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Adventure camp is only days away!  Here are the last minute details!

MEETING: We will meet Tuesday morning at 6:45 am in the parking lot near the UND bookstore in Grand Forks.  The goal is to be on the road by 7:15-7:30.  We will plan to return sometime between 7 pm and 9 pm on Friday the 11th of July.  Please make sure your child knows your phone number and we will call each of you on our return trip once we have a better estimate of our return time.  You will pick up your campers where you dropped them off.  You may want to bring a big garbage bag to get all their wet, stinky, messy stuff back home!

Bemidji pickup/dropoff: We plan to be in Bemidji at 9:15-9:30 on Tuesday.  The meeting spot is 51258 Wildview Lane.  Campers will be dropped off in same location on Friday between 5 and 7 pm.

PACKING: Please pack all your personal belongings into 1 bag (the smaller the better) + 1 daypack.  Do not have loose items as they will most likely get lost!  Sleeping bags and camping mats do not need to fit into these bags but should be in their own bag or wrapped up so they can be organized inside the vehicles. Each camper can keep a small fanny pack or similar with snacks, money, ipod, etc, with them on the bus, but that is it. Campers are responsible for their own gear at all times, if you lose it, you know who to blame!

WATER: Make sure to bring a reusable water bottle or something similar and have your name on it please - we will not be stopping for pops and powerades very often and want to minimize the amount of waste we produce as much as possible.

WE WILL PROVIDE: all paddling gear, pfds, ropes, for climbing, and other climbing gear.  We will also provide all pack-rafting gear. We will also provide all food for the camp, with the exception of the first lunch and last dinner. Your child will only need money to buy snacks when we stop (but we'll have plenty of snacks too) and for an 'on the road' meal on the way home (something like subway).  $20 cash should be plenty.  Please pack a sandwich or something similar (nice and quick and portable) for your child for the way out to the North Shore. 

HELMETS:  If your name is on this list please bring an adjustable biking helmet to use for packrafting and climbing: Erin, Megan, Spotty, 4 cedars, Aislinn, Ceallun, Emmett, Jak. If your name isn't on this list, you don't need to bring one, as we're going to share! 

CLIMBING SHOES: if you have your own, bring them in your gear.  Same for harness.  We'll have extra harnesses.  If you don't have climbing shoes and want us to bring some in your size, please email Emily with the size that you need ASAP and we'll grab a pair for you. 

OTHER NOTES:  There is no biking this year.  Leave your bikes at home!  Make sure and bring shoes that you can walk a long way in, you'll be hiking roughly 20 miles or so over the course of camp, some of it on very rigorous trails. Synthetic socks (wool or polyester) are preferable to cotton (just like with the clothing). You will also, conditions dependent, get a chance to paddle both SUPs, sit on top kayaks, and packrafts.  

EXPECTATIONS:  This camp will be pretty exhausting (for you campers and us counselors!) but hopefully a lot of fun (both types 1 and 2, no type 3 fun expected!).  Campers will be an integral part of all phases of the process (except driving)--they will set up their own gear, help with meal time and clean up, and be expected to keep track of their own gear, be responsible for their own food and hydration, pay attention to the daily schedules and manage their time accordingly, and ask questions when they have them so that all of these items can be facilitated.  There will be some free time/unscheduled time but this will be secondary and depend heavily on the way the group comes together to accomplish the set goals (such as hiking 8 miles on the most rugged section of the SHT to reach camp on day 2). We expect everyone to have a blast but also to listen to and follow directions as they are given, as there will be times during camp when attentiveness is especially important for safety reasons.  

CELL PHONES: campers can bring cell phones if they have them but don't need to. There will be times when we split into youth led groups and will have at least one working cell phone per groups during these times. 

FLEXIBILITY:  Many of our activities may change depending on the weather and/or river levels.  Such is the nature of adventure.  Campers should be prepared to be flexible!  

CONTACT:  We will be staying in a remote forest service campground the first night and in Temperance River State Park the second and third nights.  If you need to reach your child in the event of an emergency, you can try to reach us on cell phone at the following numbers:  Andy (701-330-0709), Josh (701-330-8036), Robert (612-239-6542).