dear wanapitei: letters from our community€¦ · mackenzie, patrick richardson, russell roberge,...

By JJ (Jennifer Jupp) and Woody (Eoin Wood)Directors

HEN WE THINK of it, we try to keep letters and emails that come to us espousing the kinds of things that

make us want to get up every day and go to work for Camp Wanapitei. The testimonials that follow (with names changed for anonymity) are a compilation of our favorites. We imagine that these words will ring true for many campers and parents. All the best to you and yours in 2013,

JJ & Woody

Jake had a wonderful trip! He has grown, in every sense of the word, so much since he le" for camp.

Mother of VI Camper, 2012

I just wanted to let you know that my kids had a blast at camp. They could not say enough great things about it. Thanks for taking such great care of them.

Mother of Junior Girl and Boy Campers, 2010

The experience for Matthew was extraordinary…

Father of VII Camper, 2012

I can't begin to te$ you how deeply moved and appreciative we are with the quality of our son’s experience. The boy returned transformed, positively glowing! Each of you independently commended him to me for his

hard work and ski$. You have given him an invaluable gi".A few minutes ago in the car, he declared himself to be bored. "Were you bored at

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Join Us for Family Camp!We welcome you to our second annual Wanapitei Family Camp program in August.

See the back page for details.Community Banquet is July 27th, 2013.

Harvest Night is August 24th, 2013.Please plan to join us.

Dear Wanapitei: Letters From Our Community

W

By Catherine MonahanTrent University Student and Colloquium Organizer

ORTY YEARS AGO, three dedicated professors with a love for the outdoors embarked on a journey that

still continues today. Trent University and Camp Wanapitei joined for the first time, bringing together scholars and adventurers, and those who, undoubtedly, are a bit of both. This year, the Trent Temagami Colloquium celebrated its 40th Anniversary. Over 100 participants of all ages and professions joined together at Camp Wanapitei in September to explore the land, share ideas, and learn more about the Canadian identity. A place steeped in the traditions of First Nations groups and time-honored camp customs, and the staging place of several instrumental environmental conflicts, Temagami

serves as the perfect place to bring together those interested in Canadian, Indigenous, and Environmental studies. As an interdisciplinary and inclusionary event, the Trent Temagami Colloquium is an opportunity for anyone and everyone to engage with each other and the land. The trip had its unlikely beginnings in the halls of Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. A new addition to the Trent faculty, Canadian Studies Professor John Wadland was looking for a way to get to know his students, and to connect them to the land they sought to learn about. His newly introduced course – entitled ‘Canada: the Land’ -- brought a fresh attitude to the field; don’t just read about Canada, live it. He endeavored to take learning out of the classroom and onto the land, encouraging fellow faculty and students to open their eyes to a different way of understanding what it means to be Canadian. In the summer of 1972, Professors John Wadland, Bob Page, and Bruce Hodgins journeyed North to

find the perfect place to showcase the true Canadian experience. Camp Wanapitei, at the time under the direction of Prof. Bruce Hodgins, offered beautiful vistas, hearty food, and tales of generations past. The following September, thirty five students and a small team of faculty were headed down Red Squirrel Road in a big yellow school bus, just as we do today. Over the years, hundreds of participants have made the journey. The trip is a favourite of many Trent students, alumni, and faculty, as well as many of the Wanapitei community. The Colloquium has become a magical weekend of opportunity to connect to the land, each other, and our shared histories. All ages come together to canoe, hike, square dance, and carry on academic discussions. Now organized by Prof. Stephen Hill, the trip is an opportunity for those interested in Canada, wilderness, nature, Aboriginal history and everything in between to

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T H E P A D D L E R ● W I N T E R 2 0 1 3! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! P A G E 2

Trent Temagami Colloquium: Celebrating 40 Years of Tradition

Volume 16, Number 1Winter 2013

EDITOR ..................................... JENNIFER JUPPDESIGN & LAYOUT ......... ERIN SUNSTRUM

The Paddler is published byCamp Wanapitei Co-Ed Camps Ltd.

a canoeing and outdoor leadership centrebased in Temagami, Ontario.

Off-season address:Camp Wanapitei

5 Wyndham Street North #303Guelph, ON N1H 4E2

PHONE: (519) 767-9714 OR (888) 637-5557SUMMER PHONE: (705) 237-8830E-MAIL: [email protected]

INTERNET: www.wanapitei.net

F

The participants of the 40th Anniversary Trent Temagami Co$oquium in 'ont of the Dining Ha$ in September 2012.

P A G E 3 T H E P A D D L E R ● W I N T E R 2 0 1 3

Bruce Hodgins’ Reflections On The YearBy Bruce W. HodginsWanapitei President and Honorary Director

HE SUMMER of 2012 was a very wonderful and exciting time for Wanapitei and for Carol and me. We were

present in Camp most of the time; we co-led a wonderful three day canoe trip to Diamond Lake and back, a three generational trip with a group of Carol’s American Creelman relatives. Two of the kids want to come back to Wanapitei in 2013 as campers. We had also hiked with the group up past Eddy Lake, and hiked the round trip to Red Squirrel Falls. What fun!

Wasn’t the weather grand! From Juniors to Voyageurs the canoe trips were spectacular. On site, Wanapitei had more great hikes and more high quality canoe instruction, great campfires and wonderful square dances. What a dedicated, mature staff. Co-Director Jennifer Jupp introduced a fantastic Family Camp. Several of the parents had Wanapitei roots as campers or staff themselves. Tiny kids now, but watch for them as future campers ever so soon. Carol and I were so glad to see dinghy sailing back to Wanapitei with two great new (to us) boats capable of use for extensive learning and Lake Temagami cruising. Away back, we often had at least two sailing trips

(three days, two nights on the same site). A third staff took gear, tents, and

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T

Trent Weekend... continued 'om previous page

come together and celebrate interdisciplinary learning. As such, participants include those from the Trent, Carleton, Wanapitei, and Bear Island communities; and even, in recent years, international groups interested in similar topics. All are warmly invited to attend this yearly event. You don’t need to be a Trent student, alumni, or faculty, or Wanapitei staff – a friendly disposition and an interest in Canadian studies and history are all that is needed! Please see www.trenttemagami.ca for more information and next year’s dates. We hope to see you next September!

Music is always a highlight at the Co$oquium.

Bruce on the bridge in August of 2012.


JUNIORS DATES: July 17 – July 19 2012 LEADERS: Levi Bruce, Carling

DalBianco, Dumaresq de Pencier, Alicia Hodgins

PARTICIPANTS: Kyle Carr, Verity Carrie, Thomas Carrie, Dante Fenos, Mathieu Forester, Ethan Hartman, Xander Linzel, Patrick Richardson, Russell Roberge, Hayley Taylor, Anna Wood. Day 1Distance travelled: 3 kmHours on the water: 1Weather: Sunny with light winds QOTD: “If you were in a canoe that was on fire and there were sharks swimming around you would you jump in or stay in the boat?” -Hayley, on canoe and fire safety. After a morning at camp to gather wayward paddles and fill our water bottles, we set off in the Voyageur canoe to cross Sandy Inlet to Teabag Point, opposite the cliffs at Ferguson. Everyone sang lots of boat songs as we paddled and we made great time to our campsite. After a leisurely bagel lunch, Russell led the great Mineral-finding Expedition (Did we find gold? Who knows? It was fun!), while Patrick alternated between some fishing (no luck, alas) and tending to his snail petting zoo. We spent the afternoon going over in-campsite protocol teaching proper hand-washing,

sunblock, tent setup and getting ready for rain. Speaking of rain, we almost kind of had some! Well, we got ready for some. Thomas and Kyle led games of Mafia while the leaders prepared scrumptious mac and cheese. With the sun setting and swimming out of the picture (everyone spent at least half an hour in the drink that day, enjoying the refreshing water) we ate uncooked (fire ban, darn it) s’mores while Verity gave us an acrobatics demonstration and Dante wowed us with his karate skills

against a troublesome tree stump. Time to have a Toothbrushing Party, Juniors, and then to bed! The cliffs of Ferguson await your jumping! DATES: July 23 – July 25 2012 LEADERS: Levi Bruce, Carling

DalBianco, Dumaresq de Pencier, Alicia Hodgins

PARTICIPANTS: Hayden Berwick, Mathieu Forester, Ethan Hartman, Alexander Iwanowski, Sam Mackenzie, Patrick Richardson, Russell Roberge, Hayley Taylor, Ross Torrie, Alexander Wiklo, Anna Wood.

Day 1Distance travelled: 8 kmHours on the water: 4Weather: Thunderstorms, rain showers, high winds, sunny breaksQOTD: “Woah! This… is Bob Island!”-Russell, on face-shaped rocks named Robert and the profusion thereof. Today we defied the thunder gods themselves to forge a bold path into the unknown! Our departure from camp was delayed by inclement weather (Thunderstorm #1), but we piled

into our four canoes and set off down Lake Temagami undeterred. Stopping for lunch at the Flat Rock campsite, we were entertained during our repast of bagels and creamy, creamy cream cheese by Ethan and Ross’ (thankfully hands-off) forensic efforts to reconstruct the very dead seagull we discovered a small animal had left strewn about the campsite. Our stomachs full, but the seagull’s demise still a mystery, we continued on our way, dodging sudden and unpredictable weather (Thunderstorms #2 and 3, both fortunately quite small). Forging on against impossible odds (Hayley demonstrated some truly heroic bladder-holding capacity), we reached Devil’s Point early in the afternoon. We spent the rest of the daylight maxin’ and relaxin’,

watching bad weather (Thunderstorms #4 and 5) bypass us on the horizon. Russell and Alex W. led tours of the island (they were here last year), and closer to home Anna demonstrated her telepathic powers while Patrick enjoyed the rays and snoozed. We were just about to start a hearty, remarkably unpleasant dinner of rehydrated vegetable mush when suddenly SURPRISE PIZZA AND FRESH VEGGIE DELIIIIIIVERY! Big ups to Emma, Heffy and Callum. Around the same time, we ran into the Temagami A’s and the month-long

Endless Energy with the Juniors and Temagamis

Juniors beat the heat on the slip’n slide during evening program.


Coureur de Bois, both of whom were heading into camp the next morning. Many hugs were exchanged as siblings saw siblings again and long-lost friends embraced etcetera etcetera. On to brownies, tooth-brushing, and bed!

DATES: August 1 – August 3 2012 LEADERS: Kai Bruce, Levi Bruce,

Becca Gillmore, Dan RadlettPARTICIPANTS: Anne Carscallen, Finley Hill, Rafe Murray, Hannah Watson, Bridget West, Margot West. Day 2 Distance travelled: 2.5 km Hrs on the water: 1  Weather: Hot and sunny   With yesterday’s storm far behind us, we awoke to clear skies and sunshine. After a lazy pack up we had a delicious breakfast of “poo” (hot chocolate, granola, and peanut butter for the uninitiated) and many jokes were made. With breakfast completed successfully we hit the lake again paddling once again into headwinds. A short paddle later we got to our second campsite, where we enjoyed a grilled cheese lunch,

plenty of swimming, and hours of pleasantly sunning ourselves. After a relaxing afternoon, the leaders made an amazing mac`n`cheese dinner. Then the Kraken attacked. It dragged several bass and boats down into the water, but Kai and Dan hi-jump kicked it in the eye whilst Becca and Levi fended off the marauding tentacles with paddles, defending the frightened juniors. Their efforts scared it off and we retrieved our gear. That didn`t actually happen, we just went to bed instead. But it sure would have been an eventful night! DATES: August 8 – August 10 2012 LEADERS: Carling DalBianco, Becca

Gilmore, Alicia Hodgins, Dan Radlett

PARTICIPANTS: Anne Carscallen, Lucas Conrad, Jasper Gibson, Finley Hill, Hannah Licop, Kathryn MacLeod, Fiona Miller, Rafe Murray, Chloe Priestman, Sebastian Shaw, Sasha Zuchlinski.

Day 2 Distance traveled: 2 km Hours on the water: 1 Weather: Sunny and windy

It’s Sasha’s birthday today! To begin the celebrations of this special day, we enjoyed a very long sleep in. Once we were up we made a delicious breakfast of granola, peanut butter and hot chocolate. After breakfast was finished we bravely set out to start the day and paddle from Pickerel to Ferguson, but unfortunately we could not make any progress as across the lake were waves whipped up from ferocious winds. As such we were wind bound for the duration. But we made the most of it! Excellent grilled cheese was made for lunch and we played many a round of Mafia. Early in the afternoon we were paid a visit by the Temagami A group and had a grand reunion as they took refuge from the winds

and spent lunch with us. As the winds died down the Temags bid farewell and started their brave paddle against gales. As time went on the winds began to die down further as it was our turn to boldly paddle across the lake. As a group we paddled with all our might against the winds that remained and made it safely and quickly across the bay and to Ferguson point. We set up camp, and before we could even begin preparations to make dinner we saw a boat heading for our campsite, a boat containing Levi, Lisa and Heffy who were delivering a special birthday surprise of pizza dinner and a rice crispy square cake for Sasha! We all enjoyed delicious pizza and after Sasha had blown out the candles on the cake, shared it out for a great meal. Bellies full we bid farewell to the gracious deliverers of our food and went to bed. Good day guys!

TEMAGAMI (LATE JULY) ROUTE: Obabika-Bob Lake Loop. Camp –

Napoleon Portage – Sharp Rock Portage – Diamond Lake – Wakimika Lake –

Junior campers back 'om trip with big smiles and great stories.


Obabika Lake – Eye Lake - Lake Temagami – Camp.

DATES: July 19 – July 24 2012 LEADERS: Becca Gilmore

and Asa Thomas PARTICIPANTS: Katie Berwick, Elliot

Carusone, Max Coleman, Sacha Edwards, Nathan Hartman, Sarah Irvine, Romey Karovich, Sophie Karovich, Nicole Momtahan, William Pinckard.

Day 4 Distance travelled: 20 km Hours on the water: 12 hours Weather: Overcast and hot To who ever is reading this prepare to be impressed… Due to the unfortunate headwinds we woke up bright and early today. With some loaded oatmeal for breakfast we were ready to go, with the quickest getaway yet! We glided through Wakimika Lake with ease due to its beautiful glassy waters. Next up: the

creek to Obabika Lake. Its windy ways brought along new challenges like the not one, not two but three lift-overs! A couple more beaver dams were powered over and before we knew it we were at the great Obabika Lake. Water and chocolate chunks were eaten and drank for the extra push to get across. Once we arrived, pasta salad was enjoyed with a quick swim to cool us off. And we were off again! Due to the amazing attitudes of the campers we breezed through Obabika since the wind was

nice enough to let up. After a long paddle and a democratic vote, we decided to do the 900m portage at the end. Some dried apples were eaten to get some physical energy on top of the already existing moral energy. A champion effort by the group matched their boundless vocal enthusiasm. Once on the other side we were off again in search of a decent campsite. Sadly, the marked campsites looked non-existent as we kept paddling down Obabika

Inlet. Finally, exhausted, we found a nice, small island beside a supposed “campsite” and some cottages. It was getting late so big soup was slurped before heading into our tents for a well deserved sleep. Good job guys, today is a day we won’t forget in a hurry.

TEMAGAMI (LATE JULY)

ROUTE: Centre Fa$s. Napolean portage - Sharp Rock - Diamond Lake - Lady Evelyn Lake - Wi$ow Island Lake - up North branch of Lady Evelyn River to Centre Fa$s and Reverse to Camp.

DATES: July 19 – July 24 2012 LEADERS: Angus MacPhail

and Dan Radlett PARTICIPANTS: Saul Chaplin, Zane

Chaplin, Phillippe Forster, LeDain Gordon, Jack Heath, James Risk, Ben Rowland, Kit Sanguedolce. Day 3 Distance travelled: 13 km Hours on the water: 7.5 Weather: Lightening to sunny blue skies We awoke today (at a far less buggy campsite) to the sound of the kids already awake and packing their stuff up. Saul, LeDain, Jack and Zane were almost fully ready by the time we got breakfast started. And so, after a quick breakfast of bacon and eggs, we left our island into some heavy headwinds. Big ups to everybody for some strong paddling to get us to our first portage of the day. As luck would have it, it began to rain as distant thunder boomed at the beginning of our portage. Not discouraged in the slightest the boys flew over it. As we returned from our final load and the storm closed in we ran to the end to find everyone already in lightning stance and hanging out. We snacked on chocolate chunks after

Late July Temagamis ready for sunset a"er a day on the water.


waiting for the storm to pass and paddled the kilometer or so to our next portage. As the rain increased we trundled over this as well to enjoy a well deserved lunch of pesto. Using our newly acquired tail winds we paddled up the channel before turning to face them as we neared our campsite. The final couple of kilometers were a solid push to the rocky mounds surrounding Frank Falls. After a hearty meal of mac and cheese we retreated into our tents for the night. Awesome job kids and Center Falls tomorrow!

TEMAGAMI (EARLY AUGUST) ROUTE: Obabika Scoop. Camp –

Napolean Portage – Sharp Rock Portage – Diamond Lake - Lake Wakimika - Obabika Lake - Shishkong Lake - Bob Lake - Diamond Lake Pickerel Bay Portage - Camp.

DATES: August 4 – August 9 2012 LEADERS: Jean Murray

and Asa ThomasPARTICIPANTS: Madeleine Brown,

Alannah Chung, Sam Douey, Emma Gordon, Sophie Gordon, Casey Hill, Spencer Hill, Lee Rosensweet, Alexander Wolf. Day 2 Distance travelled: 7 km Hours on the water: 6.5 hoursWeather: Wind, rain, sun “What is that maddening sound?” the Temag As exclaimed as they woke up to the deafening barrage of a mighty tempest. The rain storm took our bleary eyes by surprise and soon soaked through the less diligently erected tents. Once the heavens’ rage had subsided the weary travellers prepared a feast of eggs, English muffins and bacon. With bellies full and eyes on the horizon boats were quickly loaded into calm waters that reflected the patchy cloud

of the sky. We made good time across the spine of Diamond Lake. After fighting off a small rain shower we passed the end of a portage we will undertake in 3 days time. Soon the bursting bladders and cavernous stomachs sent the group to shore. We grazed on bountiful sandwiches. The leaders were scolded for forgetting the mustard. Energy was high as we set out again on the crystalline waters of this gorgeous lake. However hopes of an easy passage were dashed by the approach of a frightening storm front. We donned rain gear as a wall of cloud approached. In no time at all we were pelted by rain. Nylon held firm and we powered on until an almighty burst of wind shoved all our boats swiftly across the lake, with all-out resistance futile we rode the waves to the calm waters of a marshy bay. One at a time our group arrived with stories of battling this

force of nature. Before anyone got too comfortable everyone was off in the now calm waters. Pressing on to the narrower half of Diamond Lake we soon found ourselves battling yet another pod of headwinds. However these ones would just not give up. While stopping for a snack we talked tactics. It seemed that the name of the game was to keep on keeping on. So that is what we did. Creeping along the southern shore we battled ever-increasing headwinds. Very soon it became clear that it was time to call it and fight this fight another day. Alex and Alannah (our brave sternspeople) psyched themselves up for one last push – A daring crossing to the end of the Barn portage on the North Shore. Winds were battled and shoulders ached as we drew our beleaguered bodies onto land and made preparations for a delicious mac. After many loads of firewood all enjoyed

Early August Temagamis celebrate... it’s mac and cheese for dinner!


dinner and desert. Eyelids soon grew heavy and once the game of Mafia died with the fire the glorious Temag As turned towards bed and a long sleep on a cool night. Night night everyone!

TEMAGAMI (EARLY AUGUST) ROUTE: Bear Island Excursion. Camp –

Devil’s Bay – Kokoko Lake – Bear Island – Devil’s Bay – Pickerel Bay Portage – Camp.

DATES: August 4 – August 9 2012 LEADERS: Bronwyn Hodgins, Sean

Leckie, and Sierra MulvennaPARTICIPANTS: Matthew Blumberg,

Ella Field, Brandin Geiler, Calum Murray, Hannah Reilly-Jackson, Seth Rose, Min Timmins, Peri Yee.

Day 5 Distance traveled: 11 km Hours on the water: 8 Weather: Overcast to nice and sunny The Morning started with a quick hike by most of the group up Devil’s Mountain, which happened to be across from our campsite. Bronwyn led the charge up the mountain while Sean cooked breakfast of oat bran muffins. The group made some friendly exchanges between Keewaydin canoeists passing by. When the group got back we quickly ate breakfast and headed out. We soared up the North West Arm of Temagami with Pickerel Bay Portage in our sights. The headwinds were not strong, so we made excellent time. Before long we were stopped at Pickerel Bay Portage and had a quick lunch of pasta salad and gorp. Another portage was destroyed by our wonderful campers and we were off to find our final campsite of trip. Along the way we met up with the Juniors who

were camped just across from Ferguson. After a lovely catch up, we pressed on towards Tea Bag Point. Once there, we made the best pizza ever made on trip, possibly the world. We ended the night with another sing along session, brought to you by Bronwyn. A lovely day all in all.

TEMAGAMI (LATE AUGUST)

ROUTE: Canton Lakes. Camp – Napoleon Portage – Sharp Rock Portage – Thunderhead Lake – Stiles Lake – Bob Lake – Diamond Lake - Lake Temagami – Camp.

DATES: August 17 – August 22 2012 LEADERS: Levi Bruce, Alicia Hodgins,

and Sierra Mulvenna PARTICIPANTS: Elliot Carusone,

Patrick Dunlop-Ellis, Stephan Kosziwka, Abrial Levisky, Callum Lewis, Samuel Liptay, Edan Lister -Stevens, Rhys Lister-Stevens, Vanessa Patrick, Savva Vorotynskiy, Leona Zuchlinski.

Day 3 Distance: 6.5 km Hours on the water: 7 Weather: Hot, sunny, some showers QOTD: “We definitely don't have this in Russia” - Savva (while stuck in waist deep mud) We awoke to the giggling of campers and made a quick but delicious breakfast of pooooooop. Our start was delayed by Levi's search for his sunglasses on the last portage. The next portage was very difficult to find, but we eventually got there. The campers got their first experience of mud and Edan tackled the canoe. The end of the portage was met with waist deep mud. After freeing Savva from the mud the leaders almost literally swam through the mud to push the boats out to where there was enough water to paddle. The

Early August Temagamis get one last photo in before leaving for trip.


beautiful Stiles Lake (4th Canton Lake) had some serious algae and we were all craving some clean water to swim in. We had an amazing lunch of pesto at the beginning of our next portage. Then all three of the barrels were carried by the campers over the portage (yippee!) and in no time we finished it. After another quick paddle we reached the super long 40m portage where campers challenged themselves and took heavy loads, including boats, barrels and the wanagan. Sam rocked the Wanagan, Abby took the super heavy barrel, and every single boat was done by campers. The leaders carried personal packs. At the put in we had a quick snack of gorp and lollipops before continuing our paddle on Bob Lake to our campsite. After some swimming we had a quick and delicious dinner of Mac and Cheese and grilled veggies, followed by awesome massages for the leaders! You campers are Angels! We whipped up a quick batch of brownies, which was promptly devoured. Good Night All! You are all awesome portagers!

COUREUR DE BOIS (LATE JULY) ROUTE: Lady Evelyn South Channel.

Camp – Napoleon Portage – Sharp Rock – Wi$ow Island Lake – Centre Fa$s – Helen Fa$s – Katherine Lake – Bridal Veil Fa$s - Fatman Fa$s – Lady Evelyn River - The Barn Portage - Diamond Lake - Sharp Rock - Pickerel Bay - back to camp.

DATES: July 18 – July 25 2012 LEADERS: Kai Bruce and Jean Murray PARTICIPANTS: Nathaniel Basque-

Giroux, Francesca Berkowitz, Landers Gordon, Pearce Gould, William Kauffman, Dana King, Ella MacPhail, Theodore Pinckard, Elise Proulx. Day 5 Distance traveled: 9 km Hours on water: 8 Weather: Warm and sunnyQOTD: “Trust” - Pearce. Due to some stove troubles we had a late take-off this morning. However, we were in a good mood after our delicious breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes with syrup and yogurt. We went down the crazy cliff at the end of the Bridal Veil Falls portage for the last time, and by now we were pros at navigating down it. In no time at all, we were at the next portage, and overnight the CdeBs had become expert portagers, and ROCKED the portage. Nathaniel

and Theo became Jean's wannigan carrying protégés, and were super hardcore about carrying it for the rest of the day. We did the portage faster than Jean and Kai could have ever expected, and were ahead of schedule for the day. We paddled to our next portage, a short 125m around Fatman Falls, with a tricky, rocky cliff ending. But, being our new superhero selves, we powered through it in no time again! We rewarded ourselves by playing in the washout from the falls to cool off. Then we headed back down the Lady Evelyn, and lined a small chute before dragging/shooting a small, shallow swiftie in order to avoid a 315m portage. Yay! Peanut butter and jam and honey tortillas were eagerly gobbled up for lunch, and though we briefly lost a boat that floated downstream a bit, all was well in the end. Again, we dragged a bit going downstream but once more avoided a portage so morale was high. A group from Wabikon was headed upstream on a day trip to the falls, and

Local Area Adventures: the Coureurs de Bois

Late July Coureurs de Bois enjoy a “shower” in a waterfa$.


after chatting with them, we realized that they intended to camp at the beginning of The Barn (which they called "The Death March"), where we wanted to camp. Being the kind, generous, hardcore trippers that we are, we decided to do a load of the portage today and camp at the other side. Personals, the tent pack, the wannigan, and the food barrel were all taken over, and with only one break for chocolate chunks we were finished. It was a piece of cake! More celebratory swimming was had, and a delicious dinner of risotto a la Kai. Popcorn was made for dessert, and all enjoyed throwing it and catching it in our mouths. Then, tired from our long day, we went to bed. Good work today, friends!

COUREUR DE BOIS (LATE JULY) ROUTE: Twin Peaks. Lake Temagami –

hiked Devil’s Mountain – Sharp Rock – Diamond Lake – The Barn Portage – Sucker Gut Lake – climbed Maple Mountain – Tupper Lake – Wi$ow Island Portages – Lady Evelyn - Diamond Lake - Sharp Rock Portage - Napolean Portage - Camp.

DATES: July 18 – July 25, 2012 LEADERS: Megan Buchkowski

and Sean LeckiePARTICIPANTS: Emily Brown,

Jason Conover, Mathew Hartman, Rachel Heath, Cody Hodgins, Callum McConnell. Day 3 Distance travelled: 7 km Hours on the water: 8 Weather: Perfect. Cloudless, nottoo hot. We woke up to beautiful mists on the lake. A mildly quick pack up and we enjoyed breakfast. It was a huge hit. Everyone loved Megan’s apparently

world famous granola. Then…. dun dun dun... To the Barn!( And we OWNED it so much!! We wrecked the Barn; we just destroyed it. The first kilometer and a bit went super fast. Everyone bucked up and carried a lot. After a snack of gorp we headed on. A little worrisome experience was had when Jason felt tightness in his chest, but it turned out okay. The second leg of the journey was the BOMB. Callum carried two food packs that were twice his weight and Emily took the food barrel. Mathew’s foot started hurting, but he managed to do a good-sized pack regardless. What a champ! On the last section Rachel owned a food pack and Cody simply refused to give up our heaviest pack—Yogi Bear, thus gaining the name of Cody Bear. Cries of exaltation rang out at the end. We just did the Barn! Congrats guys, you are all purple ponies of wonder! A swim happened while Megan grabbed the food barrel and the emerg barrel. Tuna was had for lunch with more gorp. The boys created a whole movie storyline with Cody Boles, Professor Mathew and Professor Marley. A short paddle to our campsite, sweet cliff jumping, absolutely ravishing Big Soup by Sean and nobakes for dessert were enjoyed. Mathew and Cody braved the bugs and finished dishes at

lightening speed. Congratulations, my lovely C de B B’s! You did it! The Barn has nothing on you!

COUREUR DE BOIS (JULY) ROUTE: Wolf Lake Loop. Lake Temagami -

Napoleon Portage - Diamond Lake - Unnamed Lake - Wakimika Lake - Obabika Lake and River - Sturgeon River - Hammend Lake - Ha$eck Creek and Lake - Sunfish Lake - Laura Lake - McConne$ Bay - Dewdney Lake - Wolf Lake - Lake Matagamasi - Donald Lake - Unnamed Creek - Potvin Lake - Maskinonge Lake - Ke$y’s Portage - Sturgeon River - Wawiashkashi Lake -

Late July Coureurs de Bois taking in the view.


Brighwater Lake - Manitou Lake - Emerald Lake - Obabika Lake - Devil’s Bay - paddle into Camp.

DATES: July 6 – July 24 2012 LEADERS: Bronwyn Hodgins

and Jake Norris.PARTICIPANTS: Madison Demaria, Ian

Karovitch, Oscar Link, William Paterson, Illan Rodriguez-Marin, Charlotte Van Dyke-Talbot, Michelle Wang. Day 10 Distance travelled: 7 km Hours on the water: 4.5 Weather: Hot and sunny, then rain, then hot and sunny again QOTD: “This is what a big boy bite looks like. See!? Blaaahhhh” - Oscar Steam Roll! An abrupt wake up for the sleepyhead boys. Fortunately for them, the girls were already up and packing. In fact, for the first time ever, the girls beat the boys in taking the tent down. Oatmeal led to another speedy morning. We paddled across the little bay to our first portage. 500m. Done in no time at all. Paddling across Dewdney Lake, we passed another group of trippers and yet another at the following portage, 200m long, though a steep rocky finish. Illan took the wanagan! This brought us to our destination – Wolf Lake! Home to the world's largest remaining old growth red pine forest. We took a moment to read about and reflect on the current legal controversy regarding the threat of mining movements in the area. We found a gorgeous campsite on a rocky point overlooking the deep clear waters. We were set up mere moments before the rain hit. We ate hummus on chapattis huddled under the big orange tarp. It rained and rained and it rained hard. Then, suddenly it was over and our good friend the sun greeted us once more. And then, everybody's favourite... PIZZA for dinner! We partnered up and gave loving care to our dough babies.

Mama Bron and Papa Turbo demonstrated the cooking procedure. The campers followed suit. All were cooked to perfection – no exception. Oscar even sniffed his dough to ensure it was ready – interesting tactic. With bellies filled to the max, dishes were tackled as a group (thanks Ike for taking charge) and then we were all off to bed.

COUREUR DE BOIS (EARLY AUGUST) ROUTE: Anima Nippising Loop. Lake

Temagami – Napoleon Portage - Sharp Rock Portage – Lady Evelyn River – Montreal River – Anima Nippising Lake – Carrying Lake – Red Squirrel Lake – Red Squirrel River - Lake Temagami – back to Camp.

DATES: August 3 – August 10, 2012 LEADERS: Emma Hobbs and

Angus MacPhail PARTICIPANTS: Celia Caldwell, Nico

Fisher, Andrew Hayman, Charles Hunter, Eden Israelloff-Smith, Sean Richardson, Sadie Segriff, Jacob Wolf, Kieran Yee. Day 6 Distance traveled: 23 km Hours on the water: 8 Weather: overcast in the morning, hot and sunny in the afternoon 6 o’clock wakeups – ouch. Once we had some oatmeal and fixins (and coffeee for the leaders) we were ready to tackle our huge day. We were off the site at 9 and nice tailwinds carried us down Anima Nippising Lake with ease. We searched for some pictographs, to

July four-week Coureur de Bois making waves on trip.


no avail, and we had a very aggressive GORP trading economy in the middle of the lake. Beer nuts and chocolate are hot commodities in this group! We made it to the portage by 2 PM and were ready to go. Everyone worked really hard and carried a ton. Nico conquered the portage with a severely stubbed toe, hardcore! After two exhausting loads we decided it was too late to continue on to the next portage. Instead we opted for a pretty OK bush crash site just down from the portage. It had a nice kitchen area and clear – ish areas for two two-person tents and two four-person tents. After a quick boat unloading and firewood collecting we decided a mandatory swim was in order. Everyone felt way better after… we were all pretty smelly and sweaty! Tents were set up as spag was made and Andrew

made headway on the elusive Mr. X riddle. Dinner was eaten quickly by the ravenous group and was topped off by a dessert of chocolate chunks. Hanging out and a discussion of Kieran’s dog’s tail ensued. Nice day today guys! Our final two portages tomorrow and then it’s time for a sneaky mission through camp, YES!

COUREUR DE BOIS (LATE AUGUST) ROUTE: Anima Nippising Loop. Lake

Temagami – Napoleon Portage - Sharp Rock Portage – Lady Evelyn River – Montreal River – Anima Nippising Lake – Carrying Lake – Red Squirrel Lake – Red Squirrel River - Lake Temagami – paddle into Camp.

DATES: August 16 – August 23 2012

LEADERS: Carling Dal Bianco

and Asa Thomas. PARTICIPANTS: Theophile Fournier,

Emily Gardener, Nicholas Kaegi, Hannah Kosziwka, Zack Levisky, Kai Malcolm, Bridget O’Kelly, Dana Price, Zoe Rogers, Eden Segal-Grossman, Varvara Shvetsova, Lucas Whitear. Day 7 Distance: 7 km Hours on the water: 3 ½ hoursWeather: Cloudy and a little windy.QOTD: “I CRAVE YOU” - Lucas We started the day with a sleep-in and the feeling of headwinds rushing past our cheeks. We moved fast across our campsite busying ourselves with packing up and the preparation of peach crisp. Breakfast was wolfed down and we postponed dishes so we could get on the water quickly. We pushed our boats out into the waves and settled into an extended slow-motion battle with the wind. However it was not long before we were shooting up the other end of Red Squirrel to our portage. There again we met the Queen E group we’d been leap-frogging with. Finishing in record time we waited for them to leave while telling stories. Red Squirrel River followed shortly and we were soon scudding past long fallen trees that drifted under our hulls. Through the pot-hole and before we knew it we were staring at Sangego. With the Mission Impossible theme tune going through our heads we snuck through camp with not a soul seeing us (it was lunch time). With excitement in our strokes we practically flew across the bay. Turning the corner we spied Wanapitei boats. Our archenemies, the Temags were leaving our planned campsite. Greetings were exchanged and a Thai noodle salad was consumed. With the Temags gone and boats unpacked Asa and Lucas practiced throwing butter knives and

August Coureurs de Bois cleaning their morning catch with Woody.


everyone relaxed. Before long it was right over us and we entered the lightening drill position. 30 minutes later we all stood up and played a game of darling I love you. After a while we dispersed, still laughing and a wet wood fire was started for perogies. A late dinner and hangout marked the end of a great trip.

COUREUR DE BOIS (AUGUST)

ROUTE: Wolf Lake Loop. Lake Temagami - Napoleon Portage - Diamond Lake - Unnamed Lake - Wakimika Lake - Obabika Lake and River - Sturgeon River - Hammend Lake - Ha$eck Creek and Lake - Sunfish Lake - Laura Lake - McConne$ Bay - Dewdney Lake - Wolf Lake - Lake Matagamasi - Donald Lake - Unnamed Creek - Potvin Lake - Maskinonge Lake - Ke$y’s Portage - Sturgeon River - Wawiashkashi Lake - Brighwater Lake - Manitou Lake - Emerald Lake - Obabika Lake - Devil’s Bay - paddle into Camp.

DATES: August 5 – August 22 2012

LEADERS: Megan Buchkowski and Scott McCutcheon

PARTICIPANTS: Priscilla Barker, Hannibal de Pencier, Gabriel Fischer-Schmidt, Austin McClure, Maanii Oakes. Day 8 Distance travelled: 20km Hours on the water: 6.5Weather: Overcast. Cleared up at night. A breakfast of pancakes awaited the weary travelers. We began paddling in a good time and we soon reached Chiniguchi Lake proper. A slight tailwind aided us and we sped down to our first portage. This was done fast and with more ease than imaginable. A quick diddy down Dewdney admiring the red rocks and growing number of pines brought the tired group to our second portage. We ate pasta salad for lunch but this wasn’t enough for Hannibal, Austin and Priscilla. We all signed the petition and finished the portage. On the other side we found a raincoat, a watch, a headlamp and a tie as well as BEAUTIFUL Wolf Lake. It is

gorgeous! Crystal clear waters, pines, rocks faces . . . what nature is. Amazingly, most of the campsites were taken but we eventually found the perfect rest day campsite. We hung out, ate some gorp, collected firewood, ate Dahl then no-bakes and relaxed. We saw a number of groups pass us looking for a spot to camp and we were glad we got here when we did. We stayed up until dark chatting then headed to bed. Sleep in tomorrow!

PIONEERS (EARLY JULY) ROUTE: Temagami River. Camp to Kokoko

Lake – Mantagama Point - Outlet Bay – Cross Lake – Red Cedar – Thistle Lake – Temagami River – Five Fingers – Ra*ed Chutes – River Va$ey Bridge – shuttle to Camp - paddle under the Bridge.

DATES: July 3 – July 11 2012 LEADERS: Scott McCutcheon

and Laura Wilkie PARTICIPANTS: Mark Anderson-

Trocme, Neil Brubacher, Gavin Clarke, Auguste Cuchet, Joel Fetterly, Scott Frayne. Day 5 We awoke on the ATV trail and got right to making a chet breakfast of oatmeal. We talked about how much we hated Bill O’reilly and Anne Coulter and munched on our boiled oats. We got on the water by 9:00 and headed down the two shallow sets we had done the previous day. There was a short flat-water section until we reached our first runnable set of trip. It was rocky but we still did it. Great success! We had

Racing Rivers with the Pioneers

And they’re off ! Three le*ed race during the mid-month Regatta in August.


another short break before our second set, in which Gavin and Scott hit a beautiful line. We then portaged the rest of our gear on the trail on RL. Shortly after that we came to our third set of the day. Scott and Auguste banged their way down the rocky set while Joel and Neil cruised down due to the lack of weight in their boat. We carried on through a small section of swifties until we reached Red Cedar Lake. We had a quick snack of Fritos and Nature Valleys

(thanks ATV man!). We then booked it to Thistle Lake in order to reunite with our beloved Mark. We pulled in and saw him playing hacky with Matt and Tori (well mostly with Matty). Reunited and it feels so good! He told us that he got 5 stitches as a result of his cut and he was also kind enough to bring us Timbits! We said goodbye to Matty and Tori and paddled about a km to our campsite. We had lazy perogies for dinner and then it was off to bed. Goodnight guys!

PIONEERS (LATE JULY) ROUTE: Noire River. Bus to put-in off Lac

Jim Road. Paddled down the river to the Black River Inn. Shuttle to Ferguson Bay, paddle into Camp.

DATES: July 16 – July 25 2012 LEADERS: Scott McCutcheon

and Laura Wilkie PARTICIPANTS: Aurora Basinkski-

Ferris, Myfanwy Cappel, Mira Chaplin Alex Chiu, David Green, Olivia Joiner, Jasper Ophel, Nathan Roberge. Day 6 Distance travelled: 16km Hours on the water: 8 Weather: Warm and sunny to rainy. We awoke this morning to beautiful weather. We had a quick but filling breakfast of pancakes. We got in our boats at record setting time and hit the

water. We shot a few small swifty`s ducky style before reaching the longest portage of our trip. There is a small R1 that could have been run to shave off about 200m to the portage but we decided that we just tough it out and do the full 1.2km. We all got together in our portage groups and headed out. Everyone was in high spirts despite the annoying fallen trees everywhere. The craziest part of the portage came at the end when there was a near verticle drop which we needed to carry our boats and gear down. Thankfully there was a rope that someone had tied that helped us steady ourselves going down. Nathan, Alex, David and Jasper developed an awesome system of getting the boats down. Mira, Olivia, Aurora, and Myfawnwy carried the gear down in an equally clever way. Once the portage was done we had a lunch of Gato Gato which was delicious. There a large pick and choose set right after the portage which we all shot successfully although we bumped and grinded at the end. We finally got our first rain of trip! We thought we would never be happy to see rain on trip but during a fire ban it is always a good thing. We had a few swifts shortly after this set until we reached our next set. Once again there was no clear line and we had to line. We lined our boats down river left until we reached a little shoot before our portage. Each boat went down one by one and edied above a waterfall. At this point we were all exhausted from the large portage and lining so we decided to call it a day. The take our was a slippery one and we all tried to keep our balance while unloading our boats. We cooked up a dinner of lazy perogies just as the weather began to clear. We all hung out and talked for a while and looked at the waterfall before going to bed. The end.

Early July Pioneers show off their strength a"er nine days on the Temagami River.


PIONEERS (LATE JULY) ROUTE: Spanish River. Bus to put-in at

Biscotasing - Biscotasi Lake - Spanish River - Agnew Lake - bus 'om Agnew Lake Lodge to Ferguson Bay - paddle into Camp.

DATES: July 16 – July 25 2012 LEADERS: Sierra Mulvenna and

Connor “Fred” Thompson PARTICIPANTS: Jonah Bain, Cooper

Kauffman, Amelia Keenan, Nowlan Maynes, Ben Risk, Kyla Ruch, James Smallhorn-West, Liam Tharp, Hayley Watt. Day 5 Distance: 22 kmHours on the water: 9.5Weather: Very hotQOTD: Kyla - “whenever I get really hungry I get this bad pain in my chest”James – “ I think that means your going into cardiac arrest” We woke up this morning with lots of giggling coming from the girls’ tent. Apparently they had a funny incident in the night. We had some oatmeal for breakfast, Fred loved it! We started off our day with a few swifties, that we ran ducky style. We arrived at our first portage around quite a big set. Once portaging was done, we got to swim the bottom section of the set. We continued down the river and had some super fun sets, that the kids were ecstatic about, they all did great! We got to ride some wave train and do some eddying out as well, too fun! We stopped for lunch at the beginning of our next portage and the pesto was devoured in seconds. We continued to do our portage and the kids did great! We had a few more swifties and truly thought that the portages were done for the day, until we pulled up to a massive set and realized we had a 750m to do. The kids did the portage in record time, thirty minutes, yippie! We pushed

ourselves pretty hard today and had a few more hours of paddling before we got to the campsite.

PIONEERS (JULY) ROUTE: Coulonge River - Northern

approach. Bus to put-in on Ruisseau Jackson - Grand Lac Victoria - Ottawa River - lake hopping to the Coulonge River - bus 'om Terry Fox Bridge to camp.

DATES: July 5 – July 25 2012 LEADERS: Charles Heath and

Emily MillerPARTICIPANTS: Elia Deck, Jenna

Gardner, Frieda Hodgins, Kimberley Huisman, Ruairidh MacPhail, Abigail Mackenzie-Armes. Day 17 Distance travelled: 32 km

Hours on the water: 9 Weather: Hot and sunny Waking up to the sound of a waterfall is a great way to wake up in the morning. Everyone rolled out of their tents to some delicious chocolate chip pancakes this morning. We loaded up the boats and we were off and away! We soon came up to our first set of the day and had fun sneaking in between a big rock and an old dead tree. After a successful run of the set everyone went for a quick dip as it was already getting super hot. Our next set was just a few kilometers downstream and this one was fun. We had to sneak tight left to avoid a hole in the centre and then we worked our way around a bunch of rocks at the end. Everyone did a fantastic job! We stopped for lunch on a little beach at the bottom of the set and had some banana nut loaf with honey. Pretty tasty, but next time more banana chips and add chocolate chips. After

Four-week Pioneers get their feet wet in July.


lunch we had a bit more of the winding, swerving bits of river and some rain clouds were chasing us down the whole time. We got sprinkled on just before reaching Rapides Enrages. The portage wasn’t too bad, but we faced some disappointment at the end when we saw the site was taken by a rowdy group of hooligans. Rats! We snacked on some smartie gorp before deciding to push on a couple more kilometers to Rapides Gallinotes. We portaged half and decided to camp at a flat rocky area after the first drop. Yummy spaghetti was devoured and Kim went for a refreshing dip. After dinner, Elia and Jenna did dishes and then the mosquitoes chased us to bed. Great day today guys!

PIONEERS (JULY) ROUTE: Dumoine River. Red Squirrel

River – lake hopping to Lac Dumoine – down the Dumoine River – cross the Ottawa River to Dri"wood Provincial Park – bus to Camp.

DATES: July 4 – July 24 2012 LEADERS: Andrew Brown

and Gill Thompson PARTICIPANTS: Matt Bowles, Sam

Karovitch, Hayden King, Malcolm King, Cameron MacPhail, Andrea Rodriguez-Marin, Alex Roeder. Day 16 Distance travelled: 10km Hours on the water: 6 Weather: Nice and sunny Big day of whitewater! A bit of a cold morning today but beautiful with the

steam rising off the water as the sun slowly warmed things up. We packed up and chowed on some peach crisp before scouting our first set (Big steel) from the bridge. A short flat water paddle later we saw the first group of

the WLIT’s. We found the second group a short ways down playing in the rapid above the falls. We admired their soloing for a short time before showing off our own sick styles. From the eddy we could see the third group (how many of you WLIT’s are there?!?!?) gathering up the final load of their portage. Determined not to be outdone by these leader-wannabe’s; we loaded up big time and finished the portage in minutes and leaders DID NOT carry boats. We paddled with their crew to Canoe Eater.Aside from Brown snapping his paddle in two, everyone made it through no worries. We had a very filling snack- lunch with the WLIT’s and were generously gifted some tomato paste and cream cheese. To celebrate this acquisition, it was instantly decided that pizza was on the menu for dinner…but more on that later. Many of the next slashes were boney R1’s which we shot ducky but a few required a quick scout. Alex and

Sam had a sweet dump at the bottom of a set, but they were rescued quickly and everyone was fine. We also found a very decent surfing wave at the bottom of the rapids which tipped Cam, Malcolm, and Matt; but failed to break their will

as they immediately gave their surf another go. We pressed on, ducky-styling swifties until we reached our site at big Cedar Rapids. As we prepared our “za”, the WLIT’s paddled by, despite Cam standing in the middle of the river with a large staff yelling “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” Alas, they passed. Pizza was made, eaten, and enjoyed by all. And with the sun setting we crawled into bed.

PIONEERS (EARLY AUGUST) ROUTE: Noire River. Bus to Lac Jim,

Quebec – paddle down almost the fu$ length of the Noire River to the Black River Inn, near where the Noire meets the Ottawa River.

DATES: August 1 – August 10 2012 LEADERS: Emily Miller

and Jake NorrisPARTICIPANTS: Liam Agnew, Aidan

Caldwell, Becca Carter, Anna Hayman, Alise Grant, Sam Klooster, Carolyn Nicol, Emmet Robins, Izaiah Uguolah, Nathanael Williams, Emmerson Wilson, Felix Venier. Day 4Distance travelled: 23 kmHours on the water: 7.5 Weather: Sunny

Early August Pioneers paddle their first set of the day.


Uh oh...Turbo and Miller slept through the alarm this morning, but that didn’t stop us from having a scrumptious breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, and we were off the site in record time. The morning was full of more twists and turns until we finally reached the confluence of Ste. Patrice and the Noire. We’re out of the vortex! We finally made it to the first set of the day and everyone did so well! You guys are rock stars! We stopped for apples and oranges at the bottom and some people went for a little swim in the current. We continued on until we reached the bridge and had a yummy lunch of tuna on tortillas. We looked through some old trip reports and found out that there may be a sand free site within our reach so we decided to push on. A couple of hours later we reached our glorious pine site with a beach front. Bing bang boom done! Turbs whipped up the best mac and cheese ever and Felix tried fishing for a while. Anna’s sharp eyes spotted a cute bunny and the girls all got Katniss braids. The mosquitoes came out in full force and chased us to bed. G’night!

PIONEERS (LATE AUGUST) ROUTE: Coulonge River. Bus to put-in off

Lac Jim Road - down river to pick up at Terry Fox Bridge. Drive to Camp.

DATES: August 15 – August 24 2012 LEADERS: Emma Hobbs

and Angus MacPhailPARTICIPANTS: Zackary Bryson, Liam

Fischer, Nicholas Fortier, Rebecca Liptay, Lukas Lister-Stevens, Julia Malone, Mika Rogers, Augustin Thiollier. Day 8 Distance travelled: 18 kmWeather: sunny and beautiful We arose bright and early this morning in an attempt to have a quicker

than normal getaway. Success! Boats were loaded before breakfast and subsequently a chocolate chip pancake feast was devoured. We were on the water shortly after, the sun beating down on us. We reached the ledge after Enrages in minutes, scouted, and ran it once boat at a time like pros. Angus and Rebecca had a dump after an attempted side surf- our first of trip! Everyone rescued the gear quickly and we were back on the river in no time. We also

learned our wannagan floats- yes! With current and swifties helping us along, we reached Gallinotes and completed the portage amazingly fast. A quick swim at a nearby sandbar to cool us off and a lunch of Thai pasta salad to refuel followed. Our sandbar had clearly been a lunch spot for the month long Pions as well, as we were greeted by a giant WANAPITEI written in the sand. We practiced handstands (like we do on every other horizontal surface) and Angus and Emma learned they could quite effectively throw Nicholas into the water. The group soldiered on, battling headwinds that wanted to blow us back upstream. An afternoon of fun swifties sped by, and soon we were at the portage for Chute a L’Ours. This

one also was completed in the blink of an eye. Julia did an amazing job at carrying a boat, rock on! Our campsite at the end of the portage was gorgeous, and everyone went to work collecting wood and helping out in the kitchen. Massive mac n’ cheese a la Angus was enjoyed by all, and the leaders made hash browns and chapattis for tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch. Augustin and Zack entertained the boys by the water with their radio while the

girls led a Disney/Taylor Swift sing-a-long in the kitchen. Soon, the exhausted group sped off to bed, excited for more sets tomorrow, but totally sad that it’s our last paddling day. Mika summed up our emotions nicely by crying, “I don’t want it to end!!!” We agree! This trip is da bomb! Goodnight Pions.

PIONEERS (AUGUST) ROUTE: Dumoine River. Camp to

Temagami – cross the highway to Rabbit Lake – night at Ted Moore’s cottage – Outlet Bay – Matabitchuan River - Lake Temiskaming - Portage du Sauvage to Kipawa – lake hopping to Lac Dumoine – down the Dumoine River – cross the Ottawa River to Dri"wood Provincial Park – bus to Camp.

Early August Pioneers take time to dry off in the sun - and smile for the camera.


DATES: August 3 – August 22 2012 LEADERS: Tori Miller and

Connor “Fred” Thompson PARTICIPANTS: Bronwyn Bates, Stefan

Dowhanuik, Jacob Fischer, Olivia Gordon, Molly Heintzman, Phillip Jobin-Joy, Said Maalim-Chartres, Mary McNee. Day 14 Distance travelled: 21 km Hours on the water: 7Weather: Super sunnyQOTD: “We were visiting this really weird, random place called Brock University...” -Olivia We had a long morning today full of excitement. Pancakes were made while Mary, Bronwyn and Stefan rolled and fried chaps. Fred gave us a river talk because today is our first whitewater day. Holy moley! So we got on the water and paddled swiftly and excitedly down Lac Dumoine and finally reached the river. We all got out to scout our first set and pick a good line. Then we all shot our first whitewater of trip! Yeeeee!! Our portage was right after and

we decided to do one load, then eat lunch next to the waterfall. We had risotto refrieds and then got our next load. A rowdy game of scatter was played - Tori and Said ran right into each other thus both getting out and Mary ended up winning by her desperate plunge into the mucky water. Well played. We continued down the Dumoine and stopped for a swim off the boats in Lac Brulant. We then spotted a brillant and powerful bald eagle fishing in the lake and then we continued to Lac Laforge. We decided to camp a couple of kilometers early because the sun was starting to fry our brains. At the campsite, Phil finally got his haircut (after a pre-trip plea from his mother)! He picked a stylish Mohawk that Tori cut for him. We played concentration and freeze for cooking and dish groups and then Molly and Mary cooked some delectable lazy perogies for dinner while some others worked on happy day gifts. We reluctantly allowed the kids to have s’mores for dessert and thus the sugar rush began. Mary showed us her choreographed dance routines, some races occurred and fight club began and

was quickly banned for the night. Everyone came down from the sugar rush and finally went to bed. Sleep well, everyone!

PIONEERS (AUGUST) ROUTE: Coulonge-Noire Crossover. Drive

to put-in at Resevoir Duzois - down the Coulonge River - paddle down to the Noire River. - pick up at the Black River Inn - Bus to Camp.

DATES: August 4 – August 23 2012 LEADERS: Hannah Orfald-Clarke,

Jamie Wilkie and Laura Wilkie. PARTICIPANTS: Jason Ashe, Severen

Fisher-Schmidt, Marguerite Fournier, Xiu Timmins, Daniel Devlin, Kishan Patel. Day 16 Distance travelled: 12 km Hours on the water: 6 Weather: Rainy morning then cleared with rainy pockets throughout the afternoon.QOTD: “I am going to wiggle my udders” (while standing up and almost falling out of boat) -Marguerite, in her cow costume Woke up super well rested and feelin’ goooood. Ready for some whitewater and smooth swifties…oh wait, no, it’s raining! No matter, we cannot be stopped…we are fearless, rugged, and ready to take on the Noire. We had an AMAZING breakfast of Magic Mix, to Xiu’s great delight. So yummy! We hopped in our boats and set off to our first portage. Banged it out in no time, and continued along our way. We got to our first set and decided to line it, which was a good opportunity for some people to practice lining techniques. We paddled down some swifties and little waves and made it to Mountain Chutes. We were expecting it to be horrible, but we ran the first part August Pioneers join in the fun at Evening Program the night before their trip.


and lined the second part, cutting the portage from 1300m to 800m. It was a bit hilly and Xiu said that she would rage quit if she ever had to do this portage again, but we toughed it out and Wilkie muscled the boats down the steep put-in. We ate tuna on homemade bread for lunch in the rain. Then we ran a fun set at the bottom and got some good photos. We kept making our way down the river, singing songs and playing Boticelli. The Rapides de l’Islet portage turned into another opportunity to line. Whoop whoop! A few more little rapids and then we did the quick Rapides de l’Ours portage. A really fun R2 after the portage made for some more good photos. We chose a campsite that looked eerily familiar to two nights ago. Early to the site brought much delight. We did some swimming, riddles, and lounging. We ate lazy perogies with hocho for dessert and many, many card games were played.

BAY TRIP (JULY) ROUTE: Kesagami River. Kesagami River.

Bus north to Upper Kesagami Lake, across to Kesagami River, down into James Bay. Paddle west on the Bay and up the Moose River to Moosonee. Train and bus back to Camp.

DATES: July 1 – July 25 2012 LEADERS: North de Pencier and

Jamie Wilkie

PARTICIPANTS: Isaac Beattie-Booth, Erin Brophy, Noah Buffam, Ben Correale, Eamonn Gogan, David James, Patrick Keenan, Michael Lilly, Michael Radden, Bernard Rechico-Moisan. Day 11 Hours on the water: 5.5 Weather: Hot The rain that had threatened never came. Lucky us. With a belly full of chocolate chip pancakes, courtesy of North and Michael R. we loaded our boats (two of which tried to escape down the falls). Not with rescue David around! We left our site and soon completed our first portage of the day, no problems. We cruised down some swifts and R1s, maybe an R2 or two like pros and arrived at our next portage. Despite Wilkie’s warnings about the deep mud, half of the trip was soon stuck in the mud. Isaac persevered and muscled first his shoe and then his whole boat out of the mud and to the end of the trail. Just before lunch we ran a sweet ledge and then practiced swimming in holes wearing Wilkie’s rescue vest. After a delicious and enormous lunch of quinoa salad we continued down the river doing another quick 20m portage. Instead of doing our last 2 portages of the day, we lined 1

and then did a lift over. We swam, then Michael R. and Erin made a delicious Mac N’ Cheese, while North made an amazing chocolate cake and Isaac made bread for tomorrow. After dinner we did some Bollywood and some Russian dancing with Michael L. had one last swim and went to bed.

BAY TRIP (AUGUST) ROUTE: Kattawagami River. Bus to

Lwagamau Lake put-in, Kattawagami River down into James Bay. Up the Moose River to Moosonee. Train and bus back to Camp.

DATES: August 2 – August 25 2012 LEADERS: Charles Heath and

Sophie RoherPARTICIPANTS: Brendan Agnew, Nico

Fischer-Schmidt, Nicolas French,

Reading the Tides with the Bay Trippers July Bay Trippers paddle sets on the Kesagami River.


Emma Jackson, Tessa Jobin-Joy, Arnav Kapur, Lea Marcotte-Richardson, Patrick Melanson, Cameron Miller, Skye Moffat, Eric O’Brien, Julia Pepler.

Day 20 Distance travelled: 28 km Time on the water: 9 Weather: Rainy, cold and misty into beautiful and sunny We woke up to darkness again this morning, ate a breakfast of granola and set off on the water. It was misty and cold. We paddled against headwinds and tried to keep moving to stay warm. Leaders lifted spirits with another Mars Bar snack and we continued on, trying to get as far along the shoal as we could before low tide. At around 10am, the water got too shallow and we started walking the boats in the water. Skye showed us all a cool boat-walking trick that he likened to walking horses.

Finally we parked. Some people played baseball, some napped, some read, and we all ate some cheesy tea biscuit loaf. With uncanny timing, the sun greeted us just as the water began to rise. We paddled on into nothingness. It looked like we were paddling on clouds with the reflection of the sky on the calm vast water. We had to stop a couple more times for the tide to let up, which gave us a chance to snack on Gorp and take some more photos. Once we arrived at Long Point, the mosquitoes attacked. Sophie and Charles cooked up some big soup with cheese. Early to bed. It’s been a long couple of days but we’re almost done the Bay. I can’t believe it!

RIVER ADVENTURE(EARLY AUGUST) ROUTE: Groundhog River. Bus North to

put-in. Down the Groundhog River to Fauquier. Bus to Camp.

DATES: July 31 – August 11 2012 LEADERS: North de Pencier

and Gill Thompson PARTICIPANTS: David Oliver, Grace

Osler, Audrey Potts, Austin Ray. Day 3 Distance travelled: 17 km Hours on the water: 5 Weather: Thunderstorm in the morning, overcast for the afternoon A thunderstorm this morning kept us in our tents for longer than we had planned, but we enjoyed the sleep-in. Granola for breakfast and then we were on our way. Rainy skies and headwinds did nothing to dampen our spirits and we pushed on to the first set. A quick portage around a drop and then we shot a fun bottom section. After a few more kilometers, we got to our second portage. The leaders made pb + j sandwiches while the campers carried everything across and loaded the boats. So efficient! After lunch we paddled down wildlife alley - seeing two moose and three bears in the span of five minutes. The baby bears and baby moose were adorable. More headwind battling followed these sightings until we reached a site at the beginning of a set. Seeing that there was a building marked on the map, we explored the trails, hoping to find a sweet cabin. It

Bay Trippers take a swim break on their Kattawagami trip in August.

Exploring with the River Adventurers


was found, but unfortunately was locked up. Oh well, back to our site for some spag dinner. Lots of chill time followed with North, Grace, David and Audrey all taking turns on the guitar. Fun day today guys!

RIVER ADVENTURE (LATE AUGUST) ROUTE: Ivanhoe and Groundhog Rivers.

Bus to put-in at Ivanhoe Provincial Park. Down the Ivanhoe River to the confluence with the Groundhog River. Down river to Fauquier. Bus to Camp.

DATES: August 14 – August 24 2012 LEADERS: North de Pencier

and Gill Thompson PARTICIPANTS: Colin Malone,

Jordanna O’Dowd, Austin Read, Peter Taynen. Day 4 Distance: 25km Hours on the water: 7 Weather: Cold and rainy We woke up to a cold and rainy day this morning. Everyone layered up, we had some granola and then were on our way. A few swifties were shot right away, and then we paddled on through the rain to the bridge set. After a brief cabin hunting expedition we moved on, getting to the Chutes in good time. We shot a fun set, styled it on the portage then had some tuna lunch at the end. That was all the whitewater for the day so we pushed on, getting to a good bush-crash site around 6. We made delicious mac + cheese under our bomber tarp, then hung out around the fire. Good day guys, hopefully the rain stops tomorrow.

WLIT FLATWATER (JULY) ROUTE: Obabika Loop backwards.DATES: July 6 – July 10 2012 LEADERS: Maeve Freeman-MacIntyre,

Morgan Moores and Jean Murray. PARTICIPANTS: Max Adshead, Dane

Blanchard, Julian Carusone, Piper Deck, Caleb Guthrie, Morgan Hodgins, Cori-Anne Huisman, Sebastian Pickering-Pedersen, Nicola Protetch, Rebekah Richardson-Duffy.

Day 1 Leaders of the Day: Morgan Hodgins and Sebastian Pickering-PedersenDistance travelled: 11 km

Hours on the water: 4 Left camp at about 11:00 this morning, and not a cloud in the sky. VERY HOT! We had paddled about 2km when we stopped to do some cliff jumping to cool off. It turned out everyone was hungry so we decided to have lunch. Bagels, cream cheese, cucumber and tomatoes, yum! Headed down the lake when we ran into Rebekah’s brothers having a little paddle. After we had said a quick hello we continued down to Devil’s Mountain. We got to the campsite at about 2:30pm and had a few hours to swim and hangout. After an awesome lesson on putting up tarps from Julian, we made a delicious dinner of stir-fry. We had a little interruption because of a “missing camper”, but all was settled quickly. Yummy love in a pan was made as the sun was setting under the tarp that was so luckily prepared by Julian. The bugs started to close in around the music circle and the campers drifted slowly to bed.

Learning to Lead with the WLITs

WLITs paddle the Dumoine River on their white water trip in July.


WLIT FLATWATER (JULY) ROUTE: Obabika Loop.DATES: July 6 – July 10 2012 LEADERS: Tim Bourns, Emma Hobbs

and Holly NesbittPARTICIPANTS: Victor Bates, Emma

Bogler, Connor Cepella, Grant Conover, Mark Nicol, Lindsay Ophel, Harry Silbaugh, Helen Thomas, Patrick Trudeau, Shelby Yee.

Day 5 Leaders of the Day: Lindsay Ophel and Shelby Yee We woke up kind of late, but made sure that the first thing we did was boil water for grumpy old Timmy and Harry. Shortly afterwards, the water was boiled and breakfast was pre-made from the day before. Yay! We got onto the water at 9:30 am and paddled across the end of the bay to a portage which we single-

loaded on a beautifully cleared path. We had a little bit of headwinds going back onto Lake Temagami but paddled quickly over to Keewaydin. There, Timmy bought an Eat, Sleep, Keewaydin shirt and everyone bought much-desired treats. We continued on up Temagami, but got split up into two groups. Just then Connor became incredibly homesick and broke down. Luckily LOTD (Leader of the Day) Lindsay was there to help! Soon enough we made it to the tip of Ferguson Bay by 1 pm where we stopped to have some

yummy potato salad. We also waited for the other group, but they were just so so so slow. So instead, we paddled towards the bridge and home again home again jiggidy jig!!

WLIT WHITEWATER TRIP (JULY) ROUTE: Dumoine River. DATES: July 18 – July 24 2012

LEADERS: Tim Bourns, Emma Hobbs,

Maeve Freeman-MacIntyre, Morgan Moores, Matt Thompson.

PARTICIPANTS: Max Adshead, Victor Bates, Dane Blanchard, Emma Bogler, Julian Carusone, Connor Cepella, Grant Conover, Piper Deck, Caleb Guthrie, Morgan Hodgins, Cori-Anne Huisman, Mark Nicol, Lindsay Ophel, Sebastien Pickering-Pedersen, Nicola Protetch, Rebekah Richardson-Duffy, Harry Silbaugh, Patrick Trudeau, Shelby Yee. Day 6 Leaders of the Day: Rebecca and Co. Today started out so much fun! We woke up next to a great set and half the group got to paddle solo boats with Matty and Morgan while half the group made beaver tails for breakfast. Mmmm… Some of us went up in tandem boats to the top of Red Pine to work on a few things and then came down to practice more solo boating. We used an awesome wave-trough to ferry over and had sooooo much fun. Clam and Julian both rolled their boats. BOOYAH. The leaders were satisfied with what they had seen and we were about to head out and pull down the river when BAM! A lightning storm took us by surprise. We had lunch of pesto under our tarp and right after we were assaulted by lightning and had to go sit in the woods and make jokes for a half hour while the storm raged overhead. Awesome, it was fun. We then committed the act of leaving not after 2 pm and paddled down the last little section of whitewater to hit a set most of the way down the river. There were some fun, big sets that Morgan and Matty debated and reasoned their way out of, and some other fun sets that we all played in and cruised down. We finally reached our end goal (8k away from Driftwood), and we camped at a nice open sight next to an amazing drop set. Happy day gifts were prepared and

The WLITs put on their game faces for Swiss Navy at the end of July.


a taaasty meal of fettuccini alfredo was cooked. All gathered around our table, we ate happily with big bums and chatted merrily before unraveling our gifts. Wowaa WEEWAA! What a happy day! All gifts were aweeeesome! Some songs, some poems, some bracelets, some tools, some awesomeness. Wow, what great people we are! And then… we sleep.

VOYAGEUR I (AUGUST) ROUTE: Esachistuwach-Enistuwach-

Pontax Rivers. Drive north to put-in at Lac Apikwaywasich. Lake hopping to Riviere Esachistuwach. Down the Esachistuwach to Riviere Enistuwach to the Pontax to James Bay. Pick up in Waskaganish. Bus to Camp.

DATES: July 28 – August 25 2012 LEADERS: Tim Bourns and Maeve

Freeman-MacIntyrePARTICIPANTS: Sam Angel, Julian

Carusone, Flora Demaegdt, Jacob Fischer-Schmidt, Lucie Fournier, Stuart Fowler, Liam Kehoe, Teddy Liptay, Noah Lister-Stevens, Robin Matchett, Mark Nicol, Rebekah Richardson-Duffy.

DAY 12Distance travelled: 12 km Hours on the water: 7Weather: Overcast and cold to sunny We breakfasted on peach crisp this morning and then paddled down the nice R1 by our campsite to the top of a sweet set. After a nice scout and discussion around potential routes, we

ran the fun double drop to the rock island. Everyone had sweet lines and practiced their MITH carving. We paddled over to the rock island and scouted the next section. It was also a super fun double drop with a massive hole at the bottom. We proceeded down a sneak route with a beaching in the middle. Stuart led everyone in a Chilean chant and lined up on the rock beside the set to cheer people down the massive hole. We paddled on to find a massive set in front of us. Luckily there was a small creek to the right. We had lunch of Logan loaf made by Rebs and Sam with the help of many before we tackled the creek. It turned out to be a pretty fun little creek. There was just enough water for us to send our boats down the little drops. Teddy did a jump into his boat and ended up in the water. At the end of the creek we paddled over to the waterfall to check out the view from the bottom. It was beautiful. Off we went down the river. Liam and I saw an owl swoop down over us. Unfortunately the

rest of the group didn’t quiet down, so it didn’t come out again. We continued down the river to a fun continuous R1/2 pick and choose, our favorite. Everyone did really well with the rocky set. Unfortunately boat 1 decided to wrap on a rock. Jacob and Rebekah got out and unwrapped it quickly and

efficiently. It was right at the bottom and there were loads of rocks, so it was an easy rescue. We had some GORP to warm up our tummies and discussed the worst movie of all time. We camped soon after and made pizza for dinner. Apparently there was some bobsledding that happened. Dinner and music and then bed.

VIs: Into the Quebec Wilderness

Both Voyageur I trips before heading on their separate adventures.


VOYAGEUR I (AUGUST) ROUTE: Kitchegama/Nottoway Rivers.

Drive to put-in at the Sampson River. Portage and paddle to Lac Grasset. Kitchigama River t0 the Nottoway. Into James Bay to Waskaganish. Bus to Camp.

DATES: July 28 – August 25 2012 LEADERS: Emma Dowds and

Morgan Moores PARTICIPANTS: Max Adshead, Victor

Bates, Connor Cepella, Grant Conover, Emma Gilmore, Cori-Anne Huisman, Sasha Pickering, Randy Rosenblatt, Julien Sasseville, Harry Silbaugh, Zach Smith, Helen Thomas.

DAY 18Distance travelled: 12 km Hours on the water: 8Weather: Overcast This is day 18, how did that happen? Trip is rushing by us so quickly now that we’re in the more exciting part of the trip and today will be no different. We ate peach crisp with coffee and tea and hit the water. White water was upon us pretty quickly today and we soon realized that it was going to be a fun filled day of running sets. The island section with all of the slashes that had been exciting the group for days turned out to be much less intense than the maps made it seem, but it was fun none the less. Victor and Julien enjoyed the day by picking more adventurous lines to challenge their mad skills. Most importantly, Hanz had her best day yet

as maidenhead of Dowds and Harry’s boat. Suddenly it looked like a storm was a brewing so we pulled over and devoured unbelievable sandwiches with bread a-la Helen. Snack of Spitz and gummy candy was doled and Randy shared some yummy mini Mars Bars with the group. Onwards and upwards! The afternoon was jam packed with fun, big waves and pushy sets. Boats were rocked by Cori and Clam, Grant and Sasha, Morgan and Emma, Julien and Victor, Zac and Randy, Connor and Helen, and Dowds and Harry. We camped on RR and enjoy a Grand dinner of Risotto a-la Victor and Emma. All the while we sipped on tea. Post dinner we all sang and enjoyed a fabulous jam session and belted our lots of the classic camp songs plus some new ones. Oh yes, cinnamon buns were mastered by Cori and Grant all evening. Looking forward to those tomorrow.

VOYAGEUR II ROUTE: Whitehorse - Tischu River -

Keele River - Twitya - Trout Creek - Overland, Cache Creek - Mountain River - Mackenzie River - Fort Good Hope - fly to Toronto - bus to Ferguson Bay - paddle into Camp.

DATES: June 30 – August 25 2012 LEADERS: Hallie Herz and

Graham Preston PARTICIPANTS: Fraser Cepella, Katie

Devlin, Harris Franklin, Emma French, Kyla Gardner, Dan Heath, Julia Higgins, Alex Hodgins Eliza Jackson, Alex MacPhail, Tess McCutcheon, Owen Melanson.

The Voyageur Is float along in comfort. VIIs Find Beauty in the Great North


Day 31By Harris Franklin The freedom of the hills is given to few but for our brave VIIs it is received like an old and familiar friend. Eight days over land and still no creek in sight. Our canoes might forget how to float if we keep this up. Undaunted by the lack of water our fearless leaders cried “Cache Creek or Bust!” and started grinding down the trail as the granola grumbled in their gullets. Up the V2s walked, to the height of their route – and not a drop to be seen. The Trout ran dry beneath their feet, the chapattis in their throats no wetter. But bust they did not!

Day 40By Owen “Loaves” Melanson Overcast all day but the scenery leading up to the Mountain made us forget all about the clouds. We paddled past sheer rock walls at least eighty feet high which dropped straight to the water, cutting away at one point to make a clean tunnel through the rock. The cliff faces followed us as we paddled to a waterfall that was suspended at some points, allowing us to crawl under and sit in caves as the water cascaded over us. There were cave networks with water running through them creating underground tunnels that we ducked through, which was one of the coolest things ever to happen to me. The ineffable beauty of this place varies every day from mountains to springs to pools to forest and animals. I feel like I could stay out here forever and be held speechless by the scenery every day. We got to our campsite at the confluence of the Mountain, whose canyons towering 100 feet straight up and down, flawless, serve as gates to the final stretch of our journey. We searched for the abandoned cabin but to no avail and checked out another waterfall. At the campsite more Judo took place as MacPhail stepped up his game

against me and I did battle against Fraser, Prom was moved to another day, and we are throwing spray decks on in anticipation of bigger water.

VOYAGEUR II ROUTE: Norman We$s - Mackenzie River -

Great Bear River - Great Bear Lake - Calder River - Hepburn River - Coppermine River - Kugluktuk - fly to Toronto - bus to Ferguson Bay - paddle into Camp. DATES: June 30 – August 25 2012 LEADERS: Shauna Kearns

and Toban Leckie PARTICIPANTS: Max Correale, Daniel

Glassman, Ceci Gregory, Austin Haw, Peter Lilly, William McNee, Stuart Murray, William Radden, Roisin Thompson, Stephanie Vaughan, Vitalina Vorotynskaya, William Wolf. Day 14 Today we went to Deline, a community situated on the southwest shore of Great Bear Lake. As we pulled

into a cove and towards the landing, pickup trucks drove down to the water. Congratulatory roars grew louder as we paddled closer. Twenty or so people were on the sandy shore with smiles. We set up camp and walked into town. We were greeted by the smells of burgers, hotdogs, corn, beans, fried bannock, and bbq’d lake trout! We ate until we couldn’t. Bruce and Verna treated us like family. An Elder named Morris taught us about the community’s last prophet, Louie Ayah who died in 1940.Verna told me that when Bruce came home from watching us line up the river he told her that watching us reminded him of the stories his grandfather had told him about his ancestors going up the River. We feel really blessed to have met everyone we have over the last couple of weeks. We expect we’ll miss them a lot as we head inland to less populated waters. Tomorrow we begin our paddle of Great Bear Lake. Day 39 Lapland longspur and ruddy turnstone!! This morning we saw one

Voyageur II campers end the day with a cuddle pile.


muskox drinking from the river. Our presence didn’t seem to stir him until we were about 100m away, at which point he turned and galloped into the wooded land, his thick, brown qiviuq rippling over his rump. An elusive wolf, a perfect white, was also interrupted by us as she drank her drink. A more curious cream colored lupine stumbled upon our site on his way to the water this evening. We were all hypnotized by the agility of his trunk as he bounced from hummock to hummock. Finally, he bounded back up the ridge. We paddled by white pines today. This section of the Coppermine is truly beautiful with it’s “unbending, never ending tablets of time.”

"

Getting on the Plane A reflection by Eliza Jackson - 2012 Voyageur II camper

This is it...”V2”. Ten years in the making. Ten summers, twelve trips, countless hours, always moving

toward this goal. And now you don’t feel ready. Now you’re doubting if you can even make yourself get on this plane. Now you’re wondering why you gave up your summer, once again, to venture out into the unknown. This is it! This is what you’ve been looking forward to since the first time you stood cheering on the bridge. Since the first time you listened to their stories and saw their joy. Since your first summer on Lake

Temagami you knew that you would one day end up here. This is your second graduation! In two months you will paddle across that same lake to be welcomed with that same joy. And yet...this moment marks the end. The end of your time at home. The end of your safety net. You’re popping the bubble, going out into the world. The end of it all. You do this because this experience is special. Because this is a defining moment. Because your

experiences and interactions these last ten summers have shaped you into the person you’ve become. These people, this place, defined you. Wanapitei made you. The trail, the trees, the docks, the bridge, the water. The water. The water has taught you everything. Shown you your weakness, broken you down and then inspired you so much you have no choice but to take another stroke. Try that line again. Push yourself to do better. The water has tumbled you, tossed you, and scares the heck out of you but you keep

getting back on the ride. This place has turned you into a leader. Taught you how to navigate, paddle, cook, clean, and learn. Learn that you can do it. You can. And you can do it all on your own. You’ve become someone who is outgoing, understanding...overwhelmed. But because of all of the things that this place has given you, you will do it.

You will leave. You will go. You will put all of this behind you to have the experience of a lifetime and you will not regret it! You will be brave, you will be bold. You will pack and you will track. You will follow and you will lead. And you will get on this plane.

The vi$age of Deline welcomed our Voyageur II campers into their community for the night.


The Year with Bruce... Continued 'om page 3

food down the Lake to a campsite, by outboard, joining the middle day sailing. At the Reunions, we saw and heard the presentations of the two full summer Voyageur II trips in the Northwest Territories and Yukon. I really love those presentations. What fantastic achievements – river and creek travel often close to mountains, crossing along watershed “portages”, major and minor lakes, with high morale, great comradeship, fun, work, learning and fellowship, and also

memorable cultural contacts with northern Indigenous people. Lifetime memories. In 2013 there will be three such far northern trips. The summer of 2013 will be my fifty-seventh and Carol’s fifty-sixth summer (1957) based at Wanapitei. We were married during the summer of 1958! I wish that I had not been so clumsy on the late August closing Wanapitei Banquet, the one outside, when I raced, in the dark, from the back to the Dining Hall Side Door Platform to join the great Staff for the singing of the “Old Canoe,” to the throngs of parents, staff, and campers gathered there. I fell on the steps and banged and cut my right shin. Later at Wanapitei and then

repeatedly in Peterborough, I received medical attention, almost to Thanksgiving. You can still see the fading scar! In late September we had our usual Trent-Carleton Environmental and Canadian Studies Field Trip (four days, three nights at Wanapitei plus travel); it was their 40th trip. Very large. Great sessions and speakers, great square dance, great canoeing and hiking expeditions, lots of special returnees celebrating forty years of the trip to Wanapitei. Several current Wanapitei staff helped with the outings, the square dance and in the Kitchen-Dining Hall. We look forward to seeing you at Wanapitei in the Summer of 2013.

By Allan “Vin” NorrisBoard Member

It was forty years ago that alumni from the Taylor Statten Camps Ahmek and Wapameo created the Taylor Statten Camp Bursary Fund. The volunteers that make up the Board of Directors believe that the life skills learned and experiences earned from summers at camp are pivotal in shaping healthy futures for the young people involved. The Bursary has helped fund over one thousand summer camp experiences at more than eight different camps and we are working hard to ensure there are another thousand to come. The T.S.C.B.F. has grown significantly over the years. Today, we are fortunate to manage a significant endowment worth over five hundred thousand dollars. What has not changed is the generosity of our donors and camps

alumni. Our supporters have always dug deep to ensure that financial constraints don’t prohibit young people from enjoying the summer camp experience. The Bob Boutiller Memorial Fund is Camp Wanapitei’s direct connection to the T.S.C.B.F. Bob was a long time member of our community and his legacy lives on at Camp Wanapitei. His daughter Lisa was on program staff and Lisa’s mother, Hilary Heath, serves as the secretary on Camp Wanapitei’s Board of Directors. Donations to the T.S.C.B.F. made through Bob’s Memorial Fund ensure that the donation is used specifically for Camp Wanapitei. I have had the good fortune to serve on both the T.S.C.B.F. and Camp Wanapitei Boards of Directors and see first hand the effects of the good works of both groups. If you are interested in participating in or just learning more

about what we are up to in year forty and beyond, please visit our website www.tscbf.com. Donations are always welcome and can be made through the website or by a making a cheque out to T.S.C.B.F , indicating that it be for the Bob Boutiller Memorial Fund and mailing it to the T.S.C.B.F. , 77 King Street West, P.O. Box 1128, TD Central Postal Station, Toronto , Ontario, M5K 1P2.

What Is the Taylor Statten Camping Bursary Fund?

http://www.tscbf.com

http://www.tscbf.com


By Ted MooresWanapitei Board Chair and CEO

ANAPITEI has had several “life-cycles” in its eighty year history, and although I have

only been around it for fifty-six of those years, I can honestly say that the camp is the closest I’ve ever seen it to becoming a fully rounded, self-sustaining educational organization. The safety is outstanding as usual and the overall quality has been improving yearly. Now it seems, thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Woody and JJ, supported strongly by Trish, Heffy, all of the program staff, and the Board, we are beginning to realize the efforts of our intensive business planning of two years ago, and are venturing into a more sustainable financial structure.

This year we are able to put over $70,000 back into the site and equipment; an all-time camp record and a much needed boost. The maintenance and site “people” have put a lot into the camp in the last several years to make it look better and be more functional, but it has been done without much cash and has been dependent on a loan, (in the form of a mortgage). As we become more sustainable we’ll be able to put more of those expenses into our operating budget and ideally save for the really big expenses, (like building a new kitchen and program center). The increase of income comes from more campers and tight controls on spending. We believe that we can significantly increase the number of kids coming to camp without negatively hindering our “extended family” style of camp whereby the 17 year olds and the 10 year olds know and interact with

each other. Of course during the big July (Community) weekend and the end of camp (Harvest) weekend the camp is overloaded, but those are celebration times and are far different from the rest of the summer when there are rarely more than 100 campers in camp at any one time. To continue a successful quest for financial sustainability we will always count on the exceptional efforts of volunteers. This year very active volunteers included my spring building crew with the addition of Don Mason, the ongoing and year-round efforts of Allan Norris, Phil Nicholson’s wonderful “session-end” extravaganzas, and the teaching help of Jen Deck. Many people ask if the economic “insecurity” of the current time has affected the camp. Of course we’ve had to tighten our belts a bit and be as

... Continued on page 31

From Our CEO: Wanapitei Comes of Age

W

Wanapitei 2013 Session Dates and PricesProgram (Age) & Price Dates

Junior Camp (7 - 9)$775

July 13 - 19Junior Camp (7 - 9)$775

July 20 - 26


July 29 - August 4


August 5 - 11

Temagami (10-11)$1985

July 13 - 26Temagami (10-11)$1985

July 29 - August 11

Temagami (10-11)$1985

August 12 - 25

Coureurs de Bois (12-13)

Two weeks: $1985Four weeks: $3470

July 13 - 26Coureurs de Bois (12-13)


June 29 - July 26


Two weeks: $1985Four weeks: $3470 July 29 - August 11



August 12 - 25



July 29 - August 25



Program (Age) & Price Dates

Pioneer (14 - 15)Two weeks: $2095Four Weeks: $3690

June 29 - July 12Pioneer (14 - 15)Two weeks: $2095Four Weeks: $3690 July 13 - 26


June 29 - July 26


July 29 - August 11


August 12 - 25


July 29 - August 25

Bay Trip (16)$3925

June 29 - July 26Bay Trip (16)$3925

July 29 - August 25

Bay Trip (16)$3925

River Adventure (16-18)$2250

July 30 - August 11River Adventure (16-18)$2250 August 12 - 25

River Adventure (16-18)$2250

Voyageur I (17)$4940

July 28 - August 25Voyageur I (17)$4940

Voyageur I (17)$4940

Program (Age) & Price Dates

Wilderness Leader in Training (17)

$4790

June 29 - July 26Wilderness Leader in Training (17)

$4790 July 29 - August 25

Wilderness Leader in Training (17)

$4790

W.L.I.T/VI (17)$7985

June 29 - August 25

Voyageur II (18)$8145*

June 29 - August 25

*Cost of travel is not included in VII fees, and session dates do not include the time needed to travel to the starting point of the trip.

Fees include everything except transportation to and 'om camp, tuck shop purchases, rentals, medications

or related medical expenses, and taxes.

Due to the unpredictable fuel costs, a fuel surcharge may be necessary for some programs. If applicable

it wi$ not exceed $200.

Dear Wanapitei... Continued 'om page 1

camp? " "No. Never. There was always something to do. Even work." In the course of the exchange that fo$owed, he said that one of his accomplishments at Wanapitei was to have come to like working more than doing nothing. "So, if I was bored now and had a choice between doing nothing or, say, doing the dishes, now I'd want to do the dishes." ! Last night, faced with a difficult decision, he stepped forward to offer a kind of help that I know he is not typica$y inclined to offer. I thanked him, and looked at him closely for several seconds. I felt something new. "What's going on with you ?" I asked, in my best tone of loving inquiry. "It's camp dad. Camp gives everything." But again and 'om the depths of my parent's soul, thank you so much for what you have facilitated here. I can't wait to 'bow' to my boy’s stern.

Father of a Temagami Camper, 2012

It quickly became clear on my drive out of camp that my son thinks the world of Toban and Shauna. They did a remarkable job in leading that group through their adventure. My son learned a great deal 'om them and 'om the experience that they curated. Positive influences like Toban and Shauna are not common and are important for young men. Our young man treasures his experience this summer, specifica$y the relationship he developed with Toban and everything he learned 'om him; big/sma$, trip related/life related, direct teaching /(and more importantly) indirect learning through observation.

Father of VII Camper, 2012

The best thing that happened to me this summer was going under the bridgeat camp. If you don't know the camp, then you probably don't get why it issuch a big deal. What happens is when you finish your... trip, the whole camp stands on a wooden bridge and they are cheering and clapping as loud as they can to welcome you back to the camp. Our group was on an eight-day trip, canoeing along the Montreal River up in Temiskaming so we were a$ ready tocome back. I wonder how the people on the fi"y-two day trip felt. The people that were important in my life

this summer are a$ the people in my group and the leaders at camp. This is because I was there for two weeks and we were together the whole time so that brought us close together.

Coureur de Bois Camper, 2012 (as part of a school assignment)

Our son was on a 30-day trip in August. Just wanted to say a quick thanks for a great adventure. He was new to Wanapitei but seemed to settle in quickly. He had a blast, loved his group and was surpassingly impressed with the trip leaders. A$ that to say, sincere thanks for facilitating a trip of a

lifetime. Based on the glowing report we received - you run a great camp.

Mother of VI Camper, 2012

Please pass on our thanks to Kim and Henry’s group Leaders - they talked about them a$ the way home. Not only have you two done a great job of picking your staff, but 'om what I see the staff have fo$owed through on their end of the bargain, making Wanapitei a special place for the kids. Rea$y awesome. Every time I am there and the camp is fu$ it just makes me want to stay longer - what a family it is.

Parents of a Temagami Camper and a Junior

Camper, 2012

Picked up Anthony earlier today in Vaughn… Just want to drop a line saying that based on the stories he has told so far that it was an experience that he wi$ never forget. The two counse$ors made a very positive impression on him as we$. He has commented that they are 2 most amazing people he has ever met…. I am sure the trip wi$ have a positive influence on him for the rest of his lifeThanks for having such a great program

Father of a Bay Trip Camper, 2011

First off I wanted to mention how wonderful Sierra was this morning. She met my daughter and I and made our transition so lovely. I was thri$ed to meet Sara's counse$or and learn that she was a lovely as she was. I am certain that Sara wi$ be in good hands and I believe that she felt very comfortable a"er only a few minutes of chatting with Sierra. I thought you should know this and please thank her for me…I am so excited about the opportunity that Saraa has ahead of her. Thank you.

Mother of Temagami Camper, 2011


By Ted MooresWanapitei Board Chair and CEO

N JULY, a group of Wanapitei alums met in Norman Wells, flew up near the Yukon, NWT border in the Mackenzie Mountains, (where we made

snow angels), and spent the next 17 days paddling down the Natla and Keele rivers to the Mackenzie. We had heat stress, wind stress, solid gr 2, 3 and 4 rapids on the Natla, mostly over large boulder drops, and VERY fast gr 2 and easy 3s on the Keele, where we could do 50km in a couple of hours without breaking a sweat. We had the luxury of enjoying hours of just “being” in such magnificent country, and regularly shared our awe of our surroundings. The participants were Allan, Gary and Sam Norris, Alister Thomas, and myself. All of us except for Sam, who turned 25 on the trip, had done northern trips together in the 60s, with Allan, Gary and Alister being campers together. Below are two excerpts from the journal.

Day 2 Our first day on the water, (Natla R). Up at 7, organized and away at 11:30 surrounded by snowy mountain peaks. We entered the river in 15 minutes in a small riffle, which got larger and basically didn’t slow down for 423 km. A large bald Eagle sat on a stump and watched us slide by, we had 4 km of gorgeous Gr II non-stop rapids, then the ante was raised with some very picky rock gardens and big waves. We lined a gnarly drop (big center hole), ran more picky stuff and lunched just past Icicle Creek (slate blue water) at 2:45. Wonderful rapids all morning!

A little 5pm excitement; after setting up our kitchen we were pitching tents when a Grizzly lunged into the river from an upstream/upwind island, bounded/swam across rapids and ran straight at us on our campsite. We yelled, waved, looked as big as we could and he skidded to a halt when he finally saw us about 25 m away. He then did a quarter circle, stood up to show off his big muscles, then lumbered off. Vin had the air horn out which urged the (beautiful) bear up a very steep slope that he cleared in about 15 seconds. He dropped a few turds as he ran, so we had the same effect on him apparently. Though we always assumed he would stop when he actually saw us, the charge was a bit unnerving and it was a good adrenalin rush.

Day 4 Sitting around the campfire Alister asked, “why is this so much fun”? People hear about cold, rain, bugs, uncomfortable, dangerous, wet, hard work, scary, grizzly bears etc. Our answers included: unrivaled beauty; spectacular environment; no one within 100s of miles; requires skill, precision, teamwork, judgment; traveling / exploring in the unknown; living every day fully. There’s a spiritual quality of a wilderness trip due to the connections and interdependency with your group, the simplicity of daily work, the simplicity of the daily objectives; the connection with the earth / wilderness; living with the rhythms of the earth and wilderness; the awe and wonder at how spectacular the earth can be; the deep connections to earth and to the best of our selves; exploring and experiencing the different characters of landscape, of mountains and of

rivers. All this plus constant, (and thankfully this year not too strenuous) exercise and the very fit feeling after a few days, (or weeks as we get older). Paddling requires a mild focus and concentration. The rhythm is like the rhythm of breathing so it’s a constant meditation. The necessary chores are simple, like breaking and setting up camp and leaving the site in pristine condition.

Paddlers For Life: Alumni Trip to the Natla and Keele

ISUMMER 2013

IMPORTANT DATES

MAY1st: Final balance of camp fees due.

JUNE1st: Last day to submit medical forms.29th: Early July, July & full summer sessions (begin.

JULY11th: Mid-month Banquet.12th: Early July session ends.13th: Late July & Junior 3 sessions begin.19th: Junior 3 session ends.20th: Junior 4 session begins.25th: Mid Summer Feast.26th: Junior 4, Late July & July sessions end.27th: Community Banquet.29th: Early August, August and Junior 5 (sessions begin.

AUGUST4th: Junior 5 session ends.5th: Junior 6 session begins.10th: Mid-month Banquet.11th: Early August & Junior 6 sessions end.12th: Late August session begins.12th-17th: Family Camp.14th-17th: Family Camp 3-night option.24th: Harvest Night.25th: Camp ends.

2013


conservative in our spending as possible, but we’ve found thatWanapitei is different from a normal “discretional spending” vacation option. I believe that people who have been connected to the camp see it as an extremely important part of their child’s education and development. Campers grow and gain very important

life skills, many of which are not possible in a school environment. They find their strengths, are supported for their unique contribution to their group, exercise leadership, practice taking responsibility where the consequences are real, and learn compassion. They cook in the rain, sit around the campfire talking, singing and laughing, and discover things about themselves that they, (or their parents), didn’t know existed. As evidenced by our alumni trips, family week and summer celebration weekends, campers make life-long

friends. This year some “older” alums were talking and they agreed, “though having been campers at Wanapitei didn’t prevent life’s difficulties from happening, (like divorces, bankruptcies, cancer etc.), it definitely enabled us to cope effectively with them”. Not unlike campers who paddle under the bridge in all of their new strength and confidence, Wanapitei itself feels like its “coming of age” in this phase of its evolution, and is only getting stronger so that it may serve its families better in the years to come.

Coming of Age... Continued 'om page 28

AMP WANAPITEI would like to express sincere gratitude to the following individuals and families for their generous donations

over the past three years. In addition to the donations noted below, we are forever grateful to the families who donate the remainder of their Camp Store (Tuck) accounts to our Bursary Fund. This fund allows us to extend the Wanapitei experience to families in financial need. Finally, without the generous donations from countless families towards our sailboat fund, we simply wouldn’t have a sailing program. Our sincere thanks.2010 (Sound system for the Dining Hall - Glenn Brown and Brenda Laughlin

2011 Cedar Strip Canoe Restoration. - Canoe #3 - Restored by Glenn Hodgins through a donation 'om Ji$ and Dan Devlin

- Canoe #5 – Restored and donated by Glenn Hodgins.

Industrial fridge for Camp receptions and operations out of Chateau - J. Phi$ip Nicholson Policy and Management Consultants Inc.

2012Paderno Chef Knives and Steamer Pot for Camp and Chateau Kitchens - Catherine Robinson

Contribution to Defibrillator and New Staff Cabin Doors - “Big Phil”

Cash Donation for Cedar Strip Canoe Restoration – Ji$ and Dan Devlin

Camp Wanapitei Etching (auctioned off with proceeds to the Camp) – Bi$ McCutcheon

Cash Donation for the Camp and the Chateau – The Trask Family

Industrial Strength Sewing Machine for tent and pack repair – Eric and Beth Roher

Cash Donation for purchase of an ABS Canoe – Bi$ McCutcheon


Thank-You, Thank-You, Thank-You!C

T H E P A D D L E R ● J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! P A G E 32

FAMILY CAMPAUGUST 12th to 17th, 2013

Join us for five days of fun for the whole family:

CANOEING * HIKING * ARCHERY * CAMPFIRES * YOGA * TIE DYE * OVER NIGHTS * SWIMMING * CAMP GAMES * BEADING, HEMP &

EMBROIDERY * AND MUCH MORE!

Visit www.wanapitei.net for more details and to register.

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