Chautauqua noun, chau•tau•qua
Describes an adult education movement popular in rural America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Named for the western New York lake where it was first held. Chautauquas assembled notable presenters in culture, philosophy, education arts, sciences and religion.
Pathfinder Spruce Root V
A Chautauqua on Leadership and Wilderness Canoe Trips, May 31 - June 2, 2024
Welcoming field experts to share a weekend with the Pathfinder staff on Source Lake.
Hosted by
Will Hopkins: Camp Owner/Director & Alumnus
Mike Sladden: 2000 - 2023 Camp Director/Owner & Alumnus
Moderated by
Dr. John Herman, Alumnus
2024 Schedule
*Guests are welcome any time Thursday to Pathfinder.
Boat service on request – arrive, unpack, explore, swim, enjoy the island
Thursday May 30
Algonquin Threads 1
1:00 Buffet Lunch (optional)
3:00 Workshops - Roy MacGregor, Palace End Book Club (virtual) ‘A Life in the Bush’
5:00 Staff Swim
5:45 Reception
6:30 Supper
7:30 Evening Speaker
Friday May 31
Full Day 1
8:00 Breakfast
8:45 Announcements
9:30 Workshops
12:30 Swim/Lunch
2:30 Talks
5:00 Staff Swim
5:45 Reception
6:30 Supper
7:30 Evening Speaker
Saturday Jun 1
Full Day 1
8:00 Breakfast
8:45 Announcements
9:30 Workshops
12:30 Swim/Lunch
2:30 Talks
5:00 Staff Swim
5:45 Reception
6:30 Supper
7:30 Evening Speaker
Sunday Jun 2
Algonquin Threads 2
7:00 Coffee & Departures
8:00 Light Breakfast
11:00 Brunch
11:30 Workshops - Pete Ward, Palace End“Recollections of an Algonquin Park Ranger”
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Guests are welcome to depart any time today, boat service on request
About Spruce Root
What's It All About?
Spruce Root is a biennial staff learning experience for Pathfinder canoe trip guides and directors. Held in late spring , and styled as a Chautauqua (see blurb), Spruce Root welcomes notable expert presenters from many backgrounds to Pathfinder Island.
Their talks, workshops, keynotes and demonstrations enrich the knowledge and practices of our camp’s canoe trip guides – known in Pathfinder life as the Headmen.
Our Headmen share the Spruce Root experience, inviting senior in-camp staff, notable Pathfinder alumni, and select leaders who run other wilderness trip camps. The mix of people for this uniquely Pathfinder event creates lasting bonds between leadership generations at the camp and beyond.
Established in 2015, Spruce Root is organized by alums Mike Sladden and Dr. John Herman, with support from the Pathfinder Centennial Fund and the Algonquin Campership Fund.
A Pathfinder Acknowledgement: Spruce Root convenes on Indigenous homelands
Pathfinder lies on Source Lake, headwaters of the Madawaska River, traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg, Indigenous peoples – especially the Algonquin – who are the original inhabitants and stewards of this land.
To join with these first peoples in calling this place our home, we resolve to treat the land, plants, animals, stories and first peoples with honour and respect. We are grateful for the opportunity to live and grow within this beautiful territory.
We recognize the contributions and historic importance of Indigenous peoples, and we’re committed to make real the promise of Truth and Reconciliation in our Pathfinder community.
What’s the Spruce Root Vibe?
A Chautauqua
The ‘Chautauqua’ – est. 1874
The name describes an adult education movement popular in rural America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Named for the western New York lake and village where it was first held, Chautauquas assembled notable presenters in culture, philosophy, education arts, sciences and belief.
Headmen, presenters and invited guests gather in rustic informality on Pathfinder Island, spending busy days in sessions between avid informal conversations at meals, under pines or in canoes.
A hallmark of Spruce Root is fabulous meals, laid on by the Pathfinder chef staff, hosted by the Camp Director.
Spruce Root Guests
At Pathfinder, Spruce Root presenters include biographers, wilderness travelers, outdoor educators, child development, emotional and medical health professionals, Indigenous educators, wilderness medical leaders, cartographers, authors, historians, social scientists, ethnographers, media makers, natural scientists, parks officials and camping profession leaders. Among them are physicians, PhDs, and recipients of the Order of Canada.
A highlight for 2024, Spruce Root celebrates the inaugural year of veterans Will Hopkins and Diane Davis as camp owners. And this year as ever, a small group of Pathfinder alumni attend, who have been instrumental in camp’s growth since 2000. Each enlivens the conversation, and a few of them serve as brilliant presenters in their own right.
Typically, presenters choose from various formats like keynotes, TED-style short talks, workshops or panel discussions. One of the weekend’s great features are the mornings, evenings and mealtimes, informal hang-outs shared happily amongst one and all. Presenters avidly network with each other, and relish the interactions with a rising leadership generation of enthusiastic young adults.
2024 Speakers & Workshoppers
Representing an exclusive gathering of experts in fields related to wilderness travel.
All past attendees and presenters become Fellows of the Spruce Root, and their invitation is renewed for each event.
*Pathfinder Alumni
Dr. John Herman *
Spruce Root Moderator,
Dr. & Professor of Psychiatry ,
The Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
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Luc Cousineau
Research Scholar
Toxic masculinity influences and contemporary social media.
Author, past OCA board member
Lance Kennedy*
Educator, Author, Outdoor Leader
An essay on distinguishing the self as a unique tree in the forest.
PhD mathematics, educator, author, outdoor education leader, former Director Camp Pathfinder.
Jeff McMurtrie
Mapmaker, Algonquin Researcher
Workshop – traditional trip skill
Mapmaker, MapsbyJeff, UnLostify, JeffsMap
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Eric Shendelman
Aquatics Leader, Camp Director, Past Pres. of OCA
Report on Drownings and Drowning Prevention in Canadian Wildlands
Canada Drowning Prevention Coaltion, Shendy's Swim School
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Pete Ward
Attorney, Algonquin Ranger (ret.), Park Resident
In Conversation with Spruce Root, Pathfinder Palace June 2 brunch.
Will Hopkins*
Host & Pathfinder Director/Owner
Former Associate Head of School and Friends Seminary, NYC; Former Pathfinder Headman, Program Dir, & Tripping Dir.
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Jean Luc Fournier
Toponymist, Researcher
Significance of place names, Anishinaabeg lands of the Ottawa Valley
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Linda Leckie
Outdoor Guide & Educator, Park Resident
Workshop – traditional trip skill.
Outdoor educator, guide, lifesaving and canoeing instructor-examiner,
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Will Price
Sr. Fellow, Pinchot Inst.,
Forest Conservation Policy
Climate change, public policy, realities for the boreal forests of No. America.
Senior fellow Pinchot Institute, graduate Yale School of Forestry, Pathfinder parent
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Nick Townley
Outdoor Educator, Trek Outdoors Vancouver
Pocket activities to enhance canoe trips with youth
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Chris Brackley*
Cartographer, Canadian Geographic
Walk around talk on his newest large scale floor map for the Biinaagami Initiative, former Headman Camp Pathfinder
Mike Sladden*
Director Emeritus, 2000 - 2023
Themes repeating, in fragments from an emerging Pathfinder historical archive
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Sandy Gage*
Labor Negotiator, Write/Photographer, Angler
Built legacy and human history in Algonquin through his book,
‘A Few Rustic Huts’
Roy MacGregor
Author, Columnist
“A Life in the Bush” Headmen’s virtual book club, Pathfinder Palace, May 30.
Best-selling author, column and features journalist Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, MacLeans Magazine
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James Raffan
Fellow of Royal Geographic Society, Explorer, Educator
In conversation with May Crew at the new Canadian Canoe Museum, May 12
Order of Canada, Royal Canadian Geographic Society, author, educator, musician
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Tom Unger*
Scientist, Wilderness Traveler
Workshop on RAIN meditation and
An Evening Council Fire Story
PhD information science, former Headman Camp Pathfinder
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Rob Stimpson
Photographer, Teacher, Author, Speaker
"A Look at Those Who Created"
Fellow, Royal Canadian Geographic Society; Ontario Tourism, Ontario Parks, Parks Canada
Laura Bombier
Expedition Photographer, Visual Storyteller
Wilderness trip film and photography for the Campers: story-telling and reflection.
Content creator, “Survivorman,” “Creative Good,” Lake of Bays resident
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Bob Henderson
Professor/Author/Guide, McMaster Univ.
Workshop – traditional trip skill
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Warren McDermott*
Clinician, Canoe Maker
How to ‘Pathfinder’ After Pathfinder.
PhD nursing, former Headman and
Canoe Maker Camp Pathfinder
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Wally Schaber
Founder of Blackfeather, TrailHead, SentierDumoine.ca
Report on revealed history, advocacy and activism of the Dumoine River region
Historian, author, guide.
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Mike Webster
Emergency Clinician, Founder Wilderness Medical Assoc. Canada
Past Spruce Root Presenters, 2015 - 2022
Dr. John Herman – psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Aaron Orkin – emergency physician, wilderness medical educator, camp medical director
Dr. Julia Orkin – pediatric physician, complex care director SickKids Hospital, camp medical director
Chris Thurber – clinical psychologist, camp educator, faculty Phillips Exeter Academy
Mike Sladden – emeritus owner-director, Camp Pathfinder 2000-2023, OCA board of directors
Alex Hurley – guide, teacher, outdoor education director, alumnus
Lance Kennedy – educator, outdoor education leader, author, alumnus
Tom Unger – scholar, information scientist, alumnus
Mike Witmore – director, Folger Shakespeare Library, alumnus
Corot Reason – information management professional, alumnus
Drew Leemon – risk management director, NOLS
James Raffan – explorer RCGS, author, educator, ret. Director Canadian Canoe Museum
Rory MacKay – historian, author, Algonquin Park resident
Tom Terry – wilderness traveler, knowledge keeper, cartographer, author
Jocelyn Palm – camp owner/director, lifesaving expert, Camp Glen Bernard, Order of Canada
Nick Townley – outdoor educator, Trek Outdoors Vancouver
Christine Luckasavitch – Indigenous author, commentator, consultant, Algonquin Park resident
Quin Sladden – firefighter, paramedic, rescue squad responder, alumnus
John Winters – Superintendent, Algonquin Park (ret)
John Swick – current Superintendent, Algonquin Park
Gord Baker – guide, outfitter, Oxtongue L. manager Algonquin Outfitters
Wally Schaber – guide, paddler, businessman, historian, author, Dumoine Rivr expert
Jess Lewis – educator, director Camp Wabun, Temagami
Bruce Ingersoll – educator, coach, director Keewaydin Camp, Temagami (ret)
Sandy Gage – canoe trip guide, labor relations negotiator, photographer, alumnus
Emma Fogel – registered social worker, camp consultant
Barbara Kopple – Oscar award-winning filmmaker
Bob Henderson – professor, author, traveler and guide, Algonquin Park resident
Craig MacDonald –former chief ranger Algonquin Park, traditional travel expert
Linda Leckie – educator, guide, instructor, wilderness traveler, Algonquin Park resident
Chris Brackley – cartographer Canadian Geographic, Algonquin Park resident, alumnus
Mike Floyd – professional ski patroller, Vail CO, alumnus
Jeremy Ward – historian, curator Canadian Canoe Museum
Carolyn Hyslop – director, Canadian Canoe Museum
Charlie Katrycz – engineer, inventor, wilderness traveler, alumnus, Alg. Park resident
Aubrey Spring – forestry graduate, educator, guide, camp staff
Jason Lorbetskie – interior staff, Algonquin Park
Jeff McMurtrie – wilderness traveler, map-maker, MapsbyJeff
Kevin Callan – canoe trip/routes author, guide, educator, podcaster, YouTube content creator
Alison Lake – staff scientist, biology, Ministry Natural Resources
Matt Thompson – British canoe trip guide
Jean Luc Fournier – historical researcher, toponymist, Ottawa Valley Anishinaabeg expert
Mark Eustis – GSI mapping consultant, alumnus
Paul Errickson – head of middle division, Nichols School, outdoor education leader
Erin Pehar – guide, outfitter, owner MHO Outfitters
Tom Appleyard – infectious disease public policy expert, camp senior staff Camp Wenonah