by Adam Kaplan
Earlier this month, Steph and I met a couple of friends in Nevada. It was designed as a long weekend getaway, but it was more of a re-enactment. Back in December 1995, when our friends Brad and Amy Herzog were in the early stages of what would become a nearly year-long RV journey around the country, we met them in Las Vegas. What happens in Vegas? Shrug. We didn’t stay there. At least not too long. We quickly piled into the RV and made our way from Sin City to the scenery of Valley of Fire State Park.
Valley of Fire was a revelation to us—a gathering of bright red sandstone outcrops nestled in gray and tan limestone, all set against a bright blue sky. Since December wasn’t the busy season, we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We hiked and climbed. We barbecued beneath the stars. We laughed. A lot. Most of all, we cemented a close friendship that has lasted more than a generation.
So a few weeks ago, we decided to do it again. Steph and I flew from Boise to Las Vegas. Brad and Amy came in from California. And we spent a very hot day hiking in that same Valley of Fire. Sure, we also spent a night amid the neon absurdities of Las Vegas, but the primary aim of the trip was once again to surround ourselves with natural wonder. After all, the nature played a large role in nurturing a friendship. Why not re-live the experience?
I believe Camp Nebagamon offers much the same opportunities. Those of us who are lucky enough to still spend summers there can re-live the experience each June, July, and August. And those of us who have maintained camp friendships for decades can understand that they were friendships nurtured by the Northwoods.
When alumni return to Nebagamon, whether after a long or short absence, they always marvel at how it feels much the same. The cabins haven’t changed. The sound of the bell matches their recollections. The climb to the Upper Diamond seems similar, if perhaps feeling a bit steeper. But what really brings it all back? The natural sense memories—the whisper of the wind in the trees, the scent of the pine cones, the sound of a crackling fire, the view from the beach. The natural surroundings that were imprinted in our memories.
It’s one thing to form friendships around the table in the Rec Hall, but those bonds become even stronger when you’re sharing a jaw-dropping view of the Northern Lights or when you seem to have a whole lake to yourselves at Quetico Provincial Park. In fact, Nebagamon’s broad and bold wilderness tripping program allows campers to have that experience over and over again. I’m certain that most alumni reading this have vivid memories of first glimpsing a natural marvel that made you gape in awe. The rocky beaches of Rainbow Cove on Isle Royale. The endless stretch of Gunflint Lake in the BWCA. Log Slide Overlook at Pictured Rocks. And on and on and on…
With that in mind, this edition of The Keylog is the NATURE issue—devoted to the notion that Nebagamon both develops an appreciation for our surroundings and takes advantage of it. Toward that end, we asked a handful of alumni to wax poetic about their favorite trees amid camp’s 77 acres… and we offer a Q&A with the original Brother Nature (whom I remember fondly from my Swamper and Logger days)… and we highlight a few people who are taking steps to save the Boundary Waters… and we’ve taken a vicarious trip (thanks to excerpts from a blog by Jaime Hensel) to one of Earth’s most wondrous natural wonders—Antarctica.
I hope it’s the next best thing to being there.
