Camp Nebagamon

By Noah Stein

My first time at camp was twenty years ago, and until this past weekend, I had only ever spent time up there during the summer. However, I’d heard stories about camp’s winter beauty, and I wanted to experience it for myself, so I journeyed to camp last weekend to check it out and see what all the hype was about. It exceeded my expectations. Here are my top 10 observations from a snowy weekend at camp:

1. Hill games are harder in the winter. While it was a bit too icy for four square, and the ping pong tables and box hockey sets were hibernating for the winter, the ring game still dangled elegantly from that iconic tree. I tried many times, but somehow I was unable to land the ring on the hook. I swear it’s the winter’s fault because I’ve been playing that game for years and consider myself kind of a pro. Regardless, I’ve made a commitment to myself to spend as much of my free time as possible working on this critical skill this summer. Swampers, I think I could really use some coaching to regain my ring game confidence. Thank you in advance for your support.
2. Camp feels smaller in the winter. Standing atop the Hill near the Swamper/Logger Push Shack, I could see all the way through the Axeman Village to the frozen lake beyond. From that same vantage point, I could see the entire outline of the hill on which the upper diamond rests along with the entirety of the climbing wall. During the winter when the trees are bare, you can see so much further through areas typically obstructed by foliage, and that expanded view makes camp feel smaller.
3. The lake is completely frozen. This one might seem obvious, but I don’t think I understood how amazing it is until I took a walk from the range to the waterfront…walking entirely on the lake! I embarked from the friendship ring on the range and stomped out onto the snow-covered ice, around Lorber Point, and along the shore by the Lumberjack Village until I reached the swim area. It was a completely surreal experience.
4. The waterproof rank is best achieved during summer months. Attempting the first rank in swimming, called the waterproof, is an expectation of each camper every summer. What some don’t realize is that all our staff members are required to earn their waterproof as well during staff training. While I love the camaraderie of jumping in the lake with our whole staff team, I figured while I was up there last weekend, I’d just get my waterproof out of the way…
5. The fish are still down there. I was lucky to do some ice fishing out on the lake with camp friends including our head caretaker, Andy Mack (‘91-‘24), and Jeremy Nordin-Berghuis (‘09-‘16, ‘22, ‘24 ). We drilled holes in the ice, dropped our lines, sat comfortably in portable huts, and caught fifteen fish!
6. Snow angels work better in the winter. But you can certainly try sand angels in the summer…
7. It’s quiet. Like, really quiet. The noises of summer were nowhere to be found. No distant laughter, or slamming doors, or bells ringing, or songs radiating from the Rec Hall. Sure, I noticed the whispering wind and the crunching of snow beneath my boots, but when I stood still and the wind died down, there was silence.
8. It’s way easier to do your two-mile canoe paddle (required for the “tripper” rank in canoeing) during the winter. As long as you have a valid driver’s license.
9. Our caretakers Andy Mack and Joe Crain (‘95- ‘24) work at camp all year round. Ok this is another one that may seem obvious, but when I visited Andy and Joe in the depths of winter, the weight of their roles became more apparent to me than ever. While the lack of leaves on the trees made camp feel small, it’s not. Camp includes seventy-seven acres with over ninety buildings. For over thirty years, Joe and Andy have worked tirelessly to maintain and improve our hallowed grounds, taking care of each acre and each building with intentionality and love. OVER THIRTY YEARS! When alumni return to camp the common refrain is “it looks the same as I remember it.” Well, that’s not an accident. That’s the case because of the dedication of these two stewards. Camp stays as beautiful as it is because our caretakers spend every day making it so.
10. Winter at camp is cool (no pun intended)…and it’s just not the same. I’m so glad I finally visited camp in the winter, and I can’t wait to spend even more offseason time up there in the future. I gained a new perspective of the land, experienced the lake in a completely different way, tried something new (ice fishing), and did familiar activities like the waterproof, the ring game and the two-mile paddle in brand new ways. In the days since I’ve returned, I’ve been thinking a lot about that sense of quiet I experienced. Don’t get me wrong, I often seek out opportunities to escape city noise and find solace in the quiet of the great outdoors. And, as I trudged through our snowy camp, I couldn’t help but miss the noise of summer. Those summertime sounds are more than just noise – they’re the audible byproduct of a thriving community that comes together for the blink of an eye every year. While camp is certainly “cool” during the winter, it’s missing that community, and that community is what makes Camp…Camp.

Compiled by Louis Levin

The sense of adventure our campers experience at Nebagamon is unparalleled. Just coming to camp for the first time is stepping into the unknown -away from home, trying something new and unfamiliar. And then our wilderness tripping program pushes them further out of their comfort zones; each year new opportunities open up which are further and longer from camp as they progress through our program. But as an administrator/pencil pusher/desk jockey who’s been at camp for nearly 20 years, camp is pretty familiar and comfortable for me, and my job at camp means I don’t get to join campers on their wilderness trip adventures… My best option over the summer is to live vicariously through the stories our campers share at the conclusion of their adventures.

So, my adventures have to take place in the offseason, and finding a place to go camping during the winter can be a challenge from my home base in Chicago. This past month, my wife Maggie, some of her family, and I embarked upon an enormous adventure – we spent a week on a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands. Now I’ll admit, as vacations go, sailing the B.V.I. is usually not too similar to the Camp Nebagamon experience – it evokes images of superyachts, captain, crew, and private chefs, straight out of an episode of Bravo’s Below Deck. We chose to sail a different path – we were our own captain, crew, and chef on an older sailboat. Our boat was basically a larger-sized X-boat, just like the ones our campers sail. Simply a mainsail and a jib, it even had the same number of ropes! Compared to the catamarans and yachts we’d moor next to each night, our jalopy was pretty simple, and a little cramped for four of us, but that contributed to the campy feel.

I could write a handful of different Arrowhead articles about this trip, and I’ve cycled through them all over the past few days… I could tell you about how I learned to sail at camp and used those skills on this trip. I could describe how the trip pushed me out of my comfort zone like trips do for our campers. This could be a great article about group living as well; spending a week with just four of us on a 41’ sailboat made us practice a good amount of patience with one another, just like our cabin groups at camp have to do.

But the lesson I most took away from this adventure was learned from deciding to opt into presence. When planning this trip, we were certain we’d get pretty bad cell service, and rented a Wi-Fi hotspot to keep on the boat for emergency purposes. When we arrived, well, it turns out our phones worked just fine. This was not what I wanted out of an adventure! Being away from my phone is a crucial part of my camping experiences, and our campers’ experiences at Camp Nebagamon. So Maggie and I decided we’d still follow through on the promise of a screen-free camping experience – we turned our phones off, tucked them safely below deck, and pretended they didn’t exist. I left behind the notifications and alerts that light my phone up and, without fail, claim to be more urgent than they actually are. I spent time focused on the natural beauty of what can credibly be described as paradise, and connected more deeply with my family, playing cards and telling stories of adventures past on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

The defining feature of this trip, for me, was that we opted in. With all the convenience of our phones right there below deck, it took some self control to break the phone habit and choose to be really present. And then when I got home, it dawned on me that I didn’t need to go camping to achieve this glorious, unburdened feeling our campers have every minute of the summer. I can opt in at home too! On a few different nights since we’ve gotten back, I’ve simply left my phone in another room. I’ve decided I can google that trivia question later, or respond to texts in the morning, or check my email once I get to my desk. It’s easier to opt into presence if you’re in the Boundary Waters where there is no cell service, but that feeling of true presence can be found if you intentionally seek it out.

Our campers are lucky. A summer at Nebagamon is designed to intentionally take them away from technology and foster this presence. At Nebagamon, the adventures our campers embark upon in camp and on trail are made much richer by the absence of screens. Campers create deeper friendships, gain a deeper appreciation of nature, and find a deeper immersion in the learning experience camp offers. And for how much I preach about the benefits of that experience, I’ve been enjoying benefiting from that presence myself, on this most recent adventure, and also, on a Tuesday night.

We have a lot of news to share from our reunions this past month – if you have anything you’d like to share with the camp family, send it my way or fill out the form here!

I hope Brent’s honeymoon is probably as relaxing as his time on staff in 2006!

IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO KNOW… In Chicago, Gabe Fisher is playing percussion for a music conservatory, specializing in marimba. Alex Gudgeon is staying involved in camping as a day camp counselor at Camp Tamarack for 2nd and 3rd grade campers. Charlie Gilligan is hunting his next big scoop as the editor of his middle school newspaper – perhaps he can dig up a scandal on budding politician Linus Quinn-Pasin, Sophomore Class President and a member of the crew team at St. Ignatious College Prep, or perhaps he can take a broader lens and focus on the entire country of Spain, which is represented by Braden Montez in his school’s Model United Nations. Grant Hall is getting ready for PBD quiz bowl on his school’s quiz bowl team, and is in the Dungeons and Dragons club. Ben Varon is playing pickleball and on his school’s Super Smash Brothers esports team. There are some musicians in the windy city – Max Yarborough is practicing trumpet, Gray Wyler is playing electric guitar in a rock band and is a defender for his soccer team, Dylan Wolf is playing drums and tennis, and Kavi Vishnubhakat is working on his piano, as well as playing lots of tennis. And campers are playing every sport you can think of in Chicago, despite the inhospitable sports weather: Carter Gray is playing baseball all winter long in his indoor league, Aidan Huberman is playing water polo, Micahel Kerne is a shooting guard for his basketball team, Evan Friedman is playing tennis, Will Bratlein is a forward for his basketball team, and David Levick is competing in all-around events in gymnastics. Our runners are Peter Boutross who is training for the mile and a half for his cross country team, and Chase Kornblett who is running the mile and the 800 meter for his track team. Finally, Josh Wallenstein is sitting at home and waiting for camp… in his words, it’s “waaaay more fun than school!”

IN THE BIBS AND DIAPERS DEPARTMENT… It’s a boy, Theo Arzoumanian for Josh Weinberg (Chicago, 2004-’09, ’11-’14) and Nika Arzoumanian.

WEDDING CONGRATULATIONS GO TO… Brent Horvay (Chicago, 1996-2001, ’03-’06) and Ilse Escamilla, and to Blake Balser (Atlanta/Dallas, 2004-’10, ’12-’13) and Sophie Miller.