Basecamp 2019: Tuesday and Wednesday Recap

On Tuesday, we started off our morning with a skills session on firebuilding. We asked the campers to go into the woods and find what they thought would be good to use to start a fire. This material is called "tinder." They each got to take their match and see how flammable their tinder was. It's important to choose the right kind of material in order to create sustainable heat to ignite the kindling.  

We offer a lot of activities and structured instruction of outdoor skills, but it is important that we also include ample time to just relax and have fun around our campsites. These guys work hard, and they deserve some down-time!

Our main activity on Tuesday was paintball. Two of our counselors joined our forces before camp started and helped us with campsite and ground improvements. One of their tasks was  redesigning the paintball course. The new layout offered us some great new options of gameplay. The campers had a blast creeping around in the ferns and sneaking up on the other team! You can always count on leaving the paintball course with three things: great memories, bruises, and wood ticks. Yes, part of team building is to help do a "tick check" after time in the woods.

We spent several hours on Wednesday on the Menominee River. We are blessed to have a beautiful river just a few miles away from our property! The campers were instructed in some basic canoe strokes and maneuvering. After paddling down the river, we parked at one of the islands and enjoyed a sack lunch and the rope swing!