Pathfinder News
See what is new and noteworthy here at Camp.
THIS MONTH AT CAMP
September 2020
Summer 2020 Projects
Does the Island Sleep? No, she only dozes.
The normal bustle of May Crew was absent for the first time since Glenn and Sladds took over camp in 2000. And then, of course, Summer 2020 was cancelled when Ontario closed overnight camps. But CPI is indeed only dozing: a tiny work crew has been polishing and prepping camp for all the action we're looking forward to in 2021.
A sign of renovations this year? This still life of items lost under the Canoe Dock over many years, recovered once the decking came off in July.
Every object tells a story?
The Source Remains the Same ...
Sladds was in Canada when the border closed March 21, and lived in Huntsville, where he monitored the pandemic and worked for the Ontario Camps Association board as a volunteer. Commercial leaseholders were permitted into Algonquin when the park was otherwised closed to the public. For him, a trip to Whitney might see no other cars on Hwy. 60. Ice walks to the island became walks on the camp road and rail bed, as snow and ice rotted. And then, suddenly, ice was out on Source by May 1. The park was in its full glory. Where would the summer lead?
Late May saw camp closures announced, and he set up some maintenance projects for this regrettably historic summer. Water levels dropped with an early summer heat wave, and a big storm hit the park.
So, Shine Up the Conveyances ...
Our legendary camp vans and trailers were completely refreshed for 2021 trucking, and the railing pontoon barge went home to the mothership for a month of beauty treatments, plus a new center pod and pontoon end caps.
CPI canoe maker Dave Statten kept busy in his Bancroft shop over winter, rebuilding 4 classic Pathfinder trip canoes: the Tom Pigeon, the Jake/Gerry Brent Store, the Stan Rand, and the Roy Thrall.
These canoes arrived back at Source with David for spring finishing by our small Canadian June crew. Freshly canvased and light as feathers, they were filled, sanded and painted by Simon McNamee, Riley Hanson, Savannah French and Ally Rail.
A Summer of Brushing ...
Many crew days so far have seen painting, varnishing, oiling and staining everything in sight, from deck chairs to canoes to screen doors and window frames. Here on the lake side of Lodge One we’re staining but also adding trim siding above and below the new windows. This is one of camp’s oldest buildings, and was for many years a workshop, since replaced by Bug House. But Lodge One is now as she originally was, a sleepage tucked up against the lake, with great views. The lodge sports the old railway sign for Source and Pathfinder, and makes a great impression in camp’s ‘front yard.’
The George Liederhaus got a new canvas and coats of baby blue. More brushes painted cabin interiors and furnishings. Pierre Roy's space-age panel reorganized our water treatment equipment for under the DH. Note a refinished and covered Giesler in background.
A mountain of firewood is coming from storm damage and our hardwood supplier Gilbert in Whitney. (Wait until you see the OCR.) Donated chip from Park tree-felling came to camp. The crew weeded and replanted the gardens in front of the DH, and the place is looking terrific with new trail chip everywhere.
Star-studded supporting cast ...
Canoe work is again a daily routine on CPI. With gorgeous new outer skins, time came for varnishing 5 good coats on the rebuilds. Later on, all the canoes will line up for this treatment. This game of patience includes our late June arrivals Dylan Moeser, Paige Clark, Addison Egan, Chris O’Brien and Jack Sladden.
Dave is teaching this bunch so they can pass it on.
It's not often we capture a shot of Dave Statten. Here’s a lucky candid – actually a portrait of two couples with Pathfinder connections. Dave and his fiancé Svetlana Zeran are pictured at right. Who’s on the left? Cam McRae and his bride Christine Luckasavitch McRae. She’s our indigenous educator, and Cam runs historic McRae Lumber. The two couples are close friends, living in Whitney and Bancroft and spending much of their time in the Park. Lately, Christine is writing a book on Algonquin people’s history in the Algonquin region. This huge project is being co-sponsored by the camps and lodges of Algonquin, by AO and the Friends. She'll publish late next year what will be an instant classic with Park scholars, cottagers, campers and more. Go Christine!
Sylvan Scene Seldom Seen ...
The Ball Field in early June, lush and ready for mowing. At least the outfield can be mown. The rest of this historic spot, where Fred Lamke famously cleared the forest and leveled the field with downed trees and hand-dug soil? -– Scene of countless track and field meets in the old days? Well, let’s say you remember it better from modern times: infield dirt, rocks and gulches making for lively ‘local hops’ on this ball diamond, where Glenn and Sladds once ran the 'mile'.
Staff have shown us the way to restoration with recent additions of a new backstop and some fine bleacher seating. Stay tuned for more late-summer news from the top of the island.
Work Hard, Play Hard ...
A serious storm in early summer took down a few CPI giants, near Canoe shop, Sunnyvale, Doll House and T11. Cleaning up took days. Then, on to stripping the Canoe Dock for a renovation that would never be possible in an active season. And, more little touches, like Paige's new tent plaques, new cedar railings, etc.
Evening paddles and filming sessions are popular right now. When the lake is flat calm, the style paddlers are out. Wait until you try your solo skills in the back channel, where a down pine in the water makes a great obstacle course challenge.
Pathfinder canoes even made it out on the trail. Camp families who contact us about a Park trip are invited to use boats and gear without charge, to get outdoors and away from the madding crowd. Here's a shot, too, from work crew’s break, a trip on French River.
Spring 2021
Summer 2021
Autumn 2021
2020/2021 STAFF
Senior Staff
Glenn Arthurs, Owner - Youngstown, NY
Mike Sladden, Owner & Director - Rochester, NY
Mary Chestnut, Assistant Director - Buffalo, NY
Paige Clark, Program Director - Rochester, NY
Tim Goodwin, Director of Tripping - Nairobi, Kenya
Riley Hanson, Director of Tripping - Toronto, ON
Ally Rail, Director of Waterfront - Whitby, ON
Gonzalo Pantoja, Camp Chef - Queretaro, MX
David Statten, Canoe Maker - Bancroft, ON
Savannah French, In-Camp Program - Toronto, ON
CIT Directors
Addison Egan - Fall City, WA
Rupert French - Toronto, ON
Canoeing Directors
Jack Sladden - Rochester, NY
Dylan Moeser - Buffalo, NY
Medical Directors
Dr. Julia and Dr. Aaron Orkin - Toronto, ON
Camp Nurses
Chantal St. Jules - Oshawa, ON
Sarah Twomey - Kitchener, ON
Alex Oliver - Guelph, ON
Camp Cooks
Omar Terrazas - Queretaro, MX
Terry Snider - Toronto, ON
Waterfront Staff
Nell Bruckner - Cleveland, OH
Esther Haines - Caloden, ON
Ellie Anderson Zych - Rochester, NY
Counselors in Training (CITs)
Ian Brown - Orangeville, ON
Peter Brownrigg - Burlingame, CA
Max Crocker - Gloucester, MA
Aaron Curtin - Alfred, NY
Gideon Dent - Santa Fe, NM
Sam Drum - Annapolis, MD
Mac Fabens - Brooklyn, NY
Ethan Ford - Boston, MA
Ander Gustafson - Washington, DC
Dillon Harkness - Albany, CA
Michael Jonas - Buffalo, NY
Corbin Jones - Brooklyn, NY
Linden Knup - Binghamton, NY
Wilson Langkamp - Washington, DC
Jake Martin - New York NY
Sam McKenney - Tampa, FL
Silas Witmore - Washington, DC
Sean Woodbury - Toronto, ON
Sam Zionts - Buffalo, NY
Headmen
Oren Karp - Pepperell, MA
Peter Koch - San Francisco, CA
Jack Brownrigg - Burlingame, CA
Jack Sladden - Rochester, NY
Dylan Moeser - Buffalo, NY
Simon McNamee - Montreal, QC
Chris O’Brien - Chagrin Falls, OH
Addison Egan - Fall City, WA
Gabe Ireland - Madrid, Spain
Rupert French - Toronto, ON
Andrew Beecher - Buffalo, NY
Ian Hanson - Toronto, ON
Sam Hamlett - Buffalo, NY
Lucas Reeber - Mt. Kisco, NY
Matt Wesorick - Pepper Pike, OH
Alex Ireland - Madrid, Spain
Will Keeton - Burlington, VT
Rookie Headmen
Simon Jeens - Toronto, ON
Aidan McPhail - Gatineau, QC
Ely Miller Wilson - Wynnewood, PA
Tyler Waldvogel - Bethesda, MD
Ben Zief - Princeton, NJ
Henry Clark - Fall City, WA
Ian Zohn - Warren, NJ
Sam Laemmle - Wiscasset, ME
Cam Sills - Mississauga, ON
Liam Bonnor - Toronto, ON
Veteran Secondmen
Evan Popat - Buffalo, NY
Aidan Walters - Caloden, ON
Gabriel Myrick - El Cerrito, CA
Tate Pierson - Pittsford, NY
Ben Kelly - Buffalo, NY
Christian Kolaga - Buffalo, NY
Chris Lenahan - Buffalo, NY
Simon Cousineau - Toronto, ON
Alex Norton - New York, NY
Bjorn Nordenflycht - Buffalo, NY
Noah Linfoot - Savannah, GA
Rookie Secondmen
Peter Fabens - Brooklyn, NY
James Herron - Toronto, ON
Henry Houston - New York, NY
Benji Piafsky - Toronto, ON
Jeremy Jeens - Toronto, ON
Jacob Seifred - Toronto, ON
Ben Miller Wilson - Wynnewood, PA
Gabe Levy - Toronto, ON
Sam Gilbert - Rochester, NY
Jamie Sills - Mississauga, ON
James Fair - Toronto, ON
Dan Bundgard - London, ON
Graham Hall-Keough - Brooklyn, NY
Luke Bodo - New York, NY
Oliver Allshire - Toronto, ON
Declan Eady - Toronto, ON
CHIPMUNK CHATTER
2020 New Year's Pathfinder Chipmunk Chatter!
Take a deep dive into Pathfinder trivia, history and 2019 highlights.
Print the whole thing, or just the activity pages - Enjoy!
New Year's Chipmunk Chatter 2020
Looking back at Fall Crew 2019
2019 TRIPS
The 106th Pathfinder season rolls into the Second Half and C-Session amidst a flurry of First Half tripping action, awesome weather with perfect swimming, and activity highlights in-camp.
Check out the 2019 Canoe Trips
First Half boasted over 30 trips, featuring an 18-day Coulonge-Noire journey, 18-day Meanest Link, and 3 AA trips in northern Ontario & Quebec (wrapping up in mid-August).
As of the August holiday weekend in Algonquin, Second Half has seen a bunch of new trip postings including 19-day and 18-day Algonquin and French River routes, a 13-day cruise in Temagami, 10-day and two week Park trips for Otts, and trips of a week and 10-days for Chipps and Crees!
NEW YEARS OFFER
New Year's Sign-Up Offer - A Candy Store Gift!
Go to Enroll page to choose paper form or online enrollment.
Any enrollment completed between Jan. 1 - 15 includes a free gift item for your camper at the Pathfinder Candy Store.
Simply enroll with a deposit, and your camper will choose his gift when he arrives at Pathfinder this summer.
A PATHFINDER LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The 2020 summer will see a new outreach from Pathfinder, establishing two scholarship camper
places for boys from the nearby Ottawa Valley Algonquin community. Source Lake is an important place to first peoples who know the watershed of the Madawaska as their ancestral
lands. Camp is also supporting the ‘Gathering of Our People’ at Whitefish Lake, a bark canoe to be created this summer by noted builder Chuck Commanda, and a new Algonquin history text in
partnership with Friends of Algonquin and our own cultural educator Christine McRae.
'...Pathfinder’s home island at Source Lake lies in the headwaters of the Madawaska River, traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg,– the original inhabitants and stewards of this land. Today, this land remains home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island...'