Camp Nebagamon

By Noah Stein

I love the lead up to a Nebagamon wilderness trip. It starts a few days before a trip departs. Village directors circulate the Rec Hall with a blank “trip list.” They approach tables of campers and ask, “Who wants to go to the Boundary Waters in three days?!?!” Campers eagerly raise their hands, the village director adds their names to the list, and three days later they’re in the Boundary Waters.

The days between signing up and departing are all about preparation. Campers earn their required ranks at projects like CNOC and canoeing, learning all the skills they’ll need for their trip. They meet as a group with their trip staff, specialized counselors who are entirely dedicated to making sure campers have the most fun, safe experience out there imaginable. The trip staff provide them a packing list, and campers load up their bags with everything they’ll need.

The day before the trip, campers attend their “trip physical.” They meet with our health center staff to ensure that they are healthy and ready to spend some time in the woods. The trip physical doubles as a chance for the trip staff to confirm that everyone is packed and ready to go, and to provide the campers some more details about the trip. Campers gather around maps as the trip staff describe their route, pointing out the lakes they’ll paddle and portages they’ll cross. 

While campers show interest in the maps, the route description is often overshadowed by what comes next: the menu reveal! Ask anyone who’s been on a Camp Nebagamon trip and they’ll confirm that our trail food is absurdly delicious. Think heaping bowls of pesto pasta, homemade pizza, and even, on occasion, vegetarian “trail sushi,” a delicious creation of our Trip Director, Jonah Domsky. If the campers weren’t already excited, the menu really does it. The next morning, campers rise early, have a quick pre-departure breakfast in the Rec Hall, load their gear into the vans, and take off! 

The process leading up to the trip is fun. As the trip approaches, excitement builds. Campers do all of this preparation and talk about what the trip will be like, so when the time comes to leave, many campers are just itching to get out there. At the same time, there’s often a common experience of nervousness alongside the excitement. What will the trip be like? Will the weather be good? Will “trail sushi” be as delicious as advertised? The truth is, the only way campers uncover the answers to these questions is to just get out there and do it. (But, yes, trail sushi is as advertised!)

I’m actually heading out for a Camp Nebagamon trip today: The 2024-2025 reunion road show! Louis, Adam and I are headed to Detroit and driving all the way to Dallas over the course of the next two and a half weeks, with stops in Cleveland, Nashville, Atlanta, Memphis and Houston. After Dallas, we’ll hop on a plane to Denver to wrap up this leg of the reunion tour. (See Troika’s article Camp Nebagamon on Tour for details.)

As this trip has approached, I’ve been thinking about how in many ways the process leading up to this trip has felt similar to how campers feel before heading out on a summertime trip. Like a normal camp trip, it started with a whole lot of preparation. The year-round team and I have talked about a bunch of ways we can build on our already-awesome reunions to make them even better! We’ve connected with families in our community who have graciously agreed to host these events, and we’ve thought long and hard about how to spread the word to as many camp folks as possible.

Like a summertime Camp Nebagamon trip, I’ve had to consider packing. While unfortunately we don’t have any current trip staff around to provide me with a packing list, it’s been neat to think about the fact that this trip will cover such a vast portion of the country that I’ll have to plan for different climates in different places. Camp’s geographical diversity is incredible.

Just as our campers review their route with their trip staff before heading out, it’s been really fun working with Louis and Adam to figure out our route for this tour. I’m eager to explore parts of the country I’ve never been to before, visiting so many amazing people along the way. And just like our campers, I’m extremely excited for our trip menu, getting to try the local delicacies on our route. (Nashville hot chicken is high on the list)

As all of this preparation has gone on, I’ve become increasingly excited to hit the road. And it’s no wonder. One of the most crucial steps in preparing for this trip has also been one of my favorite parts of my job so far: connecting with families and alumni. As I’ve spoken with members of the camp family, my eagerness to hit the road and reconnect with old camp friends and meet parents and alumni, in person, has only grown. Again, I just find it so cool that there are folks around the country (and the world) who care so much about Camp Nebagamon and do whatever they can to stay connected. It’s really inspiring, and coming into this new role I plan on working with our team to continue finding ways to help folks stay connected to camp all year round.

Like our summertime trips, I’ve also had that familiar sense of hesitation about the unknown which our campers often experience before heading out on trail. Will people show up to the reunions? Will it be fun? What will it be like to spend that much time in a car with Kaplan? 

But if this last weekend was any indication, this road trip is going to be great. In a precursor to our two and a half week drive, we held our first reunion of the offseason in St. Louis last weekend and it was a huge success. We had a great showing from our current campers and staff members, from parents and alumni. It was tons of fun.

So consider this article to be your village director walking to your Rec Hall table with a trip list asking, “Who wants to come to a reunion this offseason?!?!” RAISE YOUR HAND and RSVP for your local reunion.

See you on the road!