Sunday, July 27, 2014

Camp Teepee Pole


Potato cannons, rifles, rockets, power boats, zip lines, and a real lack of supervision, pretty much sums up Camp Teepee pole.

This camp holds a lot of memories for me.  I attended this summer camp for boys from age 11 until I was about 17.  It is a high test youth camp that involved climbing and rappelling, white water rafting, shooting rifles and shotguns among other things. For eighteen years I thought of coming back as a counsellor to give back into something that was so influential in my life. 

Well this week I completed 6 days of counselling at Camp Teepee Pole and successfully achieved one of my I Ho Chuan goals.  There is so much to be said about this camp.  Right now though, I want to thank my wife Stephanie for her encouragement and sacrifice of her own time as camp cook to help make this possible for me and my son (he attended as well.)

Burnt fingers from fire starting, hundreds of bruises from field games, half drowned kids tubing down rivers, countless cuts from carving and pocket knives, tree climbing injuries, a broken toe, and the list went on and on.   It was a week where at any given moment there was something hazardous going on.  But that is what makes this camp one of a kind for boys turning to young men.  From the side of a counsellor I finally realize the sacrifice that went into providing this experience when I was a kid.  Something at the time I really took for granted.  As difficult a week as this was, it is something that I plan to continue to do.  In a way I think this camp needs people that under think safety, tend to have a lot of kid in them….people just like me.

 

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