It’s been an action-packed day today here at camp. Sure, on the surface it’s a classic four-project-period day, but in addition to our standard suite of activities, we have some special events going on as well.
Today we continued working on an ongoing stewardship project: eradicating invasive buckthorn from our grounds. Buckthorn is problematic in part because it impedes the ability of native plants to flourish. Unfortunately, it occupies significant acreage in our wooded areas. Starting last fall, we partnered with the Nebagamon Lake Association and Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area (NCWMA) to cut buckthorn at camp. Our goal in this partnership has been not just to eliminate the buckthorn, but to teach our campers about maintaining healthy ecosystems, and taking care of our communal spaces. Today, the NCWMA Coordinator joined us at camp and led a dozen campers through our forest, removing buckthorn to clear space for native plants to thrive. The campers had a great time and learned a lot.
For all of the overnight camping trips we lead each summer, we don’t often lead day hikes. That all changed today! A group of our campers went hiking on one of the oldest trails in the country, the Brule-St. Croix Portage. The trail is gorgeous, passing through dense woods and open prairies as it weaves between the Brule and St. Croix Rivers, connecting the Mississippi River watershed with the Great Lakes. This storied path is only a few miles from Camp Nebagamon! As we always expect with our wilderness trips, demand was high. Our campers loved getting out and exploring the beautiful trail.
This afternoon one camper completed his Golden Goggles… swimming 200 laps in one day! This camper had spent many project periods at swimming training for the big day, and today he did it. As cool as it was watching him finish his last lap, it was just as cool watching all of his friends cheer him on.
Over the past two days, we’ve had two different groups of campers visit Camp Birch Trail for Girls in Minong, Wisconsin. First, our Birch Trail social was yesterday. Our whole camp loaded buses for an afternoon of activities and a big picnic. Campers saw friends from home, and of course sisters and cousins who attend Birch Trail. It was fun to get together and sing our respective camp songs! Then today, we had a group of campers back at Birch Trail for their annual climbing competition. The campers had a nice time bouldering with the other camps in attendance and relished the opportunity to show off their own climbing skills. It’s not every day that you get to visit another camp, but for these campers, it was two days in a row!
At 7:30 this evening, one of our 9th grade Big Trips will return after spending 10 days paddling the Namekagon River. When they return to camp, we’ll all meet them at the waterfront and they’ll race from their vans into Lake Nebagamon in a time-honored tradition celebrating the completion of their capstone wilderness trip. More on wilderness trips in an upcoming update.
Tonight, we’ve also kicked off the festivities for The Grand Pursuit, our second session all-camp competition day. Not long ago we gathered on the upper diamond for the opening ceremony. New campers were sorted onto teams, and they’ll remain on those teams for their entire camper careers. When their names were read there was applause and cheering as they joined their crew in preparation for a big day of competition tomorrow. Later, they’ll gather for the first event: a game of Human Stratego!
Like I said… It’s been an action-packed day. But, honestly, every day at camp is action-packed! The variety is part of what makes every normal day feel like something special.
All is well in the Northwoods