Old Friends, New Faces at Fall Rendezvous

By Alex Kvanli
October 01, 2024 (comments)

This month, we’re hittin’ the road for a series of Midwest reunions! Whether you’re an alum with unforgettable memories, a camper eager to see your friends, or a family member who has seen firsthand the joy Camp brings, this event is for you. Alumni, campers, family, and friends are all invited to join a rendezvous near you: Sun. October 13th – Edina, MN, Rosland Picnic Shelter, 1-3 pm Sun. October 20th – Winnetka, IL, Indian Hill Park, 1-3 pm Sat. October 26th – Indianapolis, IN, Eagle Creek Park, Shelter D, 1-3 pm Sun. October 27th – Cincinnati, OH, Alms Park,...

Canoeing: A Lifelong Pursuit

By Alex Kvanli
May 29, 2024 (comments)

Alone at the end of a portage long after nightfall, a young Jim Nicholson vividly remembers looking up at the stars feeling astonished at the beauty of the natural world and realizing just how small he was. “It was an awe-inspiring experience we all have from time to time,” he recounts in our interview for the Camp Voyageur Podcast. Jim received his first taste of the great Northwoods on a family trip to a cabin, southwest of Ely on Bear Island Lake in the summer of 1961. His father, James, had visited the area in the 1940s while in college....

Alex and John B. Launch Camp Podcast

By John Erdmann
December 16, 2022 (comments)

Years ago, John Burgman and Peter Grunawalt unveiled the W.ELK Podcast, which featured chats with Camp alums and explored various camp-related topics. The show proved to be extremely popular, despite its limited run of episodes. Now, with podcasts more popular than ever, the show has returned under a slightly different name—The Camp Voyageur Podcast.

Beloved Peninsula Becomes An Island Again

By Alex Kvanli
May 26, 2022 (comments)

Last weekend four inches of water covered the road at the narrows, turning our storied Northwoods peninsula into a laid-back beach camp. Punctual bells became lackadaisical work camp respites, alumnus Jim “Jimbo” Bergman’s deviant Fu Manchu seemed somehow socially acceptable, and John Erdmann recounted Venezuelan beach holidays body surfing, but Farm Lake was too cold to consider even a sauna plunge for all but alumnus Phil Pinc alongside thickskinned summer staff Bryan Halverson and Kyle Emman, who spent their winter dogsledding with Wintergreen. Melting ice and snow runoff encroached on cabin 5 pylons and completely surrounded the rec hall. Floating...

Legacy Matters

By Chris Smith
February 01, 2022 (comments)

Like Father Like Son Tim (beard) and Peter Harris (tuxedo) recounting Camp memories over a donut breakfast.

Think About It

By Chris Smith
December 10, 2021 (comments)

John Burgman and I have probably walked down the camp road together hundreds of times. I once turned to him and asked, “How many times do you think you’ve walked up and down this path John?” We got to thinking about it. The math is relatively easy; three square meals a day multiplied by two makes six, plus a handful of daily walks to and from Pine Stadium and the Mess Hall for activities. Assume the average person walks the path ten times daily, spending half of their session in camp—about 15 days—and you’re at about 150 walks in four...

Charlie-isms

By Chris Smith
November 02, 2021 (comments)

Don’t throw rocks! Use your head. Man, where do you think you’re at? Do what you can, can what you can’t. Whether you attended camp in the 20th century, or you’re a youngblood getting his first taste of the Northwoods in the last decade, you probably heard one of these utterances from one of the Erdmanns and the Camp Voyageur staff during your stay. Those of you lucky enough to attend the 50th Year Reunion may have gone home with a cleverly designed coffee mug scripted with infamous Charlie-isms. If you’re like me, you thrive on the pithy strength of...

Celebrating 70 Years of Camp Voyageur

By Alex Kvanli
April 30, 2021 (comments)

The triangle rings, followed by a familiar voice echoing through the trees, beckoning you: “Rise and shine, it’s a great day in the Northwoods!” Soon thereafter the ringing of the bell invites you and your cabinmates to the Mess Hall for hot cereal and pancakes. Your buddy from Cabin Eight walks with you down the wooded path under the towering pine and birch trees wearing his new red toque, eyes brimming with excitement as he recounts for the fourth—and not the last—time his trip stories and how he sterned and carried a canoe for nine days on his trip to...

2010s: A Timeless Capsule

By Alex Kvanli
April 26, 2021 (comments)

Voyageur rode the wave of technology into the 2010s, expanding its emphasis on documenting the summer with photos and videos to a greater degree than ever before. Growing alongside Camp’s burgeoning online media output was its draw as a screen-free outdoor experience, a rustic oasis in a media-saturated world. Camp’s growing enrollment attested to the rising need for kids to experience the simple life immersed in nature—the physicality and camaraderie of adventuring on the trail, the social togetherness of sitting around a campfire, and the create-your-own-fun style of playing that always fuels Voyageur’s in-camp program.

2000s: Voyaging Into a New Millennium

By John Burgman
April 22, 2021 (comments)

Camp Voyageur by the Decades In many ways, the 2000s cruised with the momentum of the 1990s, with many campers from the previous decade returning as staff for a number of years. And, in that, new campers and new counselors found a community of experienced staff that was eager to teach and share the timeless Voyageur Spirit. The 2000s also saw an extension of many core elements of the camp experience that had been established in previous decades: Trips in the Big Banana proved particularly popular in this decade, as did backpacking treks on Isle Royale and the Superior Hiking...