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Layla Kyri
The title question sounds very vague, but I want to go to a summer camp this year. Preferably a few weeks long. I live in Michigan, and sadly, all of the ones I've found here are wildly expensive, or for little kids, or Christian (which I am not, and I'd rather not have to deal with another set of people trying to save me.)
I'm willing to go out of state. Maybe even to Canada. Hopefully not *too* far, but if I'm going to go somewhere else, I might as well go somewhere cool, right? Though I'd prefer to stray from big cities
Anyway, here are just a list of things that I think would be cool in a camp. It doesn't have to have all of them, but it should give you an idea.
Cabins. Not tents. Not dorm rooms. Actual cabins.
Nice, relaxing scenery.
Archery.
Horses.
New age-y or Pagan stuff.
Renaissance festival stuff.
Crafting.
music- For beginners!
Not every minute of the day planned. There needs to be a little bit of chill time.
No babying people. We're teenagers, we don't need to be checked on like little kids. The last camp I went to had people get out of the lake every ten minutes to do a head count, and you had to have a buddy wait outside of the water. So not worth it.
Maybe some community service.
Learning things.
Food that isn't disgusting.
Paint ball.
Ropes course.
Fencing.
If it has some kind of therapy in it.
Just a bunch of fun things to do.
I can't really think of much else to put. I just want a really fun place to get away in the summer, and meet some people. I'd prefer if it were in or close to MI, but I'm not gonna pass up another state. But it has to be, like, perfect if I'm going to go far.
I've been to two camps, and I'll describe them and explain what I did and did not like about them.
The first was band camp, and that was just really overwhelming. I'm not in band anymore, so I can't go back, but it was a whole lot of running around a field on a humid day, with the sun frying you, trying to memorize your drill, and also trying to learn new work (color guard), and then being forced to go to events that may keep you up til 1, just to get up 5 hours later and do it all again. I did, however, like the camp because when you weren't complaining about how exhausted you are, it was fun. I liked the atmosphere. The events we had were pretty fun and they had a lot of stuff around that would've been fun if we had more free time. However, I think that place is mostly for booking school trips and retreats and stuff.
Then I had a work weekend at a place that's also a summer camp, and I'm really considering for summer. I was only there for a weekend, but the teen package would probably be pretty similar. We'd be working behind the scenes of camp, and be doing I believe 60 hours community service in 2 weeks. And I like the cabins and the showers aren't horrible, and they have all sorts of cool things like horses and paintball and a zip line, and the food is really good, and they aren't too expensive, but the problem is... It's a Christian camp. I don't mean like a vaguely Christian camp, I mean, like, the lower levels take Bible lessons and it's all worship-y and stuff. There's nothing wrong with that, I mean, yay them for being religious. But I'm not Christian, and while I respect their religion, I don't think I want more friends who completely disapprove of my beliefs (and 90% of my Christian friends do), and it's just... I don't want to spend two weeks being constantly preached to.
Got any suggestions? I think this might give you something to go on.
Answer
Suggestions? Yes, yes I do.
I don't know what *too* far is, but the camp I'm suggesting is in Canada. Southern Ontario, so it's not that far. Maybe 7 hours by car?
I've been going for 5 years, and love it!
It's called Camp Muskoka.
From your list, it has:
â¢cabins- provided that you're over, say, 8, you are in a cabin.
â¢nice, relaxing scenery- oh yes. It even has a private lake.
â¢archery- there is archery.
â¢horses- horseback riding with the camp 5 minutes away.
â¢crafting- yup. And it's awesomely housed in a converted school bus.
â¢music- will a recording studio do?
â¢chill time- there's about two hours of the day free, plus meals and after dinner. You also choose your activities literally right before you do them.
â¢babying- no. No babying. You're assigned a number, and there's a board full of chips with numbers at the water front. Flip it.
â¢learning- well what do you want to learn? You can learn all sorts
â¢food that isn't disgusting- I happen to really enjoy the food. Just ignore the kitchen staff.
â¢paintball- not much to say about that. There is paintball.
â¢ropes course- yup. With the largest over water zip line on the continent.
â¢lots of things to do- over 60 different choices per week.
Showers and toilets are in the cabins. The counsellors are in there too, but in their own room. They're just like friends really. 3-4 years older, MAYBE. They just like to sit and listen to music and do hair/nails and stuff in the cabin. It's a lot of fun.
www.campmuskoka.com
Hope to see you there this summer!
P.S.: you can go anywhere from 1-8 weeks of the summer.
Who has been to Glacier National Park?
madhawk78
I am thinking of doing a hiking/camping/backpacking trip to Glacier NP this summer. Anyone out there have any advice, tips on such a trip? Is it worth the trip or are their better places to go. I was in Yosemite and Rocky Mountain NP last year, so any comparisons would be nice as well.
Answer
I have not actually been there yet myself, but am doing a week-long backpacking trip there this summer and did a lot of research in preparation.
By many accounts, Glacier NP is one of the best hiking and backpacking spots in the country. In fact, it routinely ranks at or near the top of Backpacker Magazine's annual survey. That is one of the reasons that my friends and I decided to make it this year's big backpacking trip.
I would highly recommend that you get the National Geographic Trails Illustrated map of the park which shows all the trails, camp spots and roads. I also got a couple of trail guides entitled "Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks" by Erik Molvar and "Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park" by Vicky Spring. Both are quite good, but if I were to get just one I would lean a little more toward Molvar's as a little more practical and easier to use. For general sightingseeing guides to the park and area, I got the travel guides by both Moon Publications (Becky Lomax) and the Insider's Guide (by Susan Olin). The Moon guide was quite helpful and detailed, while the Insider's guide was little more than a local business directory.
A couple of things about hiking and backpacking there...
It can be challenging to find good loop backpacking trips. Most will end up being out and backs or point to point requiring some sort of shuttle. The one exception is the famous 'Northern Circle' loop in the center of the park (starting near Swiftwater).
You must have permits to camp overnight in the backcountry. Although they always reserve some walk-up permits, most spaces can be reserved in advance by faxing a request. Note that the reservation period started on April 15 and so it may now be difficult to get popular spots between June and August. We sent in ours before the deadline and are waiting to hear if we got our intinerary.
Glacier is famous for bear country - both black and the grizzly. While attacks are comparatively rare, the park website has a video on what to do about bears and there are very tight restrictions in the backcountry around storing food and eating in a special designated 'eating spot' away from the tent spots.
Aside from hiking and camping, a few of the other things that Glacier is famous for...
Historic Lodges - In or around the park are some of the most historic and famous lodges in the US park system. The lodges at McDonald Lake, East Glacier and Waterton Park (Canada) are particulary grand and well known.
Going to the Sun Road - The famous road that bi-sects the park and is considered one of the most scenic drives in the country.
Lake Tours - Many of the larger lakes have historic tour boats that take you out on scenic cruises.
Whatever your choice, have fun!
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