It is a beautiful day at Camp–beautiful and hot. The high this afternoon was around 87°, which made for a perfect day to spend some time in (or on) the water. We’re really lucky that Muggs and Janet Lorber chose to set up Camp on the shores of Lake Nebagamon back in 1929. While some lakes in the area suffer from muckiness, Lake Nebagamon’s sandy bottom makes it perfect for swimming and playing. We even have our own natural sand beach!
This morning our waterfront was the place to be. At canoeing a group of campers working towards their tripper rank – the rank we require campers to earn before they head out on canoe trips – were learning canoe-over-canoe rescues. For the uninitiated, a canoe-over-canoe rescue is a maneuver used to un-swamp a canoe when you can’t get to shore. It was a great day to get wet and flip over some boats!
At sailing just about our entire fleet was out on the water. There was a good amount of wind on the water today which made sailing especially fun. A group of Lumberjacks and their counselor captained our Hobie Cat and were absolutely flying across Lake Nebagamon.
Our swimming project saw the full spectrum this morning from some campers taking beginner lessons, all the way through a logger camper who was working towards his Instructor rank, the highest rank in the project. I saw him complete milestones like treading water for 20 minutes, swimming a full length underwater, and then treading water for two more minutes while holding a tin can above his head with one arm!
Waterskiing was in full swing today, as usual. Our skiers were unfettered by the somewhat choppy lake, a byproduct of the wind. We even had some campers slalom skiing for the very first time today – they were able to drop a ski and continue on only one leg!
This afternoon our rowing project opened up for kayaking. Campers paddled the shoreline… and of course, flipped over their friends! On this sweltering summer day, what’s more fun than getting thrown into the lake?.
The summertime watery fun will continue in the evening: tonight is our All Camp Birthday! A full blown birthday party and BBQ celebrating all of us (as someone with a September birthday I am always grateful for this opportunity to have some birthday fun at Camp). The All Camp Birthday’s origins lie in sugar rationing during World War II, when Muggs and Janet consolidated birthday treats into one big celebration! While we’re back to celebrating individual birthdays these days, the tradition outlived the sugar rations and is now a beloved, quirky Camp Nebagamon staple.
Tonight we’ll eat delicious homemade street tacos prepared by our kitchen staff, many of whom live in Mexico during the offseason. We’ll hear a performance from a camper band playing a song written by a camp alum who is visiting this weekend, and after dinner campers will roam to various stations located on the lower diamond. Fortunately on this hot day, many of them involve getting wet! Campers can opt into the “slip ‘n’ slime,” (I promise it sounds grosser than it is), or try catching water balloons launched into the air (not directly at campers!) by counselors using a giant two-person sling shot perched on a hill. Campers can blow giant human-sized bubbles, and try to soak administrators like me in a dunk tank. If there’s ever a good night for that, it’s tonight.
Sweltering… Scorching… Suffocating… And it was about 87° at the height of the day. When I’m feeling hot at camp, sometimes I’ll check the forecast for where you, our camp families, are sitting and reading this post right now… a high of 92° in St. Louis, Miami, and D.C., 95° in Denver and Dallas, 105° in Phoenix. So, while it’s one of the hottest days of the season here at camp, it turns out it’s just another reason that beautiful Northern Wisconsin is where to spend the summer!
All is well in the Northwoods!