Alumnus & Friends Paddle Broken Skull

By Alex Kvanli
February 01, 2026 (comments)

By Eric Thum, CV Years 1966-71 The Broken Skull River is a small alpine tributary of the South Nahanni River. It starts high in the Mackenzie Mountains, the traditional home of the Dehcho First Nations. Before 2015, there were just two known groups who paddled the entire river. The South Nahanni River is famous for several reasons, one being that its spectacular Virginia Falls is higher than Niagara Falls. There are stories abound about gold prospectors who never returned from searching the upper regions of the river. The entire watershed is now the Nahanni National Park Reserve. And in 1978,...

Learning Math Through Camping

By John Burgman
January 01, 2026 (comments)

One of the most interesting news stories of the past year regarded a study in France that analyzed a gap in the school learning of girls and boys. According to the results of the study, young boys generally surpassed young girls in math skills at the onset of school. Within four months of schooling, the disparity increased as the math skills of boys “surged ahead” those of girls; by second grade, “the gap [between girls and boys in math] was four times as wide.” Even more fascinating than the study’s data and statistics were some of the possible explanations for...

Growing Up in the Anxious Generation

By Alex Kvanli
December 01, 2025 (comments)

By: John E. II, age 14 The Anxious Generation is a book by Jonathan Haidt that tries to explain why so many young people today struggle with anxiety, depression, and stress. Haidt believes that the world has changed quickly, especially because of smartphones and social media, and young people have not had time to get used to it. The book says that these changes have taken away important parts of childhood, like face-to-face friendships and chances to explore the world. Haidt says that before phones, most kids spent a lot of time playing outside, talking to friends in person, and...

The Benefits of a Small Summer Camp

By John Burgman
November 01, 2025 (comments)

Years ago, at the onset of a camp session, a weighty proposition was made: A candy bar would be awarded to the first person who could memorize and recite the names of every kid at camp. To my surprise, in just a few hours, several campers and counselors had done just that, learning everyone’s first and last name, along with their cabin numbers. Instead of splitting the candy bar into several pieces, the stakes were raised: Two candy bars would be awarded to the first person who could memorize and recite everyone’s hometown, in addition to the names. Sure enough,...

27 Minutes

By CV Staff
October 01, 2025 (comments)

Google shows a 27-minute drive from Judge C.R. Magney State Park to Cascade River State Park. It is a short trip. A drive you wouldn’t think about. A drive with sealed windows and air conditioning where the radio murmurs its dull drawl. Quick, neat, efficient. Like driving to work or taking the bus. Instead, our group left the van for the Superior Hiking Trail. Instantly, the world shifted. Every step demanded engagement. Cedar roots grasped at my boots as friendly but firm reminders to look down and pay attention. Rocky inclines sapped my calves, gently challenging me to slow down,...

The Temptress of the Boundary Waters

By CV Staff
August 01, 2025 (comments)

Having travelled across the Atlantic from Australian Eucalypt forests to the boreal, Minnesotan north, I (vainly and foolishly) fancied myself something of a Marlow in Heart of Darkness or a Fowler in The Quiet American; the stoic, intrepid flaneur upon foreign shores. Little did I know that she had other ideas. The “she” of whom I refer is, of course, Pagami Creek. Maybe you haven’t been acquainted. Nestled with innocent treachery between Clearwater and Lake One, the Pagami Creek shortcut holds a dual mystique of nigh-unnavigability, as well as being the bearer of a lightning-struck burn scar, decimating 90,000 acres...

Trip Stories: Record River Monster

By Alex Kvanli
July 01, 2025 (comments)

Intrepid explorers Jack C., Luke C., Charlie J., Browning G., and Chuck J. led by nurse Elena Richardson and assistant director Alex Kvanli hit the trail on Lake One one hot summer day on a fishing trip for the record books. Chuck J. navigated the crew with occasional assistance from Jack “Gouverbolt” while Alex guided them to secret fishing holes he’d uncovered from a dozen Little Triangle trips spanning nine summers. Alex shared that sometimes river fishing is simple: Keep your line wet, cast near moving water, don’t get snagged, and use wacky worms. A few failed attempts casting into...

Dancing with Wabakimi Rapids

By Alex Kvanli
June 02, 2025 (comments)

By: Jack Casebolt, camper 2021-2024 Shortly after New Year’s in 2024, an anticipated email message arrived stating I’d been invited on the 14-day Wabakimi Canoe Expedition. My excitement filled the room. Eager to see who else was invited, I texted my Camp friend group and discovered that the other campers attending would be Anders Malmberg, Ben Hummel, John “Huck” Ginn, and Peter Harris. Assistant Camp Director Alex Kvanli was slated to lead the canoe expedition and Billy Idol’s Greatest Hits CD would provide the eight-hour soundtrack for the van ride.

Trip Stories: Canoe Rescue on the Basswood River

By CV Staff
May 01, 2025 (comments)

By: David D. Cass (camper 1953-1959), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada In 1960, three friends and I took a canoe trip on the Basswood River. We started at Camp Voyageur where we spent one night in cabin 3. The next morning, we had breakfast in the Mess Hall. After breakfast, we packed and loaded our canoes and launched in Home Bay. Sam Stegman and I were in one canoe; Ron and Dave Horn were in the other. We paddled north through Garden Lake until we reached the falls between Garden Lake and Fall Lake. We paddled through Fall Lake and turned toward...

Lessons from the Father of Modern Conservation

By Alex Kvanli
April 01, 2025 (comments)

Sigurd Olson is recognized as a driving force behind the protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The renowned writer and environmentalist helped inspire people to care more about protecting wild places. However, his accomplishments were made possible by the work of others who came before him, or as they say, “he stood on the shoulders of giants.” One of Olson’s giants was Aldo Leopold, often called the father of wildlife ecology and modern conservation. Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is a collection of essays rooted in observation and deep ecological understanding. The book helped shape the...