By Adam Kaplan
Greetings from…well…my basement…still in my basement. Normally, when I write my Arrowhead articles, I try to take something that is going in the world (or in my world), explore it a bit, and then give a Camp Nebagamon spin on it. However, today, I want to address the pandemic and give everyone an update on Camp Nebagamon.
As of course all of you know, we made the tough decision last year not to run camp as the information about the virus was still very incomplete and so, at the time, we did not feel confident that we could run camp in a safe way…always our very first priority.
Since then, much has been learned about COVID-19, how to mitigate it, and specifically, how to safely run a summer camp while the virus is still active. These lessons have been learned through incredible efforts on the part of the world’s medical and scientific communities, the hard work of the American Camp Association, and the successes and failures of camps that did run last summer. We just know so much more. Diving deep into the information and lessons, we have become much more comfortable with running camp safely during this pandemic.
SO LET ME STATE LOUDLY, CLEARLY, AND EXCITEDLY THAT CAMP NEBAGAMON WILL BE RUNNING THIS SUMMER!
Sheesh, that felt good to write!!!
Our full-time administrative crew has been feverishly working to create the safest and most fun summer that we possibly can. Indeed, this summer will be different from previous summers in several ways. At this point, given the continually changing landscape of the COVID-19 world we are living in, it would not make sense to enumerate all of the plans, and back-up plans, and back-up plans of the back-up plans that we have been working on. Having said that, there are some guiding principles at the core of all of this planning. These include:
Continually educating ourselves on the latest developments and recommendations from the CDC, American Camp Association, Wisconsin and Douglas County Departments of Health, medical professionals, and our fellow camps.- A closed campus. While I have always maintained that, to the majority of our campers, the 77 acres of camp feels like the entire universe, this year we are going to make that real! Camp will exist as a bubble with no visitors. Even our staff will be spending their time off on the grounds (or on chaperoned and socially isolated field trips to quiet beaches and parks). In order to make it as likely as possible that everyone entering the camp bubble is COVID-free, our protocol will include a pre-camp quarantine, pre-camp testing, and a period, initially upon arrival, during which cabin groups will stay together as a cohort. This period will be followed up with a second set of tests, after an appropriate number of days, to check that indeed, we are free of COVID-19.
- Hiring an outstanding staff that is prepared to manage the unique challenges of this summer. We will be expanding our staff training to two weeks (up from eight days) to ensure that our staff is ready to facilitate an amazing summer (and probably so bored from listening to us that they will be INCREDIBLY excited to have those kids arrive!!!!) We will also be hiring extra medical staff and have arranged to have one doctor at camp for the ENTIRE summer to provide continuity of care.
- Masking and social distancing. We will be utilizing these important interventions to protect our community. We all wish we could be done with this, but at this point, it is still a critical tool to stay as safe as possible. Mask wearing and social distancing will likely be used when folks are interacting outside of their cohort groups. When within cohort groups, masks and social distancing will not be necessary.
- Being outside! Lucky for summer camps, being outside is extremely effective in the fight against COVID. I have always talked about how a summer at camp means that we are basically spending the entire time outside. This year, we are going to take that to a whole new level doing everything possible outdoors. We will eat outdoors (weather permitting) and we will move virtually all indoor activities outside.
- Increased sanitation and hygiene protocols. There will be a renewed emphasis on handwashing and we have built a new handwashing station to help facilitate that. We will also be increasing the frequency and targeted nature of our cleaning regimen using CDC recommended COVID-killing cleaning solutions.
- All for one and one for all. Everyone – parents, staff, and campers are responsible for the health of our camp community this summer. We will be asking everyone to commit to abiding by the protocols that we decide are necessary for a safe summer.
- Last but not least, clear and frequent communication with our families about what is happening at camp. We have always encouraged our camp parents to reach out to us for any reason and we, again, want to reiterate that we value your participation on our team to ensure your son has a fabulous summer at camp!
To be clear, these guiding principles are the foundation of what we are building to this summer. I wish that we could give you a definitive plan right now, but the information regarding COVID continues to change. It would be premature to think we know now what the conditions will be in four and a half months from now. However, I can promise you that we will continue to update you on our plans as they become more certain and as we flesh out the details as we approach the summer. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.
(These guiding principles are posted on the camp website and you can read a bit more here.)
Wow….yeah…pretty dry Arrowhead article, Adam…..
I hear you….
BUT WAIT! THAT’S NOT ALL!!!
Sure, I have just laid out many ways that camp will be different this summer. But, I also think it important to remind ourselves that Camp Nebagamon will still be the Camp Nebagamon we know and love this summer! The summer of 2021 will:
Be one of unabashed fun and playfulness. At a time when the world seems awfully serious, camp will serve as a reminder of how much fun life can be….and we intend, as ever, to embrace this fun fully!- Foster lifelong friendships through Council Fires, sailing, pushball, laughter, cabin discussions and even a game of box hockey! Our kids have spent a lot of time away from each other over the past year; there can be no doubt that they all need some serious kid time. What better way than a month (or two-month) long slumber party!?
- Push each of us to be our best selves by a shared expectation that we are all committed to treating ourselves, each other, our community, and our environment as well as we possibly can.
- Help boys realize how capable they are; grow self-confidence. This is the beauty of a long portage on a canoe trip, the achievement of reaching the top of the climbing wall, the happiness of getting up on water skis, or the self-discovery of navigating the challenges and rewards of group living.
- Provide opportunities to live in nature. Play in nature. Deepen our love and respect for nature.
- Help boys discover new passions, talents, and interests.
- Provide opportunities for countless campfires. Anyone that has ever sat around a campfire with a group of friends knows all about the magic of that experience. Everything is different around a campfire. We all look a little different in the firelight. The warmth of a campfire is like none other. The conversations are deeper. The laughter more contagious. And the S’MORES, S’MORES, and more S’MORES are beyond compare!
These are treasures that a summer at Camp Nebagamon has always provided. And even in this summer, when camp will have to alter itself somewhat to protect our community from COVID, in all of the ways that matter, Camp Nebagamon will provide the exact same incredible experiences that it always has.
Hmmm…so I guess this Arrowhead article does follow my format – I took something going on in the world, explored it a bit, and then put a decidedly Nebagamon spin on it. As your camper will tell you, I am a believer in repetition (and that is just in my comedic world). So, rather than come up with a whole new Arrowhead article rubric, I just stuck with the same one! And instead of being concise and to the point, was long-winded as ever!
We are just so incredibly excited to be back up at camp this summer with a camp full of kids. We are working hard to make it happen and just cannot wait!
Now to take a moment to brag about the city I call home (Duluth) during the winter. As long as you embrace the cold and snow there are some great activities to take advantage of to fight off COVID fatigue. Driving 10 minutes in any direction from my house, I can be pedaling amazing snow-covered mountain bike trails on my fat bike (four-inch-wide tires), go ice climbing (this has been really fun and challenging) and cross-country ski on well groomed trails. Aside from the health benefits of getting out on local trails, and of course the adrenaline rush of winter mountain biking or ice climbing, there is a greater reward: the friendships that I’ve formed through these activities. Now more than ever, I cherish these great friendships, as we all feel we can safely get together (outside in the cold) and laugh to stay positive during the past year of COVID. How lucky am I that I get to ice climb with a couple of friends who’ve climbed the Eiger, paddle the Brule with old professors, and bike with college friends from way back in the 90’s! I’m loving it and more important, I am thankful for these friendships.
The warm and dry weather pattern continued for another month here in the far Northwoods of Wisconsin. With barely 10 inches of new snowfall in January and a day of rain as well, we left the month with approximately 12 inches remaining on the ground, a bit less than the 15 inches we came into the month with. It’s an odd 12 inches for a January as well! This is usually a month of deep fluffy snow, but this year the snow is thin and sugary with a quarter-inch layer of ice about three inches down. The poor snow conditions are due to the fact that it wasn’t until the middle of the third week of the month that we saw a high temperature that wasn’t 5 to 10 degrees above average! We were forced to endure temperatures in the upper 20s and mid 30s for days on end. Finally on the 18th of the month, it looked as though we might get a taste of actual winter when the mercury dipped into the mid-teens. But, that was dashed as things shot up into the lower 40s for the two following days. Thankfully that was short lived and things have finally, truly gotten winter-like for the final week of January with temps getting close to normal for this part of the season. Unfortunately, it looks as though the snow drought is going to continue for our area into February, with little snow forecast for the next week or two.
Things were so bleak on the snow front that as we went into Christmas break I was worried that I would have to postpone my annual back country ski adventure, scheduled for the first part of January. Luckily, the big pre-Christmas storm gave us ample snow and my vacation plans were saved! This tradition started back in 2018, the year I went to Yellowstone National Park for a week of guided back country skiing. In 2019 I returned to Yellowstone again to explore more of the park with guided treks into that beautiful remote wilderness. After a second year in Yellowstone I came home with a boosted confidence in my abilities (and also the realization that my chosen career as a boys camp caretaker wasn’t lucrative enough to sustain an annual trip out West to the mountains with hired guides every year!). My confidence helped me start soloing closer to home in order to continue this new annual tradition. Fortunately, as many of you who have taken advantage of camps tripping program know well, I live in an area with endless wilderness within easy driving distances (although lacking in the inspiring mountain vistas…). So last year I did my first solo trip to the Sylvania Wilderness in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and had a delightful and challenging four days of trekking that remote wilderness. For this year’s adventure I decided to trek some miles on The North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST). For those of you unfamiliar with this trail, it is part of the National Park Services portfolio of national treasures and (upon completion) will be the longest continuous hiking trail in the United States, clocking in at 4600 miles. The NCNST starts in the east at Allegany State Park in New York and passes through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and ending in Lake Sakakawea State Park in North Dakota. The Wisconsin section passes just 10 miles from Lake Nebagamon as it winds its way along the Brule River and through the Brule River State Forest. I started to ski and hike the Wisconsin section of the NCNST in the spring of 2019 and had skied or hiked about 50 miles on it up until this year’s back country ski vacation. The trail is administered and protected by the National Park Service
5th Grade Campers: Zander Aronoff, Zach Bell, Chris Chiles, Alon Cohen, Jake Finkelstein, Gabe Fisher, Evan Friedman, Ryan Glickman, Will Grant, Wilson Heeringa, Adam Kaufman, Ellison Kelly, Kingston Kelly, Nathan Massel, Eli More, Hudson Rufi, Eli Sands, Sagiv Siegel, Jacob Solomon, Kavi Vishnubhakat, Zach Weiskopf, Felix Yessian
8th – Jack Tierney, Eli Terman