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Reflections II of our Reflections Series

Dear Friend,

We are pleased to continue with our Reflections Series by offering you a glimpse of what camp has meant to another of my former campers.  It is with pleasure that I share the following with you.

“The only thing constant at camp is change.” That’s a phrase camp people say to describe the dynamic nature of a canoe trip. But for me some of the best parts of camp are the lessons of consistency, the muscle memories that transport you home no matter where you are. I will forever feel a twinge of familiarity whenever I encounter the smell of bacon sizzling over a fire or feel the pull of the current swing the bow of my canoe into an eddy at the end of a rapid.

One of the most beautiful parts of my forced time-off from camp during the pandemic has been seeing how my canoe-tripping experiences are now a part of me. I can dip my paddle into any river, lake, stream, or pond and my soul can rest knowing that it has been there before. Instead of the rivers of Ontario, this summer, I experienced new territory in Maine and Vermont. Even though those places were new to me, I was comforted by the familiar routine of packing a canoe and gliding out onto calm waters, ready to swing, dip, pull my paddle wherever I went.

Being on the move at camp teaches you about the value of home not as something that is bound within the spatial or the temporal, but instead is found within familiar motions in unfamiliar territory. Home is bound to the people with whom I paddled to the Bay; it is bound to my forearms guiding my paddle through the water. Places change, and years go by, but paddling a canoe with incredible people is one thing that will stick with me forever.  -Rachel Hatheway

Sincerely,

Josephine Moore, Advisory Panel