Craig Avery’s Tale:

So the decision was made to rent a car for four of us to drive five hours North into Algonquin Park for a camping weekend at a friend’s private island summer camp for boys called Camp Pathfinder. The concept was simple. 15 or so couples using a summer camp complete with staff, chef, canoes, and outhouses. Wood platform canvas tents were in place with single cots for sleeping. Electricity was limited to the dining hall and kitchen. The rest was ours to explore. That’s all we knew.

I was the driver, and all I ask for is for everyone to be ready on time. OK. so after 30 years of marriage and four kids you’d think I would know that isn’t gonna happen. It didn’t. Then there is packing the car. Four people, four days, four-door car, for-get it. I had to take my wallet out of my pocket to move the seat up just enough to fit in the last bag of shoes, makeup, and a book on emergency hairstyles. Canadian customs guys are truly happy for you when you tell them you are going camping way North and will be drinking beer. I fear the US customs guys will be saying, “So, why did you go there, when we have Allegheny state park right here?” Maybe Trump could start his wall here. The highlight of the drive was the road stop at Weber’s Hamburgers. North of Barrie, Ontario, this place built its own crosswalk over the highway for the traffic on the other side of the median. People were standing in line, the workers were taking orders, making correct change and giving you a receipt before you even go into the building. Your order was ready, and out you go. Ice cream was in a separate building, a railroad dining car served as a place to eat, and the bathrooms were well worth the visit as well. Damn those Canadians are smart! A short nap for the two in the backseat ended with our arrival at Source Lake. A pontoon boat and our guides were waiting at the docks to assist us in unloading our car and take us to our island home.

Picturesque scenery, the type that would typically be interrupted by a bear or moose moved our eyes in every direction. The yipping of a dog took over our auditory senses as we arrived at Pathfinder Island. We were greeted by two dogs, one big one, one little one. That’s all I’ve got for dog I.D. Apparently they were camp dogs, glad to see new folks as the some 150 boy campers ages 8-17 had just left after a summer of canoeing, hiking, biking, and shitting in the woods.

We were escorted to our tent by one of the 5 or so “headmen” or guides, given a map of the island, and began to unpack. How come things you thought would be needed look so out of place once you get somewhere? What was I going to do with a Sam’s club 72-piece plastic container set with interchangeable lids? Who could possibly eat two five gallon pails filled with vodka infused hard boiled eggs? Fire up the apple TV feature on my 52” color monitor? Forgettabout it! Tents and cabins were spaced like little villages around the island. Our area had about ten tents surrounding the City Center – a tether ball court. I dare anyone to pass a tether ball pole without punching the ball – it’s impossible! Exploring the island before dark was fun, we found the Women’s and Men’s “forts” (out-houses) by smell. If you thought Buffalo Avenue has it bad….. The men’s fort is simply a building with a screened view of the lake. A long bench is home to approximately 6 toilet seats spaced about three feet apart. No dividers, no wallpaper. When joking later at dinner with our guides, I stated, “Chris and I are looking forward to our morning dump sitting next to each other.” I kid you not, his response was, “yeah man, that’s the best! There is so much bonding in the fort after a big breakfast!” OMG!

As more guests arrived, we enjoyed just sitting back to watch their reactions. Some had been lifelong campers and relished in reminiscing the good old days at Camp Pathfinder. Others were simply enamored with the unique new experience they were about to enjoy.

Our hosts went all out when it came to hospitality. The chef was a lovely woman from Mexico, a graduate from a culinary school that must have been good, cause even her pitchers of water were a taste delight. Lasagne, quiche, homemade bread, fresh veggies, soups, and the like kept us anxious to venture to the dining room to see what was coming out of the kitchen next. Breakfasts were especially good, with the coffee ready promptly at 7:00AM accompanied by the moans and groans of us middle-agers (60ish is half-way to 120 isn’t it?) starting our engines after a night of mummy sleep in high-tech sleeping bags. When we were kids, a sleeping bag was about 5” thick and the weight alone would crush you to sleep if you were having a tough time counting sheep.

Throughout the weekend, we learned so much from our “headmen” about the camp and the true benefits it provides to boys growing up in a world of video games, information on demand, and in general, mind and body atrophy. We heard of the group that just came back from a 38 night trip up to the Northern parts of Hudson Bay. Now, look at a map and you’ll see if you go much further North, you start to go South. This group of kids ages 15-20 took a 19 hour train ride to start their trek home. Rationing food, carrying their canoes, and learning how to live, like, for real! The last leg of the trip included loading their gear into a DC-3 airplane to return to the comfort and camaraderie of the men’s fort.

On our last evening, we watched a video that was put together by the camp staff. Pictures and movies of campers in the early 1900’s doing the same things that these young men do today gave tremendous clout to a message that calls for a continuance of the values of appreciating and living with nature, the hard work to maintain that, and the personal growth one gains through participation.

The ride home was anti-climatic. A stop at Weber’s Hamburgers, and a one hour wait at the border to return to reality. Our reality, I guess. You can’t help but think you may have missed another type of reality when you witness a lifestyle so different than one you are used to. The pros and the cons of another way of living could keep you guessing forever. It is nice to know that if you’d like to experience more, if you’d like to try different, you can. Perhaps I will enjoy this again sometime, but as my Mom always says, “There’s nothing like your own bed.”

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Chris Stoianoff’s Tale:

[From www.camppathfinder.com] Camp Pathfinder offers the finest wilderness summer camp experience to 110 boys, ages 7 – 16. Located on Pathfinder Island, Source Lake in world-famous Algonquin Provincial Park.

Pathfinder is all about exciting outdoor sports and canoe trips, a boy’s ideal summer adventure. A Pathfinder summer also means growing independence, character, values, abilities, and friendships for life.

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Every few months, my girlfriend and I scuttle off for a weekend somewhere in Western New York’s “Southern-tier” to get away for a couple days. A good chance to close the laptop lid, power down the iPhone and enjoy a few days away with friends and a whole bunch of beers… and a whole bunch of food… with a whole bunch of mosquitos. I tell those I encounter daily that I’ll be “off the grid” for the weekend (no one cares) and to only contact me if an emergency situation arises. We say we are going camping and dammit, don’t bother us! State Parks and KOAs, here we come!

I’ve been camping a lot since childhood, and now as a 492 month old man-child, I still enjoy each and every time I go. The lack of electricity and running water doesn’t bother me. No TV? Bring it on! Sometimes we’ll get a nicer cabin and have a few of what those New York City cosmopolitans call “amenities,” but usually, as long as I have my favorite pillow, I can sleep under the stars on the hard ground and be thankful that I am doing so. The weekends away are a great chance to chill out, recharge the mental batteries, and best of all, the campfires are totally real and are in High Definition!

My “camping” trips are party weekends. Usually, more beer guzzling and hamburger swallowing goes on than any form of hiking, biking, or fishing. I tend to neglect that whole “one with nature” aspect. I mean, sure, I’m aware of it all and I look forward to chillin’ in the woods with the birds and the woodland creatures, but one thing I’ve forgotten is that real camping is about discovering and experiencing nature, not just going to it for a visit and acknowledging it with a nod. Wake up Big Boy, there’s a whole world out there in that forest! My latest trip into the woods, to an island dubbed “Camp Pathfinder” in Algonquin Provincial Park, five hours north of Niagara Falls in Ontario, reminded me what I was missing out on after all of these “camping” trips.

My visit to Camp Pathfinder brought back a flood of nostalgia – smells and visuals and sounds (oh my!) I haven’t absorbed since I was eleven years old at summer camp, that very first time away from home… away from Mom and Dad. Arriving to Source Lake and taking a boat to the island, we were welcomed by everything green and flowering, tall trees shadowing deep dirt trails – a far cry from the broken asphalt streets and belching factories my brain usually encounters daily. Our lodging was simple, half-cabin/half-tent structures with single cots we pushed together to make a double – relying on body heat for most of the warmth as summer days turned into cool nights. The rows of tent-cabins, the tetherball pole, the lodges scattered around the island, the canoe trips, the zip line, the rock climbing wall, bathing in the lake, crapping in the outhouse (that is another story for another day), the fireside stories, the rich history of those who walked the trails before me… all for the purpose of bringing the experience of nature to those who want to appreciate it. Camp Pathfinder served as a great reminder for thoughts and feelings I’ve so easily been overlooking during my regularly scheduled programming. (“Stay tuned kids, we’ll be right back after this important message from our sponsors!” says the cartoon clown as he wolfs down a bowl of Super Sugar O’s.]

We played the part of campers for the weekend, following camp protocol and the daily itinerary [*Okay, is it here that I make a disclaimer that we were semi-pampered for 72 hours by the wonderful, generous, awesome camp owners, managers and staff?]. We got to know the island, learning about the traditions and activities, but most of all, learning about the products that the island and the spirit of Camp Pathfinder produces each year – Leadership, Responsibility, and Teamwork just to name a few… ya know, adult stuff.

I don’t have a son of my own, but I know that if I did, I’d want him to spend a summer at Camp Pathfinder. Maybe he’d climb the rock wall, maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d try the zip line, maybe he wouldn’t. Whatever participation floats his canoe… maybe he’d just like to chill out and observe it all like his ol’ Man, but either way, he’d experience what “being outside” really means.

So what should you take away from this essay? I am hoping that if you are a parent of a boy, and that boy needs a little nature in his life and some guidance on how to become more than a couch potato with Nikes and a game controller in his hand, you’ll check out the website, listen to recommendations like mine and let your boy discover “outside” and ultimately, find the courage to take new paths.

 

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Enjoy this video from Camp Pathfinder: 

Photo Gallery From Our Weekend @ Camp Pathfinder

DISCOVER CAMP PATHFINDER HERE: www.camppathfinder.com

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