Four of five groups have returned from trips, coming in from all over the Boundary Waters (BWCAW). Some groups headed out East along the border lakes on longer trips, ranging from 7 to 8 days. Others headed North from camp, exploring the larger lakes closer to home such as Basswood Lake on 5 day trips. The last group is still out on Isle Royal and will return this evening. They'll be featured in their own blog post, and I expect each of them will have some stories to share.
This is our favorite part of camp, as the group dynamics here are really thriving. After a few days on the trail, campers really open up to one another. The quieter campers become not so quiet, and the peninsula really comes to life. Campers will share trip stories and photos with one another tonight... well, trip stories and a lot of jokes. You see, it's pretty much tradition here to highlight the most humorous parts rather than the hardest parts of each trip - although quite often, they are one in the same!
Over the next few days, campers have every opportunity to try a variety of activities, including sailing, archery, shelter building, pickle ball, kayaking, and more. There are two main activity periods during the day: one in the morning, and one in afternoon. Then there's what we call "the Big Game" after dinner, a camp-wide sport played at Pine Stadium. And finally, we wrap up the day with one of several iconic evening programs.
Tonight will feature a camper-counselor hunt, where campers and counselors take turns hiding around the tip of the camp peninsula and finding one another. It's an event that, as you can probably imagine, is extremely popular among teens and pre-teens. Some even bring camouflage clothing up to camp just for this event! The camper that is able to hide closest to the basketball court (the center of the peninsula) without being found will win the round, earning a special prize (probably candy).
Be sure to check the gallery as photos from this round of trips come in! In the weeks that follow, we'll continue to publish blogs in our "Trip Stories" series, featuring the hand-written accounts of campers fresh off their wilderness adventures.
