April 13, 2009
With the beginning of April comes the realization that the 2008-2009 Winter Retreat season is complete, which means that we now have a new season to look forward to! It's been quite a bit of fun to have the retreat season return to Wilderness in full force, and we thank all of those who have come up to experience all that we have to offer in the Winter season.
Trailshack Dedication
The Trailshack building is now built, stained, and starting to show how efficient and appropriate it is for its purpose, providing a beautiful, naturally lit work area that doesn't need a single light-bulb during the long days. Brian, our construction manager, recently finished the floors to a shine and the finishing touches have been in progress. Now begins the process of getting all of the equipment into the building!
Now that the Trailshack is so near to completion and gearing up for its first use this summer, it's time to give this new building a dedication, thanking God for all the future youth and adults who will be given a new life in the Wilderness. This building is one piece that will make all of that possible. Dedication of the Trailshack will be held Sunday, June 28 at 10:00 a.m. All are welcome to join the Wilderness community for the weekend or just for the day. To register for lodging and/or meals, please call the office at (218) 388-2241. To join us for that morning, the pontoon will travel to the islands at 9:45 a.m. Please consider joining us for this special event!
Re-Building Update!
With the days growing longer, our rebuilding projects have come closer to their completion. Through the long hard work of our construction crew, not only the two new camper cabins, but also the 3 staff cabins are being paneled. Winter staff person Kati K. has been preparing materials for a bunk-and-furniture-building weekend coming up May 15-16 (call the camp office if you would like to volunteer!) to make sure that the new cabins have sturdy, stylish furniture in time for the summer. It may sound as if the work is winding down, but the truth is that as the seasons change our work list grows greatly as we work to finish the electrical improvements we started last fall. Any and all help we can get is greatly appreciated. If you would like to come up and help with any of these projects, please contact the camp office and make arrangements! We would love to share the joy of the changing seasons with you!
Retreat News
February and the beginning of March gave plenty more people the opportunity to experience Wilderness during the winter, as well as witness the changing of the seasons. Throughout February, retreat groups and volunteers were able to have time to relax, jump through a hole in the ice, and snowshoe.
At the beginning of February a small retreat group was hosted which focused on spiritual centering, led by Pastor Rich Chronis of Braham Evangelical Lutheran Church. They found Wilderness to be a perfect atmosphere for that focus. On President's Day weekend, an adult group from various UCC churches in the St. Paul area and a confirmation group from St. Andrew's Lutheran of Mahtomedi came to snowshoe and play broomball. The two groups received a beautiful new layer of snow while they were there, but the underlayer was too slushy to be able to build any quinzees.
At the end of February and beginning of March, volunteers came to help out with clean-up and the staining of the new Trailshack, and a group of adults with young children from Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran in St. Paul were able to have time for renewal and worship. Several youth ministers from different churches in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Nebraska also accepted an invitation to come and experience renewal at Wilderness during the Children, Youth, and Family Minister's retreat. This retreat is something that has become an annual event at Wilderness and allows CYF ministers a time to network, receive spiritual support, and have time for solitude and continuing education.
The Winter Retreat season at Wilderness was finished out with a hosting of Andover High School of Andover. This group was completing requirements for a winter survival and skills class, which worked with the Forest Service and the teachers to spend three days out in the Boundary Waters area on their own. While the group was very self-sufficient, it was fun to see how high school students are able to pull together and do survival in the wilderness. It culminated with the experience of jumping through the hole in the ice and a sauna, which all students pursued with a passion.
Springtime in Winter; Winter in Springtime
This past winter betrayed all known cliches and conventions, coming in like a lion and leaving in the same fashion, keeping its teeth bared throughout the duration of the season. The week before Thanksgiving, we went from open water to 3 inches of solid, clear ice in as many days and then bore the brunt of the winter's first snowstorm, which laid 6 dazzling inches of snow on the landscape. The storms continued, averaging one every week and a half, keeping our plow busy. Before long the snowbanks lining our driveway rivaled the truck's hood in height. Then came the cold. Throughout December and January, we had 8 days where the temperature stayed above zero the entire day. Several mornings we awoke to find our thermometers to be no help in discerning the temp. It was too cold to register. Then in February and March, Spring arrived - a little too soon. The melting snowpack turned the lake back into a lake... a lake 8 inches deep on top of 3.5 feet of ice. The first canoe trip of the year was taken March 6th, from the Main Dock to the Cove, free floating on the water. Recent storms laid down an additional foot of snow, but the spring temperatures have been making quick work of it all.
Looking Forward
The change in weather brings thoughts of summer: campers and staff bustling about, working, playing, singing, worshiping. We are getting ready for the summer, and we would like you to visit and see what we are up to. If you would like to visit camp, just call the camp office at (218) 388-2241 and arrange a time. We also would love to have you up to volunteer for a few days or a week to help us get ready for the summer, whether it's building furniture, putting the final touches on the new buildings, or helping to air out the other cabins.
Wilderness will also be opening its doors wide on the weekend of May 1-3, which is the weekend of the 2nd Annual Gunflint Green-Up and Ham Lake Run. This event is a time to help replant trees in the burned areas of the Gunflint Trail, contributing to the regrowth of the forest in a healthy manner. The Ham Lake Run is a half marathon or 5k run offering a unique opportunity to run in a remote area through the Superior National Forest and adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. For more information on these events or to find the links to register, please visit http://www.campwapo.net/wcb/index.php?page=34. To register for lodging at Wilderness for that weekend, please call (218) 388-2241 by April 24.
The summer staff are hired and starting to gear up, excitedly counting the days until the beginning of staff training. Our first trips are slated for June 13, and we're looking forward to the use of the new buildings, breaking out the handy canoes, and the open wilderness that is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. With the thought of summer coming, we want to invite you to worship in the open air chapel. Summer worship at Wilderness' outdoor chapel, Band of Brothers, will begin on June 14 at 10:00 a.m. and be held each Sunday until August 16. Pontoon rides over to the islands are at 9:45 a.m., and all who worship are invited to brunch immediately following.
This is the final newsletter for the retreat season! Look for the next newsletter at the start of the summer season, near the beginning of June. At that time, newsletters will be released weekly until August 16.