Register Today

As Hannah Montana famously said, Trailblazers “get the best of both worlds.” Miniwanca’s Trailblazer program is an introduction to backcountry adventures. This three-week program introduces campers to backpacking, canoeing, and basic campcraft skills. We start out the session teaching the basic skills they will use every day on trail: how to pack a backpack, how to use a backpacking stove, filter water, and set up a tent. Each group also goes through rotations on basic trail first aid and Leave No Trace principles.

When the Trailblazers aren’t at Graceland, the Four Trails headquarters, they are out on Stony Lake learning about canoeing. They learn safety basics, practice different strokes, and play games like Red Light, Green Light to practice their new skills. A favorite day is “T-Rescue Day,” where they practice helping a capsized boat, draining it, and climbing back inside. It’s a fun day with a lot of swimming in the lake.

Trailblazers do a practice trip called a Shakedown to a remote part of the Miniwanca property called the Well Site. They pack their bags with the gear they will use on their trip to make sure everything is ready for their adventure.

After all this preparation, they’re ready to hit the trail. Both parts of the trip take place on the Manistee River and the Manistee River Trail. The groups that canoe first head up to the Hodenpyl Dam Pond, where they start their journey before portaging around the dam and heading downriver and camping in the Huron-Manistee National Forest. Wildlife sightings are common on this trip, including bald eagles soaring over the river.

The backpacking groups hike along the Manistee River Trail on the bluffs above the river. They hike through old growth forests and get to spy a deer grazing near the trail or a bat swooping over their campfire at night.

After completing the first mode of their trip, they return to Miniwanca and spend a day swapping gear for their next trip. They will head back out to paddle and hike for their second trip the next day. Trailblazers return from their trips triumphantly, having conquered their first Four Trails trip.

The last week of camp is spent celebrating, sharing stories and jumping back into in-camp life. The trip lends them new skills and confidence as they reenter the camp community.  Trailblazers join in with the rest of the eight-grade age group to do in camp favorites like interest groups and nights doings.

We are so proud of them for taking on this new challenge as Miniwanca campers and can’t wait to see where the trail takes them in the future!