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.

Interesting enough, where I traveled in Mongolia is exactly the other side of the world from Langskib; same latitude as Langskib and exactly 180 degrees difference in longitude. I could not help to think back on the experiences at Langskib and the skill I learned. The canoe trips I lead were stepping stones for the adventures that followed. I was hired as a hunting guide and cowboy because of my skills I learned at Langskib, the ability to live in the wilderness. As Koonze, a cowboy friend, said “We are men that do not need to go home at night.” At the end of the day, home was where we camped, just as it was leading canoe trips. What was hardship to many was just another day on the trail for me.

Several years back I had the thrill of watching my daughter go out on her first Northern Lights Trip and several other trips in the following years. Stepping onto the dock at Langskib for the first time in thirty years brought back memories, seeing Northwaters for the first time show me how much the camp has grown since I worked there. And watching my own daughter return from canoe trips was an emotional experience beyond words for me, having my own daughter learn and experience the same things I did when I was her age.

Soon I will be up at Langskib and Northwaters for the Alumni Weekend. I hope to see old friends and share experiences with others who lead trips over the years.

Life itself is the journey, what an adventure!!

DR/

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.

At Northwaters and Langskib each participant has an important voice and vital role within the group – it is difficult to blend into the background when one is considered critical to the group.  Often, we see young people come to our programs feeling disconnected and self-conscious.   But when given the opportunity to be with nature, a supportive community and, most importantly, with themselves in a reflective way, we often see these same individuals head back home feeling strong, empowered, and with a newly-found realization of their unique gifts and those of their trip mates.  The skills and lessons learned on a well-thought out wilderness program, such as trust, communication, integrity, honour, discernment, and confidence are skills that will aid young people in the navigation of their lives well beyond their time on trail.

Northwaters is committed to sharing the magic of this experience with parents as well.  We believe that the environment, culture and components used throughout youth programs have great value for families and individuals.  Waypoint is a week-long program at our Langskib basecamp designed specifically for parents who would like to renew their vision of what is possible within themselves and their family.

I felt compelled to share my experience of Kim John Payne’s lecture and of Northwaters with other parents as a message of hope in demanding times.   Kim John’s message reminds us to look at childhood and adolescence as an unfolding process rather than an enrichment opportunity.  In this way we can support our children’s healthy development in to grounded and responsible adults.   The work of Northwaters and Kim John Payne continue to influence my life, and who I am as a parent, by plainly reminding me that simple is powerful.

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. Chris and Rod, in addition to being our trusted advisers and experts on organizational development, are also able to represent the views of parents and grandparents of participants. Together we identified key program areas we could improve and ways in which we could make the end of session experience for parents even better. One exciting development is Waypoint, a one week program August 1-7, 2010 for parents.

Enrollment in Northwaters and Langskib regular sessions is more than 20% ahead of all previous records for this date. Don’t worry, we probably still have space for you, but keep in mind that if you are one of the folks that likes to wait until the last possible chance to enroll, you may find yourself out of luck. Enroll online or call 866-458-9974.

Outside of our regular canoe camp season, we have a full slate of school programs. Halton Waldorf School of Burlington, Ontario is sending classes in both June and September. The Sterling Hall School of Toronto and the Rudolph Steiner School of Anne Arbor are each sending classes for wilderness canoe adventures in September. We have formed a partnership with Alive Outdoors to provide a wilderness adventure program for the 10^th grade of the Greenwood school of Toronto in September as well.

The ice was late in arriving to Temagami and a number of our neighbors have been through the ice. Keewaydin Canoe Camp lost a snow machine but fortunately, Jason was uninjured. Unsafe conditions made it impossible for Claire and Eric Miller to reach Northwaters in mid January but they were able to get to Langskib for a very frosty visit.

A January thaw in Westport brought the Boquet River thundering over its banks. Big chunks of ice made it too scary to do much more than just think about paddling, but still, it was a great reminder that paddling season is just around the corner. Temperatures have returned to seasonal levels so it’s back to ski’s and ice skates.

We hope you are all getting out wherever you are and look forward to another great summer.

C.G. & Jodi

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.  Now, in honesty when I told my plans to my friends, family and fiancé I was faced with a healthy amount of disbelief.  How would I mange to plan a wedding from an island in the middle of lake Temagami while my husband to be worked in Toronto? What better place to plan a wedding and be inspired than in the Canadian wilderness… think of all the decorating ideas I’ll get!   And for my fiancé I added that distance makes the heart grow fonder, so our separation would actually be an advantage.  My optimism however, proved to be a little naïve as I began to realize the demands of wedding and program planning.

Luckily for me, a supportive community who readily offered their ideas and help whenever I needed it surrounded me at basecamp.  From asking for colour scheme advice, to the use of the Hobart industrial mixer for my wedding favours, Northwaters was always there to help.  NWL creates a community where each individual is celebrated for their unique gifts, allowing everyone to feel safe and valued.  I felt that about the community on my very first trip on the Makobe River and it is a feeling that is cultivated and nurtured every summer.

The shift from a trip leader to a program director has been an exciting one.  I was thrilled to be able to meet and know many participants instead of just a small group.  I was also blessed to be able to see participants before their adventure, and have a chance to speak with them when they returned.  The change has also been a nice dovetail into my work outside the summer season; I am set to complete my Masters in Teaching from the University of Toronto this coming April.   I have included my passion for experiential and outdoor education into my studies, and I will carry it on as a teacher when I graduate.

Even though this past summer was probably the busiest time of my life, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.  I thought about my wedding when I was in Temagami, and I thought of Temagami when I was at my wedding.  The pull that you feel from canoe tripping with Northwaters doesn’t end when you leave the island, but sometimes it ebbs during the cold winter months; so I hope that my attached picture brings a little bit of the summer to you wherever you are.

I can’t wait to see what next summer has in store for me, but it’s going to be hard to top portaging while wearing a wedding dress.

Thanks to everyone who helped

Teeth to the wind,

Christine McKenna

As part of the “Wednesdays in Wadhams” lecture series, join C.G. as he gives a talk to share memories, photos, and insights into how wilderness experiences forge character and community, and shape young leaders.

Wadhams Free Library, Wadhams, NY

December 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.

The real learning for our students is the experience itself.  They know what it is like to sit on a hard seat in a 33-foot long canoe and paddle into a headwind for hours, having to work in coordination with a dozen other paddlers.  They experience the generosity of the communities we visit in many ways, and they begin to experience the sense of accomplishment and being part of a team that comes from sharing a difficult journey with others.

I loved this trip.  The seniors this year were wonderful and fun to be with.  I wished that we could have had longer to be on trail.  I wish for them, that they could experience a three week trip at Langskib or Northwaters and know that feeling that you get when you paddle back into base camp tired, smelly, and triumphant.  There are so many things in this world that you can’t learn from the internet and that is one of them.

Good job Leelanau School Class of 2010.  I hope this whets your appetite for adventure, wilderness and great paddling.

Michael Jarvis

NWL Program Director

Click here to view a  google map of our trip.

Thanks to the gentle prodding of my friends, I find myself standing on the edge of the river in a cold drizzle, dressed in a hastily thrown together assemblage of gear, including a drysuit that inspires my buddy Jeff to say I look rather like a very large blueberry. While trying to maintain an air of competence, smiling and joking as we loaded boats and made final adjustments, I fight the inner emotional battle which precedes so many adventures.  Why, I wonder, after more than half a lifetime of fairly regular canoeing, do I stand at the edge of a river and feel like I know absolutely nothing about paddling? The same thing happens predictably at the summits of mountains, even those I’ve skied many times before.

Once we shove off, all those thoughts are pushed to the back of my mind as muscle memory takes over.  I am reassured by the familiar rhythm of the paddle and the feel of the boat in the water.  As we round the bend and the road disapears, I am embraced by old friends. The river is at once familiar and different.  Banks have tumbled in, log jams have shifted, channels have opened or closed, boulders have been rolled by the massive chunks of ice carried by the spring freshet and yet, she is my old friend.

A few miles in,  deep in a hemlock wood, ice and snow stubbornly cling to the edge of the river. Every time I get to this place, I feel as if I’m someplace truly remote. For a moment, I’m on the Dumoine, or perhaps the Temagami river, days from the nearest road. It’s magical.

All too soon, it’s over. Before I know it I’m home, darkness finds me warming myself in front of the fire, reliving my day on the river and dreaming of adventures ahead. I remember now what canoeing can do for a person and the incredible possibilities awaiting just around the bend.

Back in th office, my day on the river brings meaning and importance to the rather mundane work of an off season camp director preparing for a summer full of adventure for several hundred lucky kids. The Journey is everything.

C.G.

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.

The first Bay trip left the dock of Langskib in 1975 and was out about 46 days, traveling over the Kippawa watershed down the Harricana river and across the bay to Moosonee where they all arrived despite having lost one of their canoes and all its contents. This of course was in a time before such luxuries as nylon tents and poly-pro.

The trip is named for James Bay, the southernmost tip of the Arctic ocean, but there is a river to paddle before one gets there. The Harricana has its source in the Blouin, De Montigny, Lemoine and Mourier lakes, close to Val-d’Or, and flows down draining a basin of 29,300 km². Our trips put in now in the town of Amos, Quebec. From there it is about 370 km down to the bay. Poplars on clay banks give way to the evergreens of the boreal. The banks become rocky and the river narrows. Each day has something memorable, even legendary- from the abandoned gold mines at Joutel, to Nudebathing Falls, to Spring Gorge, to the Bridge Set, to the Sign-in cabin, to Stormy’s Gorge, to One Mile Island, to Pink Rock, and to Seven Mile Island where many trips encounter challenges, as the river rushes over raging waterfalls, through ferocious rapids, and breathtaking gorges. Below Seven, as it approaches the Bay, the river cuts deep eskers, the topography flattens and the vegetation thins.

Many of the perils are behind, but paddling the 60 kilometers of open water across to the mouth of the Moose river and up to the town of Moosonee is no small order. Besides the tides that need to be taken into account, there’s no telling what weather may blow across the open water within minutes. The tidal flats go out until the shoreline is barely visible and there are few options for camping along the way. Trips have seen Beluga whales, and swells up to 28 feet have been recorded at the mouth of the Moose.

Most of my memories from my first trip down this river to the Bay are blurry. I do remember aching arms and back from the long stretches of flat water paddling at the top of the river. I remember being humbled by the power of the waters. I remember coming to rapids that could not be paddled with no trail to walk around. I remember the endless horizon when we reached the bay, a place of only sky meeting water. And I remember having the space to look inside myself to see where I was and where I wanted to go.

Trying to push through the bush with a canoe on my shoulders, lines catching and branches scratching, the land felt wild and untraveled. However this route along the Harricana to the bay has been traversed for many years, first by the Algonquins. In 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was granted a charter by King Charles II, giving it a trading monopoly over the watershed of all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay. But it was only 1801 Alexander MacKenzie mapped the entire route of the river for the first time and identified it by the name Harricanaw. In 1908, the first camps were established on its banks at the rapids. These were provisioning camps for the transcontinental railroad construction. A few years later, in 1910, the first colonists arrived and founded the town of Amos at the place where the railroad crosses the river.

When the route was traveled by those colonizers, they went up-stream bringing civilization into the wilderness. Now we are journeying in reverse, escaping civilization for the adventure of the wilderness. I believe as our lives get more and more “civilized”, there is something we are losing, something every young person hungers for. That something that cannot be learned in classroom or experienced through a video game. It can be found on the land, in the excitement of adventure, in the fear of uncertain outcome, and in the confrontation of one’s self, which can be so easy to avoid in a life with so many distractions.

I had the opportunity to go back to the Bay last summer, in a different capacity. Many of my memories from that first journey were blurred to the point that they had become much more story than experience, and that it was exciting to have their reality confirmed. Another memory that came last summer was the trust and faith I had had in my leaders; I knew that responsibility was something I now had to carry. It is a privilege and honor to be a part of such a journey, something I believe is so vital for a young person’s growth and development.