Campers

Why I Trip

I love Camp.

Ask anyone who knows me.

It gets to the point where I tend to be somewhat insufferable when my friends see me meet someone. I almost always happen to steer the conversation towards my summers in the Haliburton Highlands. Every time I pull in to the magical Walden gates, warmth envelopes me and almost all senses of stress disappear.

I also love being outside.

Camp provides a pretty decent method to do this. While I find camp beautiful in its own right, being at the centre of huge parks across Ontario leads to a somewhat different sensation. It is there where even more so than Walden, that I become relaxed, happy and awestruck by the beauty around me.

As a CIT at Walden, I discovered the joys of being in charge of your own canoe trips. The extensive planning and preparation that must be done for these trips is what steered me in that direction as a staff member. Meal planning, route preparation, and all the intricate details that allow trips to run have given me tons of life skills.

As a canoe tripper at Walden, I feel that I’ve found my place at camp. Some of my friends are great counsellors, others are amazing specialists. My goal is to be a great tripper.

To me that means inspiring the kids I take on trip not to want to be trippers, or to love trip as much as I do, although I welcome that with open arms. I aim simply to provide kids with a safe, fun environment, in which the cabins can grow closer while enjoying nature and some great food.

This past summer at Walden was the better than any summer I have ever had at camp. I witnessed the tripping program being liked more by campers and developed personal bonds and friendships with counsellors and campers alike.

With the end of my camp career in the near horizon, it is imperative that I look back and appreciate the journey I have had. For now, I continue to come back to try to improve individually, and to help some kids have a great summer. Seeing kids smiling keeps me smiling.

That’s why I trip.

2017 is going to be the best summer yet.

Much love,
Omri Chazot
Trip Staff 2015, 2016 and soon to be 2017