Camp Nebagamon

Yesterday, we had our every-fifth-year visit from an inspection team of the American Camp Association (ACA).  The ACA is the primary association of camps in the country.  With over 2,400 member camps, the ACA’s accreditation process is a rigorous one (not all of the member camps actually become accredited) with approximately 170 separate standards.  Without…

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…

Greetings from Camp! Yesterday was our annual Bi-Camp Meet. The opportunity to get together with our good friends from Camp Northstar once a year for a great day of competition is one of the more prideful days for me each summer. First, it should be noted that there are not a ton of camps out…

When Adam asked me to write this update, I thought about the last few days and all of the exciting opportunities and moments we had together.  These few days just seemed magical and just seemed to fall in perfect line with each other.  It is almost as if the stars aligned to allow for 3…

Yesterday was our first Sunday of the second session. When I speak about the first few days of any session, I often talk about the fact that the tone set in those first few days is very important and sets the standard for the rest of the session. If yesterday was a tone setter for…

The first few days of each session are prime time for what we call “rank work.” Almost all of our projects have a system of ranks that campers work through by learning skills and gaining mastery in the respective program areas.  For example, at our sailing program, ranks begin with “3rd mate.” To earn their…

Admittedly, the first few nights of camp this session have been a bit chilly.  Still, the fact that a second four week camper had donned his bright orange goose down jacket this morning and refused to take it off seemed to be signaling something deeper than his seeking protection against climatological challenges. If you have…

Changeover is a great two day period here at camp.  Having a camp with only 60 or so kids in it allows us to do some things that we normally would not be able to do because of our numbers.  On the first day we all enjoyed a beach morning followed by an iron chef…

Greetings from Camp! Admittedly, today is my second least favorite day of camp every summer.  It is Packing Day…Yuck. Without a doubt, for all of us, this is a bittersweet time. For the 104 kids that will be boarding busses tomorrow, there is excitement and, yes, even joy at the prospect of heading home to…

There was no wakeup bell this morning. Instead, campers arose to the excited cheers of four of our oldest campers, running from cabin to cabin, blowing whistles and shouting into bullhorns, “Wake up; it’s Paul Bunyan Day!” For our new readers, Paul Bunyan Day is our first session all-camp competition day. Camp is divided into…