I’m not a trips guy. I don’t like all those annoying mosquitoes biting me, I don’t like trips when my best friends aren’t on them, I don’t like sleeping on the ground in tents, and I don’t like squatting in the middle of the forest while I take big ol’ poops. But most of all, I’m a camp guy. I like being able to waterski every day. I like having time with all my camp friends. I like going to Casino Night and Socials. I can’t miss those!
Oh Scottie Breen pre-Summer 2003. I may have been cuter then (no wait, I’ve still got it), but I did not know myself. It is only by challenging one’s self with new, and often intimidating, experiences that one grows. Camp certainly offers several ways to challenge yourself: climb the hard side of the climbing wall, get up on one waterski, perform in a comedysports show, etc. However, of all the offerings at camp, trips offer the greatest opportunity for growth. It was because of the growth I experienced on trips that 1) I have a steady temperament; 2) I live more in the present; and 3) I have pursued a career as an environmental attorney. The following are memories from my trips that help explain the root of each of these instances of growth.
I remember how one especially strenuous time while on the 12-day lake canoe trip in Quetico Provincial Park contributed to my steady temperament. It was in the late afternoon of day 7 in a remote area not well marked with signs for trails. We had just realized that we had gone the wrong way, the sun was beating so hot that the sunscreen I had recently put on was sweating into my eyes causing a harsh burn, and now I was going to have to carry a heavy pack back through a long portage (a trail that connects water bodies) with mosquitos swirling about. Frustration. Sorrow. Anger. As these emotions were overtaking me, one of the trippers said, “Guys this sucks, but we have no other option other than pushing forward.” I thought to myself how he was right. We had to get to the campsite. The only question was if I was going to go through the next couple hours expressing negative emotions bringing down the group and myself, or stay calm and help get us to where we needed to go. I quickly realized negativity would just make the situation worse. It’s important to experience and feel emotions but also to keep the proper perspective. I now roll with the punches and focus on moving forward rather than letting negative emotions slow me down.
I remember how going without a watch helped me become more aware of the present. When the tripper told me to leave my watch in the cabin, I thought it was weird, and at first I felt a little lost without it. I liked knowing how long it was until the end of the free period and at home, with rigid start and end times to classes and sports practices, I needed to know the time. The beauty of trips is the lack of set start and end times. You wake up when your body tells you to; you eat whenever a picturesque spot for a meal or for some Gorp (trail mix) presents itself; and you go to sleep when you’re tired from a full day of action. The lack of any looming set time for the next activity allowed me to focus on the beauty around me and on taking the next canoe stroke or backpacking stride. It’s important to be efficient with your schedule but also to not let what’s next distract from fully experiencing your present. I now am more aware of when my mind wanders and actively try to be mindful of my current experience.
I remember how seeing the quaint home and office of the park ranger who cleared us to paddle across the Canadian border (so cool!) got me to thinking about the rules we have to regulate our use of these natural areas. As I looked at this isolated home situated among a stand of trees on the shoreline of a crystal blue lake, I wondered how did we come to agree to collectively own and preserve these stunningly beautiful areas? This question stuck with me. When I later learned about the origin of our national parks—the people that fought for their creation and the laws that enshrined these areas—that is when I started to get interested in environmental law and policy. I wanted to preserve the environment not only for the animals that need these oases of protection but so people could have the same formative experiences I had. It’s important to be exposed to new locations and experiences so you find out your interests. I now am better at noting when I instinctively gravitate to something or question something and follow that instinct. This led to my current profession as an environmental attorney. By taking the leap and signing up for those long trips as a thirteen year old, I found my career, my life’s pursuit.
To be brutally honest, I don’t remember much from my camper years that vividly (except when Marc Harris and I first beat Mike in casino night volleyball). I played numerous capture the flag games, sang numerous renditions of Johnny Rebeck, and danced awkwardly at countless socials. These special camp activities, while exceedingly fun, are all somewhat of a blur of awesomeness. It’s my time on trips that stick out. The beauty. The challenges. The conversations. The smells. The sounds.
I was gone half the summer of 2003 on trips. Before that summer I had only been on three trips, no one longer than four days, and had not been on one in several summers. It’s never too late in your camper career to give trips another try (but once you’re a CIT, there’s no going back). Don’t let concerns like who is on the trip slow you down. In summer 2003 I went on the eight-day canoe Lake Superior Provincial Park trip just me and another guy my age I wasn’t close with. Today he is one of my best friends in Washington DC who recently told me that if he gets married, he wants me to be his best man. I believe we would be no more than acquaintances if not for the strong bond we formed on that trip.
Trips can change your life. I wasn’t a trips guy prior to summer 2003, but now I am living a life positively informed by growth and connections from trips and could not be happier. Challenge yourself this summer and grow.
-Written by Scott Breen.
Scott Breen was a camper and counselor at Timberlane from 1999 – 2011. He is an attorney-advisor at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, living in Washington, DC.
