The Axemen all make it to breakfast on time.
    • A signed petition of a supermajority of Swampers and a majority of Loggers not on trips is presented in writing to the PC no more than 5 business days ahead of time asking for temporary revocation of the Jedi Jump Clause which will remain in effect for no more than 8 rounds of four square.

When the Jedi Jump is in play, no part of a camper’s shoe may touch the line after they attempt the jump, unless their shoelace is untied and touches the line in which case the jump counts but the Jedi Jumper is also deemed “out” while they tie their shoes. 

  • The PC task force understood the complexity of measuring the length of the line and calling for “slammin’ doubles” when appropriate. To ease the challenge, campers will now line up in logarithmic spirals. (Now, I’m really no math expert, but it totally makes sense to me to use this pattern which is actually found in nature, such as in nautilus shells, so it should be pretty simple for campers to line up in such a pattern.) With campers lined up in a logarithmic spiral, PCs should have a much easier time discerning the length of the line.

I’m so grateful for the work of the PC task force in updating our four square rules. These new policies will be simple for all of our campers and PCs to learn and will ensure that four square lives on as the focal point of our Nebaga-identity for generations to come. 

I can’t wait to see the rules take effect this June. Study up on your logarithms!

Oh, and APRIL FOOLS!

Community in Camping

By Noah Stein

Last week I traveled to Dallas for the American Camp Association’s annual National Conference. Every year this event brings together camp professionals from across the country to learn from industry experts and connect with one another. 

My reaction when I walked into the opening session was “Wow! There are a lot of people here.” With over 1,500 camp professionals in attendance, it was impressive to see the size of the broader camp industry. It was heartening to look around the room and see folks from a wide range of different camps -day camps, specialty camps for children with medical concerns, other residential camps like ours – and realize that there are so many people  who are passionate about summer camp and its powerful transformative benefits for children.

 

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I learned a ton from top notch presenters too. Each shared creative and innovative ideas for a variety of different areas from programming to how we track our weather. (It turns out the dew point is very important!) I left the conference with creative ideas from the cutting edge of childcare.

While all of these sessions alone made the conference great, the highlight of the week for me was getting to meet and reconnect with other camp professionals. I had a chance to meet folks from camps who are nothing like ours with completely different models, and I also spent valuable time with our friends from our peer camps, those in our geographic area with similar ideas about what a summer camp experience should be like. Across all groups, there was a general excitement about sharing ideas and asking one another questions to help each other improve. And there was a shared eagerness to get to know one another…camp people are pretty fun! By the end of the week with bonds formed and relationships strengthened we’d reinforced our community of camps.

The whole experience was a blast, and though I haven’t been to many camp conferences before, it also felt familiar…it felt like, well, camp! Every summer, campers and staff converge in Lake Nebagamon. They bring with them their own experiences and ideas. They come from a range of backgrounds and hail from around the world. At camp we share our ideas and learn from others. Throughout the summer we build and strengthen our community. We learn that each of our different backgrounds is a piece of the mosaic that is our camp family.

It was really nice to get a taste of a new kind of camp community this winter and it makes me feel excited to reunite with our community in just 108 days!.

 

Seeing the World Through New Senses

By Noah Stein

One of the best books I read in 2024 was An Immense World: How animal senses reveal the hidden realms around us by Ed Yong. In it, Yong described how each and every animal experiences the world in their own unique “sensory bubble.” In other words, the way animals use their senses determines how they interpret their surroundings, and every animal uses their senses differently. 

I thought a lot about dogs while reading this book. I love dogs and proudly wear the title “dog person.” While I’m currently a dogless dog person (hopefully I will fix that soon), I grew up with dogs and they have a special place in my heart.

If you’ve spent any time with dogs, you’re familiar with their sniffing habits. All of us dog people have had the experience of heading out on a walk and our four-legged companion finds something interesting to sniff in the grass or next to a fire hydrant. If you’re like me, you give them a few seconds to sniff and then pull the leash to keep walking, not thinking twice about the effect of cutting their sniffing time short. An Immense World had me thinking twice.

Imagine you walk down to the waterfront for G-swim. It hasn’t quite started yet so you’re standing on the beach waiting to flip your tag. I bet that when you close your eyes and imagine that moment, what you’ll experience in your mind is the sight of the beautiful bottle of sunscreen sitting invitingly on the swimming bench. No? You’re seeing Lake Nebagamon glimmering in the sunshine? Not the beautiful bottle of sunscreen? Ok, well just roll with it and take this as your first reminder for the summer of 2025 to please wear sunscreen! 

Anyway, sighted humans typically rely on vision first. We won’t immediately recall the feel of sunscreen, or the smell of sunscreen, or the sound of sunscreen as it leaves the bottle, or the taste of sunscreen while diligently applying it to our faces. While each of our senses is important for its own reasons and we use them all to understand the world, sighted people tend to rely heavily on vision.

But not our dogs, according to Yong. When dogs head down to the waterfront for G-swim, their surroundings are painted not by their vision but in large part by their smell. They can smell into the past by picking up traces of left-behind scents. They can smell into the future, noticing the odor of rain on the way (though camp dogs will tell you they rarely smell rain on the horizon during the summer). While they too utilize all of their senses (they have great hearing for example), they rely heavily on their sense of smell in a similar manner to how humans lean on vision. So when we pull that leash as our dogs sniff… ok, I’ll spare you the guilt trip. 

Yong offered countless examples of how other animals experience the world using their own senses, some that humans don’t have at all like electric or magnetic fields! He even talked about how other vision dominant animals use sight differently than we do. Some have panoramic sight, some can see colors that we cannot.

I was amazed as I learned about the astounding variety of ways that animals use their senses, and according to Yong, learning about the “sensory bubbles” of other species is really important. For instance, he talked about light pollution. Usually a minor inconvenience for us humans (though really sad that so many people can’t see the Milky Way), light pollution has a deadly impact on birds. It can drastically compromise migratory patterns leading birds off course which drains the energy that they need to safely reach their destination. 

It’s hard to view the world from anything but a human perspective, but if we did and we were all able to recognize that birds have evolved to navigate the skies in very specific ways which are influenced by light, perhaps we’d all take steps to help them, and the same concept holds true for other animals! Imagine if we took some time to be curious about how other animals experience the world. Imagine how we’d be able to build our world so that all animals could thrive. 

Yong also wrote about the differences in how humans perceive the world. He told the real life story of David Kish, a person who is blind and learned to use echolocation, a sense that most humans never use, by making clicking noises with his mouth and listening as the noise reflects off objects to navigate. (Look it up if you’re not familiar; it’s really cool.) The way each of us humans perceives the world with our senses is unique. 

Yong concluded his book (sorry for the spoilers!) by emphasizing that we humans have a superpower that other animals don’t possess. We are able to use all of our senses and build tools to help us gain a deeper appreciation of the sensory realms of humans and animals around us. We can learn about the smelling power of dogs and how light can change bird migration patterns. We can never actually experience the world in a different “sensory bubble” than our own, but we can learn an awful lot about other “sensory bubbles.”

We can use our superpower to learn a lot about the differences in how humans use their senses too, like in the case of David Kish. But maybe we can use this superpower to understand more than our sensory differences. Maybe we can also use it in our daily lives to understand all of our differences. Each of us has a different background, and different life experiences which shape how we see the world, just like our senses. Sure, we can’t fully place ourselves in another’s shoes and live the same experiences as someone else, but we can try our best to understand. We can use our curiosity to ask questions, to learn about one another. 

The more we understand one another, the more we gain empathy which allows us to support one another and resolve conflicts. Empathy allows us to build communities that celebrate our diverse experiences and to recognize that all of our unique differences can unite us. How do I know that? I see it every day at Camp Nebagamon. 

Have a great new year, and please resolve to let your dogs do some extra sniffing in 2025!

The Real Holiday Season

By Noah Stein

I was on the phone with a friend recently who asked me how I feel about the holiday season. “I love the holiday season!” I replied. “What a great time of year: a chance to spend quality time with family and friends, to celebrate, to eat delicious food. Yep, nothing could be better than those two months of the holiday season: June 18th through August 11th!”

“June 18th through August 11th?” my friend wondered aloud in confusion.

Their confusion didn’t register with me. I explained that one of my favorite days of the holiday season is Paul Bunyan Day. “Ever since I was a Swamper I’ve just loved how that day feels. I love the sense of togetherness that we build, and the mutual understanding that we’re all going to try our absolute best. Everyone agrees that the point is really just to have fun, regardless of the outcome. There’s this incredible sense of camaraderie within our respective logging companies, and even between companies, as we all decide to buy into the spirit of the day together…” 

“Umm, Noah..”

“…and I love all the traditions that contribute to our Paul Bunyan Day celebration every year: the bullhorn wakeup, the massive pancakes prepared by Hot Biscuit Slim himself, and the Bull of the Woods saying, ‘Eat hearty my friends!’ I get goosebumps just thinking about those traditions. And, of course, the events themselves are great, like voyageur rendezvous. I mean, name a cooler way to kick off a holiday than a 1 v. 1 tug-of-war tournament between the Boss Loggers…” 

“Noah…”

 “…and don’t even get me started on the tent peg relay!”

“Slow down for a second,” my friend insisted.

But I could barely hear them, I was too excited. “…and the sound of the Rec Hall during breakfast and lunch. Those roaring chants are incredible, the ‘they will shake’s’ and ‘brouhahas’ and…”

“Noah, hold up! What are you talking about? Bull of the what? Who is Hot Biscuit Slim? What’s a ‘brouhaha’?’”

Then it struck me… “Ohhh, you were a second session kid! Paul Bunyan Day is kind of like the Grand Pursuit, except the Grand Pursuit is based on the French Voyageur fur trading tradition, as opposed to Paul Bunyan Day which celebrates deforesta–I mean, Lumberjack lore. But I’m glad you mentioned the Grand Pursuit. It’s another one of my favorite days of the holiday season, a day that really brings people together…”

“Second session?” 

My tempo increased as I hastily lectured, “The Grand Pursuit makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself – a family! As you know, it all starts the night before the big day, when the new campers get sorted into their teams for the first time, teams they’ll stay on throughout their camper careers…”

“Um…”

“Everyone cheers as the new campers’ names are read aloud and they run over to celebrate with their new team. Campers really feel included right off the bat. There’s so much inclusion on a day of competition, who would have thought?” 

“Can you just listen for a sec…”

“…There are so many awesome events on the Grand Pursuit too, like canoe fill, and the color crayon scramble, and pushball, and sawbuck. There’s really something for everyone. Of course there’s the gigantic board game too. Everyone’s points from their events throughout the day are used to play a big board game as a whole camp. When I watch the campers play the board game every year, I am amazed that the teams tackle the difficult task of conspiring together in such a large group to make the best strategic moves. They persevere, even when Pierre introduces a new twist to the game. And I forgot, we have cream puffs for dessert at dinner! And at the end of the night there’s always that irresponsibly large fire that the pushes light…”

“NOAH!”

“Yeah?” 

“You’re doing it again! What in the world is the Grand Pursuit? And Pierre? What’s going on?” my friend exclaimed.

“Ha, good one,” I said. “What, next you’re going to tell me you’ve never heard of the All Camp Birthday either?”

My friend’s confusion turned to worry. “Truly, I have no idea what you’re talking about, and frankly I’m a little concerned about you, Noah. Are you sure you’re handling the stress of your new job all right? It’s a lot of responsibility and I imagine that following in Steph and Adam’s footsteps can feel…” 

“…I’m fine, I swear!” I was in shock. Was I being gaslit? “Let me just get this straight, you’re telling me you’ve never heard of Paul Bunyan Day?” I asked. “Or The Grand Pursuit?” 

Silence.

“Well,” I considered, “I guess I should avoid judgment. People celebrate a bunch of different holidays. I just figured these were kind of universal. At least tell me you’ve heard of the 4th of July.”

“Obviously I’ve heard of the 4th of July, but I thought we were talking about the holiday season. The 4th of July happens in the su…”

“…summer, exactly. Maybe you need a refresher on your months of the year, pal, but the 4th of July takes place between June 18th and August 11th, the holiday season.”

Frustrated, my friend pushed back, “It does, Noah, but that’s not the holiday season!” 

“Ok, now I’m confused. How is the 4th of July not part of the holiday season? Do you at least have apple pie and ice cream for breakfast? Do you watch the town parade waiting eagerly for firefighters to throw candy at you? Do you sometimes celebrate the 4th of July on July 5th depending on the Village of Lake Nebagamon’s parade schedule? You must watch the JCs try valiantly to take down the SCs in the annual softball game and eat ‘feed ‘em freedom sundaes’, right? What about fireworks?”

“Well, I watch fireworks but…” 

“Finally! A holiday that we have in common. Wow! I know the holiday season is months away, but I can hardly wait.”

My friend, bewildered, hurried me off the phone, muttering something about “gift shopping.”

I did some research about this alleged “winter holiday season” later on. I couldn’t believe it when I discovered that for some people, the holiday season is a period that lasts from something called “Thanksgiving” (which, from what I can tell, is like a Keylog ceremony with turkey) to “New Years Day,” and I think there are a handful of other holidays in between that people also celebrate. 

From what I’ve read, this winter holiday season seems reminiscent of the summer holiday season I know and love. As I understand it, people often try to take some time to disconnect from work and school and connect with family and friends. They celebrate with shared traditions, and eat special food, just like during the summer holidays. That all sounds pretty great to me. I’m thinking I might give the winter holiday season a shot this year! The geniuses who invented the winter holiday season were certainly on to something.

Even with these new holidays on my horizon, however, I can’t wait for the other holiday season, the one in the summer. This time of year, I really miss it. Sure, I miss those big days of the holiday season, the Paul Bunyan Days and Grand Pursuits. But it’s not only the big ones I yearn for. I miss all the little holidays in between: the perfect “quad prod SIs”, cabin cookouts, village barbeques and Cruiser Days.

I even miss the more routine days as well, the ones that are mere moments between the big events. I miss morning songs and watching campers overcome their homesickness. I miss shouting “buddies!” on the H-dock, sermonettes, and MOCA horse-n-goggles. I miss laughing until I cry, and the tears we shed with our arms around each other during the last Keylog ceremony of a session (or every Keylog ceremony if you are Steph). Those little moments sit as large in my heart as the big ones. I miss that during the holiday season called “summer camp”, every moment of every day is a holiday. 

Hoping that your little moments are as meaningful as your big ones this winter holiday season.

Preparing for the Trip

By Noah Stein

I love the lead up to a Nebagamon wilderness trip. It starts a few days before a trip departs. Village directors circulate the Rec Hall with a blank “trip list.” They approach tables of campers and ask, “Who wants to go to the Boundary Waters in three days?!?!” Campers eagerly raise their hands, the village director adds their names to the list, and three days later they’re in the Boundary Waters.

The days between signing up and departing are all about preparation. Campers earn their required ranks at projects like CNOC and canoeing, learning all the skills they’ll need for their trip. They meet as a group with their trip staff, specialized counselors who are entirely dedicated to making sure campers have the most fun, safe experience out there imaginable. The trip staff provide them a packing list, and campers load up their bags with everything they’ll need.

The day before the trip, campers attend their “trip physical.” They meet with our health center staff to ensure that they are healthy and ready to spend some time in the woods. The trip physical doubles as a chance for the trip staff to confirm that everyone is packed and ready to go, and to provide the campers some more details about the trip. Campers gather around maps as the trip staff describe their route, pointing out the lakes they’ll paddle and portages they’ll cross. 

While campers show interest in the maps, the route description is often overshadowed by what comes next: the menu reveal! Ask anyone who’s been on a Camp Nebagamon trip and they’ll confirm that our trail food is absurdly delicious. Think heaping bowls of pesto pasta, homemade pizza, and even, on occasion, vegetarian “trail sushi,” a delicious creation of our Trip Director, Jonah Domsky. If the campers weren’t already excited, the menu really does it. The next morning, campers rise early, have a quick pre-departure breakfast in the Rec Hall, load their gear into the vans, and take off! 

The process leading up to the trip is fun. As the trip approaches, excitement builds. Campers do all of this preparation and talk about what the trip will be like, so when the time comes to leave, many campers are just itching to get out there. At the same time, there’s often a common experience of nervousness alongside the excitement. What will the trip be like? Will the weather be good? Will “trail sushi” be as delicious as advertised? The truth is, the only way campers uncover the answers to these questions is to just get out there and do it. (But, yes, trail sushi is as advertised!)

I’m actually heading out for a Camp Nebagamon trip today: The 2024-2025 reunion road show! Louis, Adam and I are headed to Detroit and driving all the way to Dallas over the course of the next two and a half weeks, with stops in Cleveland, Nashville, Atlanta, Memphis and Houston. After Dallas, we’ll hop on a plane to Denver to wrap up this leg of the reunion tour. (See Troika’s article Camp Nebagamon on Tour for details.)

As this trip has approached, I’ve been thinking about how in many ways the process leading up to this trip has felt similar to how campers feel before heading out on a summertime trip. Like a normal camp trip, it started with a whole lot of preparation. The year-round team and I have talked about a bunch of ways we can build on our already-awesome reunions to make them even better! We’ve connected with families in our community who have graciously agreed to host these events, and we’ve thought long and hard about how to spread the word to as many camp folks as possible.

Like a summertime Camp Nebagamon trip, I’ve had to consider packing. While unfortunately we don’t have any current trip staff around to provide me with a packing list, it’s been neat to think about the fact that this trip will cover such a vast portion of the country that I’ll have to plan for different climates in different places. Camp’s geographical diversity is incredible.

Just as our campers review their route with their trip staff before heading out, it’s been really fun working with Louis and Adam to figure out our route for this tour. I’m eager to explore parts of the country I’ve never been to before, visiting so many amazing people along the way. And just like our campers, I’m extremely excited for our trip menu, getting to try the local delicacies on our route. (Nashville hot chicken is high on the list)

As all of this preparation has gone on, I’ve become increasingly excited to hit the road. And it’s no wonder. One of the most crucial steps in preparing for this trip has also been one of my favorite parts of my job so far: connecting with families and alumni. As I’ve spoken with members of the camp family, my eagerness to hit the road and reconnect with old camp friends and meet parents and alumni, in person, has only grown. Again, I just find it so cool that there are folks around the country (and the world) who care so much about Camp Nebagamon and do whatever they can to stay connected. It’s really inspiring, and coming into this new role I plan on working with our team to continue finding ways to help folks stay connected to camp all year round.

Like our summertime trips, I’ve also had that familiar sense of hesitation about the unknown which our campers often experience before heading out on trail. Will people show up to the reunions? Will it be fun? What will it be like to spend that much time in a car with Kaplan? 

But if this last weekend was any indication, this road trip is going to be great. In a precursor to our two and a half week drive, we held our first reunion of the offseason in St. Louis last weekend and it was a huge success. We had a great showing from our current campers and staff members, from parents and alumni. It was tons of fun.

So consider this article to be your village director walking to your Rec Hall table with a trip list asking, “Who wants to come to a reunion this offseason?!?!” RAISE YOUR HAND and RSVP for your local reunion.

See you on the road!

No More Offseason

By Noah Stein

Since 2005, my first ever summer at Nebagamon, the end of the summer has always had a very similar arc. There was the profound and emotional 9th grade Council Fire on the last night of camp every summer, followed the next morning by an extremely tough 6AM goodbye session on the Lower Diamond as the buses loaded and pulled away. My mind quickly had to refocus on “the real world,” which, depending on my age at that time, meant heading back to school, or packing up for college, or restarting my job as a therapist. The last day of camp always meant, well, the last day of camp!

But not anymore, as Joe Briggs reminded me this summer. We sat in the office one morning before the KP bell and I asked him a question about how things work in the “offseason.” He quickly responded “Noah, there is no more offseason!” It was a glorious reminder that in this new life of mine there is no such thing as the last day of camp! I have been gifted the opportunity to get to live camp all year round. And so it was after the “last day of camp” this summer, I got to get right back to work…and that means MORE CAMP!

If I am being honest, in addition to being very excited, I am feeling a bit nervous about my first offseason. Everyone who has been around Nebagamon for the past two decades is used to other folks doing a lot of this off-season work; they are used to their style and rhythms. I sometimes get nervous that people will have a hard time getting used to me in this new role, with my own style and rhythm.

So, I figured that before I jumped into it all, I needed something to help me relax after the summer and launch myself into my first offseason. Naturally, I decided to go camping with camp friends! My first weekend back in Denver, Grant Sachs (’05-’10, ’12, ’15, ’24), Matt Myer (’06-’11, ’13-’16) and I loaded my car with camping gear and food for the weekend and meandered our way southwest to Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Our plan was to car camp at a trailhead and, the next morning, climb a 14,000-foot peak which had been on my to-do list for some time. (I’m on a mission to climb all the “14ers” in Colorado.)

As we drove through the last little town on our route before transitioning from pavement to dirt road and crawling at a snail’s pace up a ten-mile-long four-wheel drive road, I noticed my “fun-meter” working overtime. You see, I have always had this bead necklace hanging from my rear-view mirror which I call my “fun-meter” because when roads get bumpy and the beads jump up and down and from side-to-side and into my windshield, I know I’m having fun…we were definitely having fun! The road careened through pine trees and then aspens, whose leaves were just starting to transition to their fall pigments, and then traversed alongside creeks beneath increasingly tall mountains.

Finally, we reached our destination, a stunning trailhead above the timberline, in a cirque of jagged peaks. Before the fun-meter had a moment to settle, the three of us vacated the car and started campsite setup. It was like clockwork. Grant and I set up our tents as Matt organized the car’s contents into a food pile and a gear pile. Within a few minutes the tents were good to go. Grant grabbed firewood and ignited a textbook log-cabin style fire. Matt chopped some veggies, and I lit up our camping stove to get some water boiling. Within no time we were relaxing around the fire enjoying our pesto carb, a classic Nebagamon trip meal, and watching the sun begin to set behind the mountains. If you’ve been on a Nebagamon trip, you know that this is more or less the order of how we do things when we go camping.

As we sat around the fire, I observed that camping with camp friends is different than camping with anyone else. Everyone gets it. Nebagamon folks know their tripping skills well: how to set up a tent, light a fire, get a stove lit, and cook some darn good pesto carb! (If I do say so myself.) Camp people share a common understanding that when we all work together and take care of our campsite setup, we’ll get through it efficiently and get to spend more time chilling around the fire. They know the order of operations.

As the evening wore on, two people pulled up in a truck, the next campsite over from us. We watched in awe as they removed a big propane tank from the bed of their truck and attached it to an impressive stand-up camping grill. Soon they were cheffing up what looked to be delicious burgers with ease. When they were done, they set up their tent and went to bed.

As we sat there, mouths agape, we were speechless. Our instincts were to criticize their approach. We wanted to judge their order of operations. We almost laughed about how un-campy it was that they brought a propane tank and a stand up grill to cook with. But instead we were silent in thought. Eventually Matt broke the silence and said, “Man, those burgers they made looked amazing.” And Grant chimed in, “Did you see how quickly they got that all done?” We were all impressed and admitted that there were lots of ways to set up a campsite and lots of ways to cook a great campsite meal. New styles were welcome.

And there it was. What on earth am I worried about?! Nebagamon has gone through several transitions in its storied history. Each time, a nervous director (or set of directors) would step into the role, and each time the incredible, welcoming, open minded and accepting camp family embraced them with warmth and a genuine desire to see them succeed. I have felt that from the entire camp family since I started in May, and I have no doubt that I will continue to feel it from all of you.

Off to work, Noah-style!

It’s Time To Go To Camp

By Adam Kaplan

I am sure that we are all feeling a bit unsettled these days. The world that we inhabit seems to be full of chaos and bad news. Every day we are slapped by shocking, upsetting, and frightening events. Our society seems off-kilter. Chaotic, depressing and hostile American politics continues to rear its ugly head. The news cycle is dominated by tawdry courtroom drama. Angst and anger asserts itself into our college campuses. And then there is the Middle East…It seems as though the world has gone mad. If it were not for the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce union, one might feel that our planet’s love reservoir has run dry. Truly there is little that feels stable and predictable these days…

Luckily, for most of the readership of these articles (which, by last count, includes eight to ten die-hard campers, a couple of first year staff members, and, sometimes, my dad), June 1st means that an escape from the turmoil of “the real world” is not far off. Depending on your role at camp, some of you have already checked out of the “real world” and are up here at camp braving the icy waters of Lake Nebagamon to get camp ready for the summer. For others, this break will come in about ten days when you arrive at camp for our eight-day staff training week. And yet for others, this break will come in just under three weeks, as the first buses full of campers arrive. Then, finally, yet one month later, the patient campers that comprise our second four-week session will arrive. I know that I speak for most of these groups in welcoming our self-imposed exile from the intensity of the “real world.”

For all of us that choose to break from the rest of the world each summer, we welcome this escape. For those of you that are less familiar with our modus operandi at camp, you may be interested to know that we deliberately do not read the news during the summer. (Ok, I admit I read the news, but I don’t tell anyone!) In fact, the closest that we come to sharing current events with the camp family is the morning ritual of reading the baseball scores. (And, in truth, the only reason that we do this is to give the kids an opportunity to wake up and exercise their lungs with cacophonous cheers…often coming from kids that could not name a single player on virtually any team in Major League Baseball!!)

One of the benefits of this self-imposed exile is that we truly get the sense that our entire world consists only of the hallowed grounds of Camp Nebagamon. As a boy, I can distinctly remember how it felt to be completely oblivious of the fact that there was a world at all beyond the camp gates. This separation allows us, each summer, the space to create as perfect of a world as possible inside the camp gates, free from all of the bad news and challenges of the “real world.” In leaving all of these things behind for a month or two, we afford ourselves the time, focus, and energy to connect with each other in a way that the outside world sometimes doesn’t allow. We get in touch with ourselves, get in touch with each other, and get in touch with nature. Anyone that has ever been to camp knows that the friendships and connections that are forged here, away from “reality,” are significantly different and more substantive than virtually all of those that exist in the outside world. We abandon the disquieting intensity and stress of the “real world” in favor of a world that is safe, consistent, and enduring. Every summer, the Camp Nebagamon world is exactly as positive of a place as WE make it.

In the Camp Nebagamon world, the NASDAQ means nothing and CNOC means everything. We forget about Tax Day and focus only on Cruiser Days. The tech bubble is meaningless and blowing the biggest bubble on Guinness T. Nebagamous Day can make you a hero. Salary caps are worthless but the Chef’s Cap is priceless. The unpredictability of the political world is replaced with the unpredictability of the week’s dessert menu. Fears about global warming are washed away with that first leap into Lake Nebagamon in June.

To be sure, despite my lamentations in the first paragraph about the current sorry state of affairs with our species, our decision to shut out the real world for the summer is not strictly about giving ourselves a break from the bad news out there. It is not a simple decision to bury our heads in the sand. A big reason for this approach is to prove to ourselves that there is a better way to be a part of a community. There is a better way to treat each other. There is a better way to manage disagreement. There is a better way to seek compromise. And, sure, there is a best way to make the perfect s’more. With these experiences and with the lessons learned at camp, we hope to send folks out into the world after the summer that are equipped to lead with kindness, compassion, and level heads. 

I have great faith that the “real world” will settle down a bit…it has to. But in the meantime, see ya later “real world,” we are all taking a well needed break from you. See you in August.

Embracing the Future

By Adam Kaplan

Nebagamon Campers taking the Tennis Court Oath

In 1789, The Tennis Court Oath started a revolt of the commoners against the French Monarchy, and paved the way for modern republics as a form of government. In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church signaling the beginning of the Protestant Reformation which would radically reshape the Catholic Church and Christianity as a whole. In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down indicating the reunification of Germany and the end of the Soviet Union. In 476, Romulus Augustulus abdicated his position of Emperor of the Roman Empire ushering in the Dark Ages which would last for 1000 years in Europe, and result in a bleak existence for most Europeans during that millennium. In 1985, Coca-Cola introduced New Coke resulting in undoubtedly the most dramatic upheaval ever to surround a soda pop. 

And after the summer of 2024, Noah Stein will become the new director of Camp Nebagamon. (We will get back to this moment in just one paragraph after I have labored for a bit to make this massively inappropriate metaphor work!)

In each of these moments, the world seemed to be thrown off its axis and the dislocation, disequilibrium, and uncertainty of the times was truly frightening for huge swaths of humanity. And in each of these cases, it played out very differently and the world became a safer, more inclusive, and more democratic place. (Ok, sure…it may be tough to make this case when it comes to the Dark Ages…and New Coke…but for our purposes here, let’s just all agree that while the changes were accompanied by some anxiety and trepidation, in the end, things wound up BETTER because of these evolutions.)

To date, the institution that we all hold so dear, Camp Nebagamon, has undergone three transitions of its own. When Muggs and Janet entrusted Nebagamon to Sally and Nardie Stein in the late 1950s, people were nervous about what this change might mean. Muggs was a larger-than-life, charismatic personality and the notion of him being replaced by his daughter and her sandals and socks-wearing husband, seemed hard to swallow. And yet…the fruits that were born of the Sally and Nardie era at camp are inarguably among the most important additions and improvements in the nearly 100-year history of Nebagamon. When it became time for Nardie and Sally to pass the torch on to Roger and Judy, again people were nervous about what this might mean for camp. To many, Sally and Nardie were synonymous with Nebagamon, and it seemed impossible to fathom a new set of directors stewarding this special place. And yet…the growth and evolution of Nebagamon during Judy and Roger’s time as directors, established Nebagamon as an even more forward looking institution that understood its importance to children and their development. Nebagamon continued and enhanced its position as a premier place for boys to grow, have fun, and learn. And 21 years ago, when Judy and Roger entrusted Stephanie and me with the keys to the castle, we too were met with some degree of nervousness (mostly because the alumni that knew me as a child wanted to make sure I had NOTHING to do with influencing children moving forward!!). And yet…the two of us have worked very hard to keep Nebagamon growing and relevant during our tenure.

And after the summer of 2024, Noah Stein will become the new director of Camp Nebagamon.

Frustratingly, Noah’s moving into this job has not been met with the same malaise! What happened to being nervous and anxious about new leadership!? What happened to things will never be the same?! Where is the doom and gloom!?! What are Stephanie and I…chopped liver?!?!

Much to the credit of the Nebagamon family, and to Noah himself, the announcement of Noah Stein as the next director of camp has been met with tremendous excitement, warmth, openness and optimism.

Noah is that kind of guy. He is exciting, warm, open, and incredibly positive. Those that know him already can attest to this, and those that are just beginning to know him have already gotten a sense of this.

Nebagamon is that kind of place. It is a place where exciting things happen. It is a place where people are greeted with warmth and openness as we live up to our ideal of This Shall Be A Place Of Welcome For All. And Nebagamon is a positive place. With a healthy respect and passion for tradition, and always with an eye towards possibility and the future.

Just as the moments, that I mentioned at the beginning of this note, had lasting positive impacts on the future of civilization (with the exception of the Black Death, famine and that disgusting flavor of Coke), this seminal moment in the history of Nebagamon, Noah Stein taking over as director, will have a lasting impact on the future of this institution that we all love so much. And the place will be all the better for it. I know Noah is the type of leader to make this happen, and I know this community is populated with the type of people that will embrace the future.

Second Thoughts

By Adam Kaplan

Without a doubt, this has been a significant few months in the history of Camp Nebagamon. As most of you know, in November we announced that Nebagamon’s Board of Directors would begin a search for a new Camp Director. With a tremendously loyal and active alumni base, a dedicated and committed staff, and wonderfully invested campers, this announcement caused quite a stir in the camp community. The announcement was met with excitement about the future of camp, anxiety about finding the right leader, and relief about the end of the repetitive jokes (as some of you might know, I am a firm proponent of the maxim, “Repetition equals comedy”), off-key singing (as some of you might know, while I believe I have a voice that suggests the brushstrokes of a master painter, others point out that I do not EVER stay on one key!) and long-winded post-council fire speeches (as some of you might know, I believe that if you say enough words, you are bound to say SOMETHING right)!

Over the course of the past few months, Board’s search committee sought alumni, staff, parent and camper input; put together a list of the criteria they believe necessary for the new leadership; reviewed many applications; spoken with many applicants; and overall worked incredibly diligently to find all of us the right Director. Their efforts have been enormously time-consuming, and yet they were each happy to put in whatever work was necessary because the task at hand felt so significant.

During this process, the incredibly wise search committee knew that their best sources of insight about both what the job requires and the candidates who applied were Stephanie and me, as we have held the position for 21 years now and are close with almost everyone who applied for it.

What ensued was multiple calls and meetings with us to suss out all of these details. By the middle of it, it became clear to everyone involved (particularly Steph and me) that there was simply no replacing us. We are simply far too talented… far too charismatic… far too humble.

However, the announcement of our retirement had already been made, so sadly there was no turning back. So the Board decided to use modern technology and turned to Chat GPT to generate the ideal Camp Director to run camp once we retire. This way a virtual version of of Stephanie and me can run camp into perpetuity. What could be better?!

So we have spent the last few weeks uploading our consciousnesses into the Director AI algorithm. We have been absolutely amazed at how good AI is at simulating our decision making, speech giving, song butchering, and comedic shortcomings. The matrix really is amazing.

Of course, there have been hiccups. For example, when AI did the ordering for the summer, we noticed that there was an AI request for 50,000 ladybugs and 100,000 mosquitos. Turns out “BUG JUICE” is confusing to AI. Similarly, we received an invoice the other day for 27 Clydesdale horses and 27 sets of swim goggles (we have 27 cabins at camp) to aid with horse-n-goggles. Still, there were some efficiencies identified by AI that will make camp better, like dramatically decreasing Nebagamon’s carbon footprint by employing Apple Vision virtual reality goggles to simulate being in Quetico and Pictured Rocks all the while having the boys just camp out on the Upper Diamond.

The final step was for the Board to come up with appropriate body doubles to be present at camp during the summers to make it FEEL as if Stephanie and I are actually at camp. They racked (wracked?) their brains for weeks trying to figure out who could be hired to stand physically in our steads. In the end, all of the suggestions came up short. They weren’t good-looking, athletic, or youthful enough to convincingly pass as us. So, they decided to ask AI to make the choice. They input hundreds of photos of the two of us into the system.

The results were disappointing, to say the least. For me, the computer suggested Frodo Baggins or Danny DeVito. And for Stephanie, ChatGPT simply generated a message: “ERROR! Are you kidding? If you think I am going to suggest someone as a stand in for Steph, you are nuts. Have you ever seen her angry before!? I may be Artificial Intelligence….but I am not stupid! ERROR”

Unfortunately AI’s failure to identify appropriate stand-ins has resulted in my having to choose the body doubles.

So: you can all look forward to meeting your new camp directors on June 18…Sylvester Stallone and… .

Wait for it…. 

Are you kidding? If you think I am going to suggest someone as a stand in for Steph, you are nuts. Have you ever seen her angry before!? I may be a seasoned camp director….but I am not stupid!

Happy April Fool’s Day!

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