A Tale of Two Staff Trips

By Peter Grunawalt
June 11, 2015 (comments)

Perhaps the most anticipated pre-camp activity for staff is the canoe trip, where counselors, new and old alike, are “broken-in” on the trail. What does this mean exactly? Well, despite most counselors at CV being part-time Olympic athletes, it takes a good Boundary Waters trip to get back into the rhythm of camping, warm up the shoulders, and work on some… logistics. Every year, at least two staff trips go out. A group leader is assigned to each trip (typically the veteran counselors). The trip is planned and prepared for as any trip with campers would be. Between each planning...

Green-head Gossip: The "Throne Poem"

By Peter Grunawalt
June 04, 2015 (comments)

On the right, Gary Dexheimer, Ft. Wayne, IN, counselor for two years. Photo taken in the summer of 1971. Former counselor Gary Dexheimer brings us the story of the mysterious throne poem. He writes: For far too many years, I have carried a poem in my wallet copied from the underside of a box-toilet lid from a camp site on an island with the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area). I spent two wonderful summers during college as a counselor at an outdoor adventure canoeing based camp in Ely, MN. On one memorable trip, I found this note inscribed on the...

Day 5 Pre-camp: Camp is for the Campers

By Peter Grunawalt
June 04, 2015 (comments)

After introductions have been made, the docks have been set in place for the season, and all the boats have been accounted for, pre-camp gets right down to business: staff training and... tree planting. Counselors are given subjects to present, covering a wide variety of topics. Several pots of coffee will be brewed throughout the day, with enthusiastic discussions about everything from risk management in camp and on the trail to the behavior management and social development of campers. These presentations typically take a day or two to get through and make extensive use of scenarios and the past experiences...

Hudson Bay Men Rejoin CV Staff

By John Erdmann
February 13, 2015 (comments)

Last June Voyageurs mounted their own 1100-mile expedition from the camp bay to Hudson Bay via the Albany River. After taking a year off from camp, Charlie Steiner, Peter Grunawalt and Elliott Keller bring their Hudson Bay badges back to CV. In the ‘70s Elliott’s father Paul Keller and other Voyageurs followed the 1964 CV Albany River route to the bay blazed by Bob Thum, Carl Thum, Tom Bose and Buckey Walters. Here is an excert from Charlie, Peter and Elliott’s 2014 Hudson Bay Expedition blog: “We are four friends who paddled from Ely, Minnesota to James Bay, Hudson Bay...