Stories of adventure, brotherhood, and growth from Camp Chippewa. Join us to learn more about the power of the outdoors, why summer camp matters, and much more!
Something Far More Valuable
|
This edition’s writer has spent nearly 70 summers at Camp Chippewa. As a camper, counselor, and director, Mike Endres knows Camp Chippewa better than anyone not named JP. In his first summer as Director Emeritus, Mike has enjoyed teaching riflery, driving the ski boat, and pitching in as a jack-of-all-trades. Of course, his “Rise n Shine” call is still the best option for rousing campers on windy mornings. — “Life is good to those who know how to live. I do not ever hope to accumulate great funds of worldly wealth, but I shall accumulate something far more valuable, a store of wonderful memories. When I reach the twilight of life I shall look back and say I’m glad I lived as I did, life has been good to me.” -Sigurd Olson Sigurd Olson has a way with words—especially regarding wilderness. I feel the passage above captures the essence of the Chippewa Way (CW). Whether a camper is making his bed or rolling up a tent, the simple things in life have purpose and meaning. A value that transcends status and savings accounts. I’ve heard many leaders at Chippewa say that camp-life, and time spent on the trail, gives the boy (or voyageur) time to live in the moment. Hunger means waiting for Knutson Hall’s bell to ring. Or getting a campfire going to make dinner after a long day on the Bloodvein River. There is no pantry to raid or cookie jar on the counter to help satisfy the hole in your belly. Rise and Shine comes every morning at Camp. There is no option to ignore the “Bull of the Woods” who roused you from your slumber. You have to get out of bed and get the day going. Trip leaders also bellow in the early hours of a Canadian morning. Paddlers get up even on rainy mornings, as many clicks must be covered and portages traversed. It’s especially difficult clearing brain fog when you’d rather stay in your warm sleeping bag. Two key words came up in one of this summer’s Chapel Talks. Each and every one of us can control our effort and attitude. Everything else is outside our reach and control. We must discover, for ourselves, the meaning of serenity. Chippewa is a place of encouragement, guidance, support, and challenge. Everyone at Camp learns the value of putting in effort when things go wrong. And working on a better attitude when things don’t go our way. Boys afraid of heights may take the entire session to climb the John Muir wall. The high dive on Buck Lake might look like the edge of the Grand Canyon. Then one day, with a word from the counselor, “I’m right here with you. I know you can do it,” the next step is fear and excitement in the same instant. Cheers from onlookers bring a smile to a camper’s face after he resurfaces in Buck or summits the Sentinel Climb. Screen time at camp is measured at zero. And the brain notices. Face-to-face conversations go on all day long. Stories on the trail typically orbit around food, music, books, movies, and sports. No one is privy to headline news, snappy clickbait links, or ads to lure items into a cart. Rather, the rhythm of camp is spent learning new skills, accepting others for who they are, and getting over the disappointment of not passing a rank. Last summer, Chippewa celebrated 90 years of wilderness adventure. Alumni who attended last August’s Rendezvous shared a store of wonderful memories. And that is what makes life good to those who know how to live. Today’s campers, counselors, and all the staff are living in the moment. And those moments will someday become far more valuable than the funds of worldly wealth. What was true 91 years ago is true today, and will be true with whatever is over Chippewa’s next horizon. Sigurd Olson, I think, says it best, “Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity, and antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.” Paddle On, -Mike Endres True North is Camp Chippewa’s newsletter of stories from the North Woods. We hope it inspires you to pick up a paddle, step off the beaten path, and take a deep breath of fresh air. Our authors come from all across the Camp Chippewa community. If you have a story to contribute, please contact Sam or reply to this email, |
Camp Chippewa for Boys
Stories of adventure, brotherhood, and growth from Camp Chippewa. Join us to learn more about the power of the outdoors, why summer camp matters, and much more!
I hadn’t worn a Camp Chippewa staff shirt since 2012. Fourteen years is a long time. Long enough for careers to change, families to grow, and life to take you in directions you never imagined. Yet as I drove back through the gates this summer, it felt as though I’d never really left; the haunting call of the loon drifting across Cass Lake. The familiar cry of “Rise and Shine” echoing through the pines. Taps signaling the close of another unforgettable day. The smell of the Trip House. Even...
Since May, when Sam first asked me to contribute to True North, I have tried to coherently put into writing what Chippewa means to me. I have struggled to do so. You see, I was never a camper and, if I am being honest, for my first few years on staff I did not truly appreciate the Chippewa mission. To paraphrase one of my geographically challenged campers on his first Canadian canoe trip, I could not see how a “Silly Swedish Hat” helped to build character. That was a long time ago. It was a...
We as humans are incurably curious. Whether there is a storm brewing, a traffic accident, or a big, fluffy dog, we will gaze out of our windows with great curiosity. However, if there is one thing that we love even more than looking out of a window, it is looking into one. We try to learn the secrets of other people’s lives by peering into shop windows, judging the cluttered interior of a stranger’s car in the parking lot, or watching people sweating it out on a treadmill behind the glass of...