Staff Wanderings and Ponderings

A thousand or so days after the ball began to roll, CG and Jodi have now officially become the caretakers and owners of Northwaters and Langskib Wilderness Canoe Camps. Coincidentally this landmark event fell within weeks of our esteemed leader’s birthday, and thus his 35th anniversary on the islands. Below is a speech that was given in his honor at our end of season staff celebration. Congratulations, and thank you!

35 years ago a sophisticated suburban mother of four identified in her 2^nd born a need to escape the traditional.   It was clear that her stoic and resourceful boy was ready for a unique and identifying experience.  And so, at the age of 13, she sent him to Langskib.  To this day, she remembers with vivid clarity C.G. returning home from his summer in Temagami.  He was different she said.  Something had changed in him, this was very clear. Indeed, it was clear.  In addition to crossing a bridge he had chosen his life’s path.

C.G. has returned to Langskib every summer since then.  Beginning as a participant and soon becoming staff.  It wasn’t long before Dave Knudsen recognized his dependable nature, strong work ethic and impeccable craftsmanship.   He was hired on full time and began the long process of helping shape the organization and moving it forward.

When I first met C.G. he was devoted to his own personal growth and learning the skills required to manage people effectively.  Not much has changed.  He is dedicated to learning and his capacity for knowledge is overwhelming at times.  I’ve yet to meet another soul who can be simultaneously reading a book about small business organizational development, another on sustainable living, a Patrick O’Brien novel, Cycle World magazine and National Geographic. His quest for knowledge and curiosity combine with his diverse interests to make him an authentic ‘student of life, for life’.

Over the years his leadership has impacted more than an organization.  He has served as a mentor, surrogate father, friend and trusted colleague to generations of participants and staff.  During the off-season, it’s pretty rare for a week to go by without someone calling to ask C.G.’s advice.  Whether it’s someone looking for ideas on how to spend a year off, how to change a break caliper, frame a roof or how to face a particular conflict in their lives—he will make the time to help.

To me, C.G. embodies what Langskib and Northwaters represent: integrity, courage, community and the quest for excellence.

We put a great deal of value on symbols in this organization to recognize a passage from one place to another.  When I asked Bence (an infamous Excalibur Participant) what I should do to commemorate your 35 years here he suggested I commission a true to life statue of you for the cliff at Langskib.

While I agree, a statue would be great, I think it’s more important for you to hear these words and know they are true:  The community of staff sitting in this room are here because of important work that you have done.  The important work they do with young people on trail can happen because of your dedication to the philosophy of NWL and steadfast belief in the process.

As Caretaker of NWL , I know you will do what is right for this land and all those who walk upon it.  But I also know that as long as you breathe, you will uphold the core values of this place; the belief that simple living, hard work and risk changes lives.  Indeed, It changed yours 35 years ago and we are ALL truly thankful for that.

Or… “Why Langskib is like Mongolia”, by alumni Dave Roberts.

It has been over thirty years since I lead my last trip from the dock at Langskib canoe camp for boys.  I was a camper on the first Temagami Trip the year Dave Knudsen bought Camp Windshift which became Langskib. I was one of the first leaders, I co-lead the first Dumoines River Trip. I lead CG on his very first canoe trip; he later became the best assistant I had the pleasure of working with.

A lot has happened since I left Langskib;  some good, some not as good. I moved to the West, I worked as a cowboy on several cattle ranches in Colorado, I lead elk and deer hunters on horse pack trips into the Rocky Mountains for 11 years, did many other jobs, lived in several places. I married, raised kids, divorced and ended up with a desk job shuffling paper. I soon plan on changing that desk job to something more exciting.

Last year, life was getting a little too slow and too domesticated, I was missing the adventures I had leading canoe trips, the traveling into the unknown, not knowing where camp will be until evening comes. I missed the nomadic life I lived as a cowboy. So I packed some belongings and traveled to Mongolia for three weeks. The people there still live the same as they did 800 years ago when Genghis Khaan ruled. They live in tents called Gers, they move their livestock with the season, packing all their worldly belongings onto ox drawn carts and live off the land. Mongolia is great, just what I was looking for, people with a nomadic spirit. The entire time I was in Mongolia I never felt alone, everywhere I went people treated me as a friend. I spent days galloping a horseback across the Mongolian Steepe with nomadic horseman, I stayed in their Gers, I learned their culture and shared experiences with them. I am learning their language and plan to return to Mongolia next year to visit with Mongol friends and other friends I have yet to meet.

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I was inspired recently by a lecture that I attended by Kim John Payne titled Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids. Kim John authored a book of the same title in 2009, the ideas of which are catching on nationally at a rapid pace.  His message is clear:  by reducing the stress in the life of a child we give them the opportunity to flourish; the opportunity to  think more clearly, make better decisions, and have the capability to go deeper in to the activities, play, and work that they do now, and will do later.  Kim John explained that when children have a series of small cumulative stresses in their lives such as: too-busy schedules, constant media exposure, too many choices, and general chaos in their lives their brains function at limited capability while exhibiting the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.   In a time when it seems that stress is the new norm in our society, Kim John challenges us to keep it simple in the lives of our families, for the sake of our families.

Of course, it was hard to listen to this lecture and not make parallels to the ideals of Northwaters and Langskib Wilderness Programs and the reverence for childhood and adolescence that is honoured there.  By giving young people the opportunity to unplug, remove themselves from the expectations and norms of their home lives, and be with the land in a safe yet challenging environment, we create beautiful opportunities for personal growth.  We don’t need much to have powerful and formative experiences.  In the case of NWL, it is the bare necessities:  a tent, paddle, canoe, essentials that fit in to the canoe, a small group of supportive peers, and the quiet, solitude, and rawness of the Temagami Wilderness.

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We are having a great winter here at Northwaters and Langskib off season  headquarters. Everyone is healthy, summer camp enrollment is at record levels and a steady stream of visitors has made cheerful the dark days of November and December.

Summer Camp in the Winter!

New to the mill (and NWL) this winter is Jen Zahorchak.  Jen comes to us with many years of experience working with children and their families in camp settings throughout the US.  She and her husband Gregg moved back East from Oregon to work for Adirondack Camp in Lake George.  Recently, they purchased a home just a mile down the road from the mill.  Jen and Gregg come to us with much experience in outdoor adventure.  Each of their girls, Wren and Luna, have been on canoe trips in-utero and out, but Otis (4 months) is waiting for the spring thaw for his first out of belly adventure.  In addition to helping out with general administrative work, Jen is focusing her expertise on managing our website and online presence.  She’s the person to contact if you would like to contribute news, photos or stories to the blog or website – jen@northwaters.com

Once summer camp programs are finished and base camp is closed, (October 2 last year) our focus turns to planning for the coming season. In November, directors and senior staff spent 3 days with Rod Napier and Chris Cavalieri of The Napier Group. (more…)

January 1st 2010. My friend Bill Perkins wants to be the first one to paddle the Crystal River this year and this decade. So here we are at Fishers Landing with winter boots and many layers of wool and polypropylene clothing. His little ford station wagon is not quite stuck in the snowbank. We unload his old aluminum canoe and immediately appreciate the first difference of winter canoeing. Instead of carrying the canoe and gear to the river we just pull it across the snow like a big sled.
The Crystal River is the only river in our county. It is a twisty, four miles from Big Glen Lake to Lake Michigan and most of that is through (more…)

Well, it’s finally happened.  Winter is here, and my thoughts now begin to shift from rivers and giant pine trees to cross country skiing and hot chocolate.  I live in Toronto where winter really never completely sets in.  While there are people running around in minus 40 celsius rated down jackets and there is talk of storms of the century, its really not much compared with the rest of the county.  Even though here in Toronto we don’t really “do” winter, the same sentiments arise once the weather turns colder.  People slow down a little bit, nest a little and eat a little more.

One of my winter traditions is to thumb through my pictures of the past summer.  I look at them fondly and think about the long days and warm nights in Temagami.  This picture in particular brings back memories of this past summer. In June 2009 I stepped into a new role as Program Director at our Northwaters Basecamp.  Along with this amazing new challenge I was also planning a wedding, my wedding for the end of August.  (more…)

For three decades, Wadhams, NY resident C.G. Stephens has led young campers into the wilderness of northern Ontario as part of Northwaters and Langskib Wilderness Programs (NWL).  From it’s two island base camps, NWL leads it’s participants, ages 10 – 19, through some of Canada’s most remote and beautiful canoe country on trips ranging from 14 – 30 days. (more…)

Recently,  I took a four day Voyageur Canoe camping trip with the senior class from the Leelanau School where I work.  In many ways it was a wonderful trip.  The weather was beautiful which is always a gift in late September.  We do this trip every year and most years end up with at least one day of paddling in rain, hail, sleet or snow with a ripping headwind to boot.  This year we had the headwind but sunny warm skies and beautiful water on Lake Huron.  Our students study the life of the voyageurs on this trip.  We read historical accounts of the voyageurs, were visited in camp by Larry young, who has been studying and re-enacting the fur traders for more than 50 years, and spent a day at Mackinac Island, which was an important hub in the fur trade.  On Mackinac Island we spent time writing at St. Anne’s church, which was established in 1670 and has served the community for more than 300 years. (more…)

For the past few weeks I’ve been watching the snow disappear from the High Peaks and the river rise at the Falls in Wadhams, mourning the end of ski season while eagerly anticipating paddling once again.  The Boquet river runs out of Elizabethtown as a meandering, innocuous looking stream, disappears into Steele Woods where it becomes a raucous class 2+ ride  and then emerges at Brainards Forge looking relatively innocent, giving few clues of the good times had out of the public eye. (more…)

By: Chris Wolfe

I remember being thirteen, standing on the dock at Langskib as darkness fell. There in the distance we saw the lights of torches appear. The paddle butts beating the dock echoed the beating of excited hearts. The Bay Trip! The boys who got out of those canoes were giants in my eyes. I knew that somehow what they had just done was big. And there was the way people talked about the Bay Trip with a certain deference and respect- it all took on a kind of legendary quality. If you had told me then that in two years time I would be paddling in in one of those torch-bearing canoes, I don’t know if I would have believed you. (more…)