Happy 4th of July everyone! It’s been an incredible first week for Four Trails! It’s been a week of preparation and fun with groups participating in bicycle maintenance rotations, first aid rotations, paddling workshops, and smaller day-trips as groups practice the many skills they’ll need for trail life. Here’s a quick update on how each group is doing and what they’ve been up to these past few days:
After swim checks on Monday, the boys and girls Trailblazer groups dove into the daily schedule of Boys Camp and Girls Camp. They’ve signed up for interest groups, participated in Night’s Doings and Evening Reflection. The Trailblazer girls groups even took some time to take a tour of Graceland (our out-camping facility where we house all of our gear and send out all of our trips) to see what they’ll be in for next week when head out for the hiking and canoeing trips. The Trailblazer boys groups are planning a fun community time tomorrow where they’ll work on the Boys Camp garden fence as they prepare for it to be painted in the coming days.
The Explorer girls group has been hard at work preparing for their canoe trip. They departed on their adventure today in high spirits ready to take on the waters of the great Manistee River, starting up north near Frederic, Michigan. They’ll be canoeing for the next six days down the river on some of the most scenic waters of the Manistee National Forest here in Michigan.
The Explorer boys group has been similarly hard at work preparing for their cycling trip. They were grateful for some nice cold ice cream yesterday afternoon as the biked out on a short day-trip to practice their cycling skills. Today they departed for their 5-day, 4-night cycling adventure around the coast of West Michigan. They traveled inland a short distance today and will start making their way north toward Ludington, Michigan tomorrow. On their way there and back toward camp, they’ll cycle past miles of scenic Michigan shoreline and maybe stop for another sweet treat along the way.
The Adventurer boys and girls have been enjoying some cold treats on these hot days as well! The Adventurer girls group departed today for their 2-week cycling trip down the coast of West Michigan along US Bike Route 35. They traveled north today by van where they’ll be staying near Mackinaw City before beginning to cycle southward tomorrow. Adventurer boys will be close behind them as they leave tomorrow morning, traveling on the same route north by van and beginning their trip southward the following day. We’ll post updates along the way with their progress!
The Odyssey groups are nearly ready for their great sendoff tomorrow morning. Tonight is a night of final preparation and reflection (and hopefully good sleep!) before we meet up on Graceland field tomorrow morning and wish them good luck on their journey. Earlier this week, they practiced basic bike maintenance and learned some valuable skills they’ll be using for the rest of their summer, and then they cycled a short distance to some local campgrounds for an overnight trip. They came back today and yesterday in high spirits and are more ready than ever for their incredible adventure.
And don’t worry—we’re not forgetting our Voyageur campers! They’ll be arriving this Sunday and we can’t wait to welcome them into the Four Trails community.