In no less than 5 days, campers returned from their second round of trips in the Boundary Waters (BWCAW). Despite starting the trip with a little liquid sunshine, morale stayed high with the eminent promise for wilderness adventure. Groups planned their own routes in the Western half of the boundary waters. Just about every trip covers new ground, for even the veteran counselors haven’t seen a quarter of the lakes in the Boundary Waters.
Whenever you enter the wilderness, you’re at the mercy of the elements. Rarely in this modern age does one even have the opportunity to experience this. But up here, campers face the elements together all the time. They’re both challenged and rewarded by them on a daily basis. That river you spent all day paddling against? It lead to an incredible triple-waterfall that you then spent the day swimming around in. Or that day where it just rained and rained? Turns out that’s all the moisture the wild strawberries needed to mature, and you ate fresh berries for the next week.
This last round of trips certainly had its challenges. It rained two of the five days on the trip, making portages muddy and tents soggy. But despite how you would expect kids to act in an uncomfortable situation, in a carefully nurtured group environment, they rise above and thrive. Discomfort becomes the subject of jokes and good stories. Even the bug bites are forgotten as they heal from hot saunas and lake jumps.<
Over the next couple days, campers will get a chance to reflect on their trips and share their stories at the fire circle. And you’ll get to read some of them in the blog posts to come!
