Trip Stories: Wildebeest Trout

By Alex Kvanli
July 02, 2024 (comments)

Hi, my name is Oliver, and this is my story about our trip from Snowbank Lake to Moose Lake. On this trip, we had eight people: Grant, Grayson, Drew, Gianni, myself, and our counselors Oscar, Asher, and Davis. Our first day was a push day. We breezed through Snowbank Lake because the conditions were perfect—tailwinds and clear sky. I was proud of everyone, especially considering they were first-years. We all struggled on the portages, carrying the heavy gear over slippery rocks. For dinner, we had Asher’s “special” beans and rice, which was surprisingly delicious. On day two, we made it...

Canoeing: A Lifelong Pursuit

By Alex Kvanli
May 29, 2024 (comments)

Alone at the end of a portage long after nightfall, a young Jim Nicholson vividly remembers looking up at the stars feeling astonished at the beauty of the natural world and realizing just how small he was. “It was an awe-inspiring experience we all have from time to time,” he recounts in our interview for the Camp Voyageur Podcast. Jim received his first taste of the great Northwoods on a family trip to a cabin, southwest of Ely on Bear Island Lake in the summer of 1961. His father, James, had visited the area in the 1940s while in college....

The Voyageur Spirit

By John Erdmann
May 02, 2024 (comments)

As the French Canadian Voyageurs of old toiled to open the northwoods, so too are you encouraged to travel new waters at Camp Voyageur. The Voyageur Spirit is an unselfish one. Certainly your stay will be enjoyable. Yet part of the enjoyment is its cooperative nature. This means thinking of other people rather than just yourself. By giving a helping hand, however small, you grow too. By lightening the burden of another all benefit. The camaraderie of friends is obvious. Yet that spirit goes deeper here. The Voyageur Spirit includes an appreciation for camp. The neat grounds, stacked sauna wood,...

A Brief History of the Fur Trade

By CV Staff
April 04, 2024 (comments)

The fur trade in the Great Lakes region of North America represents a pivotal chapter in the continent’s history, occurring over more than a century and profoundly shaping the economic, social, and cultural landscapes of the region. Its origins can be traced back to the early interactions between European explorers and indigenous peoples inhabiting the vast territories surrounding the Great Lakes. European nations, particularly the French and later the British, recognized the immense value of the fur-bearing animals–particularly the beaver–native to the region, sparking a fervent competition to establish trade relations and exploit this lucrative resource. French explorers, missionaries, and...

Critters Along a Historical Boundary Waters Route

By Alex Kvanli
March 06, 2024 (comments)

We began our journey canoeing on the Little Indian Sioux River North. That afternoon, we saw a mama black bear and its cub at a campsite on Little Shell Lake. The pair paid no attention to us, but we decided to put on a few more miles until we camped on Lynx Lake that night. Day two was particularly tough because we had lots of portages. Things did get a lot better, however, when we saw a moose swimming its way down the lake, with just its head and antlers peeking out of the water! That night we stayed at...

My First Minnesota Summer Camp Adventure

By Alex Kvanli
February 19, 2024 (comments)

This summer I stayed at Camp Voyageur for two weeks. The reason I went there is because my dad went as a kid. After four days in the cabin, I went on a six-day canoe camping trip into the Boundary Waters. We had to pack food, pots and pans, gear, and clothes. The next day we tied the canoes to the van and loaded packs, fishing gear, and paddles in the back of the van before heading to Moose Lake to begin our trip. On the first day, I did the longest portage of my life, 195 rods carrying a...

Winter Daydreams of Summer Camp Adventures

By Alex Kvanli
January 22, 2024 (comments)

The holi-daze is over. I’m still full of lefse and green bean casserole, but starving for something else. Winter coziness and unlimited streaming are losing their luster. I haven’t seen the sun since it shattered high-temperature records on Minne-Snowta’s snowless Christmas. Did I really just order boots for my dog? And where are the colorful birds by the feeder? I couldn’t tell you– the three-and-a-half walls of my living room have dulled my senses. Scan social media and you may find your friends’ “#ThrowbackThursday” selfies captioned, “Miss this,” featuring bodies of water or high altitude. The seasonal shift to restlessness...

Voyageur Lingo Everyone Should Know

By Alex Kvanli
December 18, 2023 (comments)

“We were eating GORP in our dry clothes on a duff day on my GP trip and we saw this bimbler lily dipping over to an island just to build a cairn.” Camp Voyageur’s jargon may sound like a foreign language to some. Hold your own around the next campfire by learning these terms: Big Man Camper who helps the counselor coordinate the trip. He helps plan the menu, pack food, and cooks several dinners. He navigates for two full days on the trail, while sterning and carrying a canoe. He must be a proficient campfire builder. A Big Man...

A Voyageur's Odyssey

By Alex Kvanli
November 24, 2023 (comments)

The journey of a child at summer camp in Minnesota is a transformative experience that evolves as kids age. The progression–from the bright-eyed 10-year-olds, eager for their longest sleepaway adventure, to the seasoned 18-year-olds contemplating roles as Voyageur counselors-in-training (CITs)–is underlined by a narrative of growth, camaraderie, and self-discovery. Over my last 9 years working at Camp, I’ve noted distinct tendencies and developing interests that depict each age group’s experience to better help parents, kids, and staff prepare for the overnight summer camp experience at Camp Voyageur.

Paddling Through Time: History and Fishing along the Four Mile Portage

By Alex Kvanli
October 16, 2023 (comments)

Deleterious drought conditions with the summer solstice fast approaching foreshadowed a rugged but tolerable four-day fishing adventure. We kicked off from Fall Lake and paddled two miles to the Four Mile, or Truck, Portage, leading to Hoist Bay of Basswood Lake. The portage was built in 1901 by the Swallow and Hopkins Company as a railroad for a 40-ton locomotive to serve the logging industry. After World War II, the rough road was used to bus tourists to resorts and houseboats on Basswood Lake. Alas, the last motorized vehicles to cross the portage were removed in 1984, so we had...