At Kooch-i-ching, it is fairly common to experience type one fun, whether it is during your favorite afternoon activity on Deer Island or on a trip when you bake that perfect calzone. It generally consists of the ups of life, those little experiences that blend together to make your memory of the whole summer good. Type two fun, on the other hand, is not pleasant. It generally comprises the adversity that makes life worth living.

An unexpected challenge of this trip is trying to explain the experience to those who have not done it.

By the time the ice had gone out in early May, it was known that the water would keep rising. And it certainly did rise, derailing all of the projects we had scheduled to complete before campers arrived. 

When we reached the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers on Day 21, I threw my paddle in the air and cried out.

While Kooch-i-ching’s Native American program has its roots in cultural exchanges, Mason and Holden are no longer with us, and we have lost access to the bridges they built. Our first priority, as members of the program staff, is to rekindle those relationships and forge new ones.

“I took a lot of the lessons I learned at camp with me to boot camp,” Noah says. “When we are out on trips and the bus leaves, there’s no turning back. You have to go forward. That was the mentality I carried with me all through the Marine Corps.”

Each of these doctors has a direct connection to camp and believes in our mission; they understand the vital importance of getting kids outside—this summer, perhaps, more than any other.

This summer, with uncertain access to Canada, we are looking closer to home—to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a million-acre swath of protected forest in northern Minnesota. Practically in our backyard, the Boundary Waters is world-famous, yet entirely unexplored by Kooch trippers. Until now.

“In my experience, Duluth Packs are somewhat bomb-proof. We put our packs through significant stress and they always hold up. We have hundreds of packs, including the #4, #3, and #2 styles. You just know that your Duluth Pack is going to last forever.”