Tumpline December 2014
Published: Tue, 12/30/14
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Happy Holidays! - Joyeuses fêtes! Maison-de-Pierre, 1957 Part II Andy WebsterJohn Blachford drove up to Camp Nominingue on a Friday and by noon, the next day, we had decided to embark on a more ambitious canoe trip than either of us had ever been on. This decision on my part meant that I must quit my counselling job, but the money I would have to forfeit was inconsequential when I compared it to the overall experience of the trip we were to take. The following is an account of the 14 days we spent out in the bush. Wednesday, August 7 The next morning before leaving, we made a careful check to see that nothing was out of place. As we were looking around, a camper yelled excitedly that he had sighted something moving in the water travelling from a point which jutted out into the lake to the other shore. We made a mad dash for the canoe and paddled like hell towards the moose. John quickly prepared his camera and we saw, upon getting close to the animal, that it was a very large moose with a gigantic set of antlers. A couple of pictures were taken while the moose staggered out of the water showing its great size and it crashed through the thick bush by the edge of the lake. I was quite impressed! We paddled back, finished breakfast, re-inspected the cabin, and then said goodbye to Peter Gilbert, John Foote and their campers. The sun soon warmed up the land so that at noon it was very hot; much too hot, in fact, for tripping. The trail to Keepover from Rupert was in very poor shape since it had not been used, we estimated, for many years. It was a short trail, however, and it was not long before we had reached the lake. It was a better looking lake than the former with tall, dark green spruce growing away from the bank, standing straight and majestic in the warm summer sun. A small cabin stood on the east bank of the lake. We did not bother to investigate as we had a long and uncertain, and crucial part of the trip to cover that day. John had known the territory from Maison-de-Pierre to Rupert, but now we had begun the real part of the trip. Neither of us had seen this country before and we were uncertain as to what obstacles or dangers or unknown quantities we would have to overcome. The true canoe trip is when you do not know where you are going. You know where you are attempting to go by a route on the map and maybe one or two people tell you what to expect, but that does not changes things much. It changed things very little in our case. Mr. Van Wagner, the director and owner of Camp Nominingue, the man who had directly or indirectly taught John and me all that we knew about tripping by canoe, had travelled this route some fifteen years before, but it different then. In those days, the forest rangers didn't use planes. They cleared trails between lakes and used them. Now there were planes and the trails might be completely overgrown in some areas, where the bush was thick and grew fast. But we had a number of factors in our favour. A good part of the territory we were to cover was used regularly by the Indians for trapping purposes, so they would keep some of the trails open. A second thing that would help us was the fishing clubs. We suspected that many clubs had moved into the northern country which we were to cover and, by the end of the trip, we found out that the fishing clubs had helped us more than we ever would have expected! The route we were travelling was ideal for tripping. There were many alternate routes to take if we found that one trail was insurmountable, and this happened three or four times by the end of those fourteen days. The trail from Lake Keepover to the Sere River was wide and clear, and except for the occasional patch of mud and swamp, the going was not tough. The trail was, however, long, covering some three miles of relatively flat bushland. We paddled down the Sere River for a good four or five miles, and then took out and had lunch on a sandy bluff out of which led a trail we thought was the same one Mr. Van Wagner had described to us. We followed the trail up a short distance, but found that it could not be followed, not because the bush was too thick, but because there was no trail! That's what we came to believe after two hours of searching. We decided on an alternate route. This consisted of following the Sere River downstream to the Mazana River, which we would follow up towards Chatillon, the lake we had wanted to reach in the first place. It was nearly dark by the time we reached Chatillon, but we sighted a cabin at the end of the lake. We paddled quickly towards it hoping that it would not be occupied. It was not occupied and there were two straw bunks onto which we threw our sleeping bags and then proceeded to have a leisurely supper. Enrolment 2015 - Inscriptions 2015For the last few years, we have opened our enrolment on November 1st and offered an early-bird rebate until December 15th. Each year, the number of parents choosing to take advantage of this option has increased. As of the 15th, more than 130 campers have enrolled for the 2015 season. Our best salesmen are you the campers and their parents. We aim to provide your son with an incredible experience each summer and then, come the fall, we count on you to share this experience with your friends and colleagues. The majority of new campers find out about Nominingue through word-of-mouth. This system worked in 1950 and it still works today! Each spring, we hold four parent-son information evenings in both Montreal and Ottawa. This is a great opportunity for any interested family to find out more about Nominingue. If you know anyone who might be considering attending camp, please inform them of this opportunity. We are also willing to hold information evenings elsewhere for small groups of interested parents and their sons. In the past few years, we have held evenings in Toronto, Outremont and Longueuil. If you think that you might be interested in organizing such a small group, please contact us and we will see what we can do. Depuis plusieurs années, la période des inscriptions commence le 1er novembre. Jusqu'au 15 décembre, nous offrons un rabais pour les inscriptions hâtives et, chaque année de plus en plus de familles ont bénéficié de ce choix. Cette année, plus de 130 campeurs se sont inscrits avant le 15 décembre. Nos meilleurs vendeurs sont vous, les campeurs et vos parents. Notre but est d'offrir à votre fils une expérience incroyable à chaque été et, dès l'automne, nous comptons sur vous de partager l'expérience de votre fils avec vos amis et collègues. La majorité des nouveaux campeurs qui découvrent Nominingue le découvre par du bouche à l'oreille. Ce système fonctionnait en 1950 et fonctionne toujours aujourd'hui. Chaque printemps, nous organisons quatre soirées d'informations à Montréal et à Ottawa. C'est une excellente opportunité pour une famille intéressée de découvrir tout au sujet du Camp Nominingue. Si vous connaissez de bons candidats, svp informez-les de cette opportunité. Nous sommes aussi prêts à organiser des soirées d'informations pour des petits groupes de parents et fils ailleurs. Dans les dernières années, nous avons organisées des soirées à Outremont, Longueuil et Toronto. Si vous êtes intéressés à organiser une telle soirée, svp contactez-nous et nous verrons si ce sera possible. 2015 Winter Events - Évènements cet hiverJanuary 27-29 Directors' Conference Sunday, February 22 Montreal Families Camp Fair 12 noon - 4 PM Holiday Inn, Pointe-Claire Parent and Son Information Evenings at 7:15 PM (For new and prospective campers and their families) Wednesday February 18 Lower Canada College NDG Tuesday February 24 Chimo Hotel Ottawa Tuesday March 24 Lower Canada College NDG Tuesday March 31 Chimo Hotel Ottawa Wednesday April 22 Chimo Hotel Ottawa Thursday April 23 Lower Canada College NDG Tuesday May 12 Lower Canada College NDG Thursday May 14 Chimo Hotel Ottawa If you are interested in any details concerning these events, please contact us at the camp office. 27 au 29 janvier Congrès des directeurs Association des camps de l'Ontario dimanche 22 février Foire de camps Montreal Families midi à 16h00 Holiday Inn, Pointe-Claire Soirées d'informations pour parents et fils à 19h15 (Pour nouveaux campeurs inscrits ou intéressés) mercredi 18 février Lower Canada College NDG mardi 24 février Hotel Chimo Ottawa mardi 24 mars Lower Canada College NDG mardi 31 mars Hotel Chimo Ottawa mercredi 22 avril Hotel Chimo Ottawa jeudi 23 avril Lower Canada College NDG mardi 12 mai Lower Canada College NDG jeudi 14 mai Hotel Chimo Ottawa Pour plus de détails, svp contactez le bureau du camp. Christmas Thomas Jean-BrownThomas Jean-Brown, a camper at Nominingue for the last six summers, loves cartooning. He has agreed to create regular camp-related cartoons for the Tumpline. He has also created a website to share his work.
Alumni Association News / Nouvelles de l'association des anciensPlease share with us news that you would like to include in the Tumpline that you think might be of interest to other Nominingue alumni. SVP envoyez nous des nouvelles que vous aimeriez inclure dans une prochaine édition du Tumpline. Alumni Socials Each spring and fall, we try to hold at least one Alumni Social in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Alumni socials were held in both Ottawa and Montreal during the first week of November. It is always great to renew with recent and less recent alumni. The next opportunity to re-connect will be in the spring. Dates and locations of future get-togethers will be posted on Facebook on the Nominingue Socials Group page. To get involved with CN Alumni Association, please contact John Christou at john@prospectorfilms.ca. Tumpline Submissions - Soumissions pour cette lettre de nouvellesWe are looking for submissions for our newsletters from campers, staff and parents... from this summer, as well as from recent and less recent alumni. These submissions may be general memories of camp experiences or specific memories about a canoe trip, about a favourite program or a funny experience. Please send your submissions to grant@nominingue.com. You may submit your stories and memories in English, French or Spanish. Nous sommes à la recherche de textes de campeurs, parents et de moniteurs de l'été 2014... et de souvenirs de nos anciens campeurs et moniteurs des années récentes et moins récentes. Vos textes peuvent décrire vos expériences en générale ou une excursion de canot, un programme favori ou une expérience drôle. SVP envoyez votre texte par courriel à grant@nominingue.com. Votre texte peut être écrit en français, en anglais ou en espagnol. | |
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Camp Nominingue | Tel. 450-267-2555 | Toll-free 866-910-1551 (Canada & US) | |
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This e-mail is destined to all campers, parents and counsellors, current and alumni. If you would prefer not to receive occasional messages from us, please unsubscribe using the link below this message. Ce courriel est destiné à tous les campeurs, parents et moniteurs, actuels et anciens. Si vous voulez vous désinscrire de cette liste d'envoi, svp cliquez en bas de la page. Winter address: 112, rue Lippée, Les Coteaux, QC J7X 1J4 | |
