Maiden Voyage – Notes from Camp – February 2020

Hi Folks,

IT OCCURS TO ME….

During January in Chicago, we had 1 day with clear skies. Every other day was either cloudy or partly cloudy.  Yes, you read that correctly, we had just 1 day of clear skies! It’s during this time that the only thing that I can think about is how excited I am to be back up north with the clear blue skies over Timberlane. 

It has not just been the lack of sunshine that has me thinking about camp, but it has been seeing camp people all around the country. It has been these visits and reunions that have me pumped about the 2020 summer. I would also like to say thank you to everyone in the camp community for all of your support and kind words over the last couple months. 

Please stay tuned for a lot of exciting things coming for the 60th summer of Timberlane!!

YO PARENTS:

  • Your Winter Deposit was due on January 15th.  Most of you have taken care of this, but if you overlooked it, that’s okay.  Please take care of it as soon as you can.  You can send a check to our Chicago address, or pay by credit card or ACH through your CampInTouch account.  We know you won’t love hearing this, but the Spring deposit will be due on March 15th, so this is just an early heads up.  If you ever want to check your account status, you can always find that info on your CampInTouch page.  Thanks.
  • FLYING CAMPERS: If your son is flying en route to camp, we hope you’ve already registered with Sojourn Travel, our selected travel agency.  Fares tend to go up as the summer approaches, so it is best to get this done soon.  St Louis area campers: We have set up your group travel, and already been in touch with you about that.
  • CIT TRAVEL: CITs begin training on Sunday, June 14th, so they will travel to camp on Saturday, June 13th.  We will have a van in Chicago to pick up CITs there, and we’ll have room for their duffels too.  CITs from all other cities will fly to camp, into the Rhinelander Airport, where we’ll meet them and drive them and their bags to camp.  If you have any questions about your CITs travel or anything else, please contact us.

YO OLD GUYS:

If you are a returning camper in 8th or 9th grade this year, then we want you to be a Big Brother for a new camper this summer.  This is a great opportunity for you to connect with someone new, share your knowledge and experience of camp, help your little bro feel welcome and at home, and gain some leadership experience.

We will connect as many of our returning guys with little brothers as possible.  We ask big brothers to call (not text or Facebook message) their little brothers, spend a few minutes on the phone, and if it works out, maybe even get together with them before camp.

There is definitely no obligation for you to be a big brother if you’re not crazy about the idea.  If you prefer NOT to be a big brother, please email or call us as soon as possible.  We will send out Big/Little Brother assignments in April.

 

TRIPS NEWS:

WE HAVE SOME FANTASTIC NEWS!  Our 2020 Trips Calendar is published and you can check it out right now.  As always, it is subject to some changes, as we continue to acquire our permits.

WE HAVE A NEW TRIP FOR YOU THIS SUMMER!  For the very first time, we will offer a 3 day, 2 night backpack trip to Sylvania National Recreation Area in Michigan.  This is the same place we’ve been lake canoeing for decades, and this year we’re going to hit some of the hiking trails.  This will be a great beginner level backpack trip, of similar skill level as the Porcupine Mountains.

Anyway you look at it, this is going to be a banner year for trips!

There are a few trips for which we accept advanced registration.  They include:

  • Isle Royale Backpacking – 10 Day Trip (1st Session. For eligible kids who have finished 8th grade or higher)
  • Isle Royale Backpacking – 6 Day Trip (2nd Session.  For eligible kids who have finished 6th grade or higher)
  • Quetico Provincial Park Canoeing – 12 Day Trip (2nd Session.  For eligible kids who have finished 8th grade or higher)
  • Apostle Islands Sea Kayaking – 4 Day Trip (Both Sessions.  For eligible kids who have finished 7th grade or higher)

If your son is interested in one of the pre-registration trips, please notify us by email or phone.  We’ll confirm his eligibility and if there are any questions, we’ll talk it over with you.

Pre-registration is NOT required to get on a trip.  If your son is interested, but not sure, then we ask you do not pre-register him for a trip.  As long as space on the trip remains, he can sign up at camp.

Some important notes about the trips:

  • If your son is a first-year camper, or if he will not have completed at least the 6th grade this summer, then the above trips will be waiting for him in a future summer.  There are still many, many fantastic trips available to ALL campers for which we do not do pre-registration.
  • Some of the trips listed above include an additional charge either for things such as ferries or guide services.

Some trips go into Canada, and require campers to have a passport.  Those include the Quetico Canoe Trip , as well as the Coastal Canadian Backpack Trip and the Sand River Canoe Trip.

In Los Angeles, ILAN REISS has been playing hockey and tennis.  JAMES LOVETT has been playing soccer and guitar.  JORDAN FREUND is busy with gymnastics and school.  JEREMY GROVER is playing soccer and took a cooking class.

Further south, in San Diego, JOEY HANDELSMAN was playing football, soccer, basketball and baseball.  Leaves very little time for school.  LEO HANDELSMAN was QB for his football team, and has been playing basketball.  BENNETT CROSBY has been playing soccer.

In Houston, JOHNATHAN ROBERTSON is getting good grades, has been doing some jogging, and was prepping for swim season.  LANDON SELZER did some skiing over vacation, and has been playing soccer.  SIMON FRANKEL is boxing and playing baseball.  EVAN COHEN has been playing basketball.  SPENCER COHEN has also been playing basketball.  HARRY SMITH is busy with school and spent his winter break in Aspen.  ANDREW MUKAVITZ played soccer, swam, and played waterpolo.

In Dallas, JOSH TRAUB played baseball, basketball and tennis.  NOAH MORALES had a nice Florida vacation, and has been busy with basketball and coding.  OLIVER MORALES is playing tennis, basketball and also coding.  We assume he too had a nice Florida vacation.  BAER SCHAMERLOH is playing drums and he went to Malibu for his winter vacation.

In St. Lous, BEN SIWAK managed to fall and break his wrist while skiing on vacation.  He is recovering very well.  His sister managed to do the same thing on the same trip!

JACKSON & ASHTON MAZZA are in Seattle, and they have been busy this winter skiing and snowboarding.

In the Denver area, LIAM HITCHENS is playing basketball and sang a song in the school talent show. SAMMY FRAZIER is starting a club that raises money for endangered animals. EDEN KAPLAN is playing Pumbaa in his school play. BLAKE LEHRER has been wrestling this school year. His brother RYAN LEHRER has been playing soccer and skiing.

Los Angeles finds CHARLIE LOVETT playing on his high school golf team and prepping for ACTs.  “Old-timer” EMMA COHEN is living in SoCal getting her Masters at Claremont College.  In San Diego, SETH BERK plays drums in a band, and has been doing some waterskiing.  He’s obtained his driver’s license, which was easy.  “Old-timer” ARI BERK is applying to colleges.  JACOB BURING is finishing up school in Wyoming, and traveled to Denver recently to join us at our reunion.  What a guy!!

BRAVO TO OUR BIRTHDAY BOYS: 

Zavion Steele 2/1, Brady Adelman 2/2, Federico De Francesca 2/2, William Schwebach 2/3, Harry Smith 2/7, Oliver Strickland 2/7, Evan Cohen 2/8, Caleb Gerstein 2/10, Jake Hickman 2/10, Tyler Deutsch 2/10, Pierson Lipschultz 2/14, Adam Sandor 2/14, Morgan Decker 2/16, Ben Remis 2/16, Zach Walden 2/17, Alex Kim 2/19, Elijah Wacksman 2/22, Elliott Korentager 2/23, Sam Kahn 2/23, Casey Mutchnik 2/25, David Friedland 2/26, Owen Yoffe 2/27, Carlos Dorantes Banuelos 2/27.