Trip to YMCA camp helped youth gain life skills in wilderness
July 8, 2026
by Emily Culver as a Guest Columnist for the Northfield News
Last month I had the pleasure of accompanying five middle school and high school girls on a five-day trip to YMCA Camp Menogyn and into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The trip was one of several that students involved in the TORCH program will participate in this summer.
To start the adventure, the girls departed from Northfield at 5:30 a.m. and made the journey north to West Bearskin Lake, where Camp Menogyn is located. After almost six hours on the road, we arrived at the lake’s shores — Camp Menogyn is only accessible by water — and said goodbye to creature comforts such as air conditioning and flush toilets. From there we met our guide, who was serendipitously a Northfield High School alumna, and jumped into preparing for our two nights out on trail, away from base camp, that would begin the following day.
I had ventured into the Boundary Waters on a handful of trips over the years, but this was my first time with students. It was the second trip for the high school students in our group and the first for the middle schoolers.
We learned how to lift a canoe, how to properly paddle in different scenarios, how to rescue a tipped canoe, how to plan meals that would be easy to prepare on trail, how to evenly distribute weight in portage packs and much more. By the time we began paddling the following day, our brains were packed with new information. Yet it was not until we were finally out on the water, away from the buzzing camp atmosphere, that the real transformation took place.
Amid the simple sounds of birds chirping, wind rustling and paddles slapping the water, each of us was stepping outside our comfort zones in some way. Whether it was guiding a group of campers for the first time, sleeping in a tent or portaging a canoe, everyone was faced with an opportunity to grow.
Camp Menogyn has a tradition of hosting an end-of-trip celebration each week for the groups that have returned from trail. This consists of a banquet, skits and closing remarks within individual trip groups. For the closing remarks, groups form a circle, and everyone takes turns sharing positive comments about each participant as they pass along a paracord bracelet. The participant being appreciated then receives that bracelet, and another member helps them fit it onto their wrist.
It was during this ceremony that the collective growth of the group — adults and young people alike — became clear. Arguably more so than in paddling or navigation skills, each of us gained new awareness about ourselves and one another — as friends, as contributors to a collective effort and as leaders both on and off trail. We are grateful to our supporters, such as EmpowHER, who continue to make these trips possible for young people in Rice County.
