Yesterday, I walked back into the Pepper Shack after a month away. Longest month ever!

Opening the big cedar door, I could smell the smokey ashes of the last fire I had in the wood stove back in March. The sense of nostalgia sparked excitement for a new summer of memories ahead – memories of summer camp adventure!

In one month, 40 young campers will arrive on the river, ready for a summer at Birchwood Wilderness Camp. The business has been in my family since 1968 when my grandfather, Jim, started the camp.

Since then, thousands of young men (and many women) have learned to paddle canoes, build campfires, and develop life long skills at Birchwood.

However, we aren’t the only summer camp at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) providing wilderness experiences to kids.

Many summer camps have stories like ours – of campers writing to us as adults attributing their personal development to camp and the BWCA. Many of our campers are lovers of the BWCA for life!

Which is exactly the topic of discussion today! During the two to four weeks we have a camper in camp, a sort of magic is created… magic that lives on long after they’ve gone home.

I was invited to chat about this summer camp magic on the WTIP Boundary Waters podcast along with Victor Pilon, Birchwood Program Director!

In this episode, we share a few stories of how camps create life long users of the Boundary Waters. We also get into our personal experience with the BWCA and what it’s like living there year round.

If you want to hear our lovely Minnesota accents for 20-ish minutes, along with the masterful host, Joe Friedrichs, hit the play button below! Our interview begins around 8:00. However, keep listening after our bit for an epic discussion about fly fishing with a Duluth, MN fisherman!

A big thank you to WTIP for inviting us on the show and for publishing Boundary Waters content!

Did you go to summer camp as a kid? Share your best camp story with me in the comments below!

Happy Trails,