Pathfinder News
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September 2023
CAMP'S 110th ANNIVERSARY SEASON!
With sessions' end on Aug. 20, the Island was re-tooled for her Reunion weekend, then over 200 alumni and well-wishers visited, celebrating 11 decades of Pathfinder fun.
ENROLLMENT '24 - Early Bird time about to launch!
Camp '24 is full enrollment with all veterans having a reserved spot. So far, there are a few spaces open to new enrollment, and we launch Enroll-2024 on Sept. 15.
Contact Sladds to get help and get in while the gettin' is good.
TRIP POSTINGS '23
Pathfinder's trip history for the 110th Season. The call of Trippperrrs!! rang out across Source over 60 times this summer, as Pathfinder trips journeyed around Algonquin and all over Ontario. DOT Andrew Beecher invites you to grab your maps and coffee, and follow the action. Link is thumbnail at left, and here ... Let's Go!
SOCIAL MEDIA, PHOTOS & VIDEOS
• Keep up with our Instagram feed for great content daily.
• View our photo albums Sleepage, campers, staff & candids
• View our Vimeo page see terrific camp & trip videos.
Pathfinder Health '23 - COVID-19 and More
• In 2023, health measures were easier than ever. Camp continued its Covid vaccine mandate and pre-arrival screening, while border measures remain eased and cohorting / test-to-enter has ended.
Read this year's '23 SpringBulletin
Camp Pathfinder
110th Reunion
Camp Pathfinder
110th Season Reunion
Aug. 25 - 27, 2023
For Adult Alumni & Guests
Anniversary Family Camps
July & August – 4 Days / 3 Nights
For the Whole Family
Family Camp July
Jul. 7 – 10
Family Camp August
Aug. 3 – 6
A-Session Has Begun!
Our 110th Season Underway
Pathfinder 110 has begun! With 3-days under our belts, here are the headlines.
Saturday's Canada Day and Pathfinder Big Moment saw fine weather and warm swimming waters. A fire ban remained in place but recent showers brought optimism it could lift in the Park soon. The camp staff bustled around all morning, primping Pathfinder one last time. The crew that started work May 1 looked proud of the new builds and repairs that had Camp shining. A final all-staff swim break before lunch, then Campers began to arrive, bringing their trunks and parents to the Motorboat Dock. The energy level immediately cranked up another notch.
By 9:00 pm, all our campers had arrived safe and sound. Gonzalo's crew served the classic first-night pasta dinner and trimmings, with Omar's vaunted cookies. A fine evening saw age groups gathering in their areas for introductions. The only absence was campfire light, but Pathfinder spirits provided the warmth, and everyone is in on the effort to keep the Park fire-safe these days.
The following week has been full of trip training, the swim and canoe prep we all do before heading back into the north woods. Campers are dusting off our sport courts, archery range and arts space. A big wild first TurboDodgeball game included pranking our awesome new nurse with calls for the oxygen and backboard - a long tradition she might well pass on to the next newcomer.
Most important, all the age groups, including the newest Loons, right up through the ranks to AAs, LITs and CITs are headed back onto the trip trail. DOT Andrew Beecher is off and running, with 8 trips already underway, including Loon warm ups all the way to full season AAs embarking on Via Rail's Canadian toward a 38-day trip to Fort Severn on the arctic tidewaters of Hudson Bay.
See the trips so far ... See our photos so far
o - The Peace of Wild Things (Wendell Berry)
When despair for the world grows in me / and I wake in the night at the least sound / in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be / I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. / I come into the peace of wild things / who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. / I come into the presence of still water. / And I feel above me the day-blind stars / waiting with their light. / For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
CHIPMONK CHATTER
Download our New Year 2023 Chatter Here !
Chipmonk Chatter shares summer stories, season information, photos, rosters, bits of nostalgia, and more. Take a look at past Chatters by clicking the links below - Enjoy Chatter and Keep In Touch!
Chipmonk Chatter March 2022
Camp's Instagram Feed
Showing you our latest posts - Follow us @camppathfinder for more.
SUMMER '22 MEMORIES
SUMMER '21 MEMORIES
PATHFINDER COVID HEADLINES
Pathfinder managed the challenges of a Covid-adaptive Summer in 2021 and 2022.
Here's how our third season adapts to the Covid challenge.
ONTARIO HEALTH
Pathfinder navigated the pandemic summers using Ontario Health guidance and a team of doctors, public health advisors and OCA camp owner colleagues.
A look back: camps were closed in 2020, Pathfinder was able to open to Canadian boys with special measures in 2021, and was fully open again in 2022. Pathfinder had very successful seasons in '21 and '22, and we're raring to go with our own measures in '23.
With the tremendous advantage of widespread vaccination and boosting, Camp will use vaccination of our kids and staff as one part of another smart layered mitigation Pathfinder Covid Plan for summer. And, we will continue to set our policies in concert with Ontario's Ministry of Health.
We will all be living with Covid for the future, and bringing it more under control, going ahead with daily life as much as possible. Camp's role in a return to more normal experiences for our kids is of paramount importance to their well-being. The summer months - and specifically children's camps - remain a Go!
Pathfinder is ready.
OUR COVID PLAN
The Pathfinder plan for Summer 2023 will include successful steps of layered mitigation from this past summer, including vaccination of our Staff and Campers. The single compelling reason for a multi-layered approach is our identity: a congregate living setting and rustic out-trip program, committed to protecting our members from the risk of serious illness or transmission back home.
Our US and overseas campers will join us again, and our Staff and Campers will be expected to arrive with full vaccination, meaning two doses of an approved vaccine with one or more booster doses highly recommended. Continued pre-camp screening routines will combine with some limited rapid testing and monitoring measures at camp all season. Pathfinder plans always incorporate expert advice and partnership with our medical directors, health advisors, Ontario Health, and the Ontario Camps Association.
WHERE WE STAND TODAY
In a phrase, our traditional Pathfinder season is back for 2023! We can't wait for everyone's return to CPI.
Ice-out arrived in Algonquin April 21. With COVID, while families remain vigilant, a bright spot is the full-speed-ahead planning for Pathfinder's upcoming 110th season. We invite all our families to join in! Camp enrollment will be full this year. Camper and Staff recruitment is now concluded. We're signing up our friends for two summer Family Camps.
A notable repeat of 2022 policy, Pathfinder maintains its Covid vaccine mandate. Anyone who would like to enroll a boy who is unvaccinted is invited to discuss the matter with Sladds and perhaps decide to request a health-related exemption. This remains a choice at camp's discretion.
We'll continue to monitor health news regarding variants of concern and public health guidance. Fortunately, we are no longer challenged by Covid border policies. While camp will require screening before arrival for a summer session, there is no current Canada-US border requirement for testing or other measures.