At 3:30 am, we wake up. We are camped on the narrow bank of the Harricana River in northern Quebec, with the great opening of the Hudson Bay before us. We pack our dry bags, put our wet shoes and socks on, take down our tent, load our canoes in the water. We do this by the light of our… read more »
Archive for the ‘Staff Wanderings and Ponderings’ Category
Vast & Wild: Crossing the James Bay by Canoe
October 16, 2012
The belief that simple living, hard work and risk changes lives.
September 10, 2010
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… read more »
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… read more »
“The canoe trips I lead were stepping stones for the adventures that followed.”
May 7, 2010
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.read more »
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.read more »
Keeping It Simple
March 23, 2010
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… read more »
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… read more »
Meanwhile, back at the Mill – Winter 2010
February 3, 2010
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. New to the mill (and NWL) this winter is Jen Zahorchak. Jen comes to us with many years of experience… read more »
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. New to the mill (and NWL) this winter is Jen Zahorchak. Jen comes to us with many years of experience… read more »
New Years Day Paddle
January 12, 2010
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… read 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… read more »
Winter Greetings
December 12, 2009
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,… read 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,… read more »
The Power of Wilderness Experiences for Teens, a Presentation
December 1, 2009
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.
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.
Voyaging in the Les Chenaux Islands of Lake Huron
November 18, 2009
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… read 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… read more »
First Paddle of the season, Canoe Camp director escapes the office
April 6, 2009
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+… read 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+… read more »
The Bay Trip: 34 years of Canoeing the Harricana River to the James Bay
March 23, 2009
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… read 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… read more »
Reaching Out From Within; A Journey to Africa
March 11, 2009
By: Deshka Foster, NWL Staff Upon returning home from leading trips at Northwaters a few summers ago, instead of commencing my junior year of college, I packed my backpack and boarded a plane for Nairobi. I had decided to take a leave of absence from Stanford University and volunteer for a small, not-for-profit organization in northern Tanzania. The organization is… read more »
By: Deshka Foster, NWL Staff Upon returning home from leading trips at Northwaters a few summers ago, instead of commencing my junior year of college, I packed my backpack and boarded a plane for Nairobi. I had decided to take a leave of absence from Stanford University and volunteer for a small, not-for-profit organization in northern Tanzania. The organization is… read more »
Exploring the Present on a Portage Trail
March 11, 2009
By Jodi Browning, NWL Staff I’m coming to the end of the portage trail. I’ve been catching glimpses of the lake for about 200 meters—it appears as a glimmer through the trees. It’s a brief, unattainable vision. In my exhaustion, I am considering plowing through the trees ‘off trail’ to access the water, but I still hear the falls and… read more »
By Jodi Browning, NWL Staff I’m coming to the end of the portage trail. I’ve been catching glimpses of the lake for about 200 meters—it appears as a glimmer through the trees. It’s a brief, unattainable vision. In my exhaustion, I am considering plowing through the trees ‘off trail’ to access the water, but I still hear the falls and… read more »
Dumoine River Reflections
March 11, 2009
By: Tyler Hargreaves, NWL Staff and Alumni We left the campsite on the last set of the river and paddled through a light rain to where the Dumoine meets the Ottawa. The last ten days on the river had been filled with great adventure, grinning amusement and grim adversity. And with magic. At fifteen, getting cut free from ordinary life… read more »
By: Tyler Hargreaves, NWL Staff and Alumni We left the campsite on the last set of the river and paddled through a light rain to where the Dumoine meets the Ottawa. The last ten days on the river had been filled with great adventure, grinning amusement and grim adversity. And with magic. At fifteen, getting cut free from ordinary life… read more »
Rekindling the Fires of Life; in Canyons, Dessert and the Red Sea
March 11, 2009
By: Shane Levine, NWL Staff I had long been pondering the possibility of taking a year off from school. When CG called to offer me a job working post season at NWL, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I submitted my leave of absence forms to school, relegated my books to a dusty shelf, and headed up to… read more »
By: Shane Levine, NWL Staff I had long been pondering the possibility of taking a year off from school. When CG called to offer me a job working post season at NWL, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I submitted my leave of absence forms to school, relegated my books to a dusty shelf, and headed up to… read more »