Compiled by Louis Levin
As a boy, I learned how to camp thanks to Camp Nebagamon, but ultimately, it’s really thanks to my parents. Our Wilderness Tripping program opened an enormous door for me, and my parents held that door open by sending me to camp each summer, well equipped for the journey. Initially, I was a little nervous about going on wilderness trips. I hadn’t done a lot of camping prior to Nebagamon, nor had my siblings, or my father. My mom grew up car camping with her family on looping road trips across the US, but the style of camping taught at Nebagamon was totally new to me. Two vivid memories of my experience with the tripping program stand out — first, I remember Adam Kaplan sitting me down in the Rec Hall to quell my fears about going on a cabin trip in my first few years of camp, from the fear of missing home even more than I already did, to the unfounded fears of what was out there. And, I persevered through the fear to take advantage of the tripping program, learning how to set up my tent and sleeping bag, and make it feel like home for the night. And second, later in my camp career prior to my 8th grade summer, I remember my mom taking me to the outfitter and buying the hiking backpack, hiking boots, and sleeping bag I would take with me on my Isle Royale big trip. The salesperson pointed out to us that the backpack was quite adjustable, and that it would fit me for many years of adventures to come.
That’s the pack!
The salesperson was right. This past month, my wife and I did a 60-mile, seven day backpacking trip on the Tonto Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, and, no joke, I hiked in those same boots, carried that same pack, and slept in that same sleeping bag that my folks gave me as I prepared for my first trips nearly 15 years ago. The boots still fit! I used all the camping skills I learned in my time on trail at camp; how to read a map (pretty necessary on the Tonto!), how to safely filter water (what water we could find in the Arizona dessert…), and how to cook pesto carb, jambalaya, and Vigo burritos. And, perhaps more importantly, I felt comfortable in the wilderness knowing that I had such a strong base of skills from camp to rely on. But it was only with my parents encouragement that I got out there in the first place. Sending me to camp with the gear I needed didn’t just ensure I’d be well equipped for my trips. It enabled me to foster a love of camping that has endured well past my Isle Royale and Quetico trips, to planning big trips of my own.
As we have had to delay the road show for this winter, our main source of news, reunions, has run dry! If you have something to share with the camp family, please send it my way to [email protected]!
IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW… David Levick is going into his second year of gymnastics, competing in all six events. He and Levi Budin met up recently to go indoor skydiving! Judah Gladstein‘s baseball team, the Redbirds, won the St. Matthew’s Little League Major Championship last week. Harrison Yale starred in his pre-school’s Halloween Play as Ryder from Paw Patrol. He… didn’t love the limelight.
IN THE BIBS AND DIAPERS DEPARTMENT… It’s a boy, Lindsay Kopman, for Lewis Kopman (St. Louis/New York, 2002-’07, ’09-’12, ’14-’15) and Genevieve Yam.
