Sam Endres has spent his summers at Camp Chippewa since 2002. He is the Camp Director, following in the footsteps of his parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

94% of our campers said they are more capable of doing hard things after attending Camp Chippewa this summer.

When each boy stands by the campfire and shares his highlight on the last night of camp, you hear about the moments when boys earned that self-belief.

“My highlight was when Charlie and I paddled together all day through the headwind and made it to our campsite.”

“My highlight was finally making it to the top of the climbing tower after trying every day.”

“My highlight was finishing the portage and walking straight into the water.”

Still, we can all fixate on camp being fun. A camper returns home to questions of "what was your favorite part?" And "tell me about the best day at camp?"

Camp staff are constantly scheming the next fun activity, the next surprise, building the excitement for the Fish-a-thon or Skit Night.

Camp websites are plastered with smiling faces.

Of course camp is fun. It has to be.

But campers don’t learn they are capable of doing hard things when they go to an amusement park or to the movies.

For boys to grow, camp has to be hard.

Meet a Camp Chippewa alumni and they will be quick to tell you that camp taught them some of the most important lessons of their lives. Almost always, those lessons were learned during hard times—on a canoe trip, in the rain, or toiling down a muddy portage.

Camp is hard. On purpose.

Cold Water

There were hard times at camp this summer. Read through our campers’ evaluations and you’ll quickly see that the June 15 Swim Test (unseasonably cold!) and headwinds on the Voyageur’s canoe trip (hard work!) were the campers’ least favorite parts of the summer.

I completed the Swim Test with the youngest campers. Together in the lake, the little guys and I shivered, teeth chattering, as we completed our four laps and two minutes of treading water.

An eight-year-old camper, in his first full day at Camp Chippewa, looked at me with a panicked look in his eyes and said, "Sam, I want to get out!"

I wanted to get out too.

"We're almost done buddy. We'll get out as soon as we're done."

For ten minutes, it undeniably stunk.

I just wanted to pull him out of the lake (then I could get out too!) and wrap a towel around him.

But I had just spent two weeks training the staff to not remove challenges for the campers, but to support, encourage, and assign meaning to those challenges.

“You’ve got this pal! Almost there.”

We finished the Swim Test.

Headwinds

I remember my father saying that he doesn’t want the campers to have headwinds on their trips (paddling a canoe straight into the wind is exhausting, and often, demoralizing). But they need to have headwinds, because there will be headwinds in life.

The truth is, we cannot teach boys to tolerate challenge, discomfort, and unknown, without the boys first experiencing some challenge, discomfort, and unknown.

And not only do the campers learn to tolerate unpleasant experiences, they build the courage to try them again.

97% of campers said they were "more willing to try something again even though it was hard" at the end of their session at Chippewa.

Striving to teach young people resilience is good.

Giving them the support to try hard things again is better.

Watching them realize that they have become stronger? That is a mission achieved.

Making camp growth into year-round growth

At home, don't be afraid to talk about the hard parts of camp. Like carrying a heavy canoe. Or missing home while at camp. Or paddling into a headwind. Or sharing a small cabin with someone who wasn't easy to get along with. Or treading water in a cold lake.

Those moments are hard. As time goes on, the memory of them can often make returning to camp feel like a daunting challenge.

But our campers are all in agreement that even though things are hard, they are now more willing to try them again.

And those same campers are coming back to camp next year, even though they know they will be challenged, bitten by mosquitos, rained on, and yes, required to take a Swim Test. There are waitlists to prove it.

Those are brave campers, realizing that they are brave.

Camp Chippewa campers know they can do hard things. That is a vital skill—not taught in school, club sports, or tutoring—that our campers will bring to school, club sports, and tutoring.

So, if you have a camper at home, encourage them to keep going. Talk about the hard parts of camp. Celebrate how hard it was to portage, pass the Swim Test, or get along with that cabinmate. Connect that to whatever the “problem of the day” is at school.

Little by little, challenge by challenge, that resilience is growing.

Here’s to adding a little more next summer.

True North is Camp Chippewa’s newsletter of stories from the North Woods.

There are countless voices out there, but not all help us maintain our sense of direction in life. We hope these stories inspire you to pick up a paddle, step off the beaten path, and take a deep breath of fresh air, following your own True North.

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.

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