“One of our canoe trips from Mio to Grayling was spent in a tornado warning,” said Susie Utter, who was a CIT in the fifties. “We went to the banks of the river where it was lower and more protected, and it poured. We looked and saw whatever was holding all the Kotex pads had tipped over and emptied in the river! They were floating down the river!”

The canoe trips were always her favorite, but she hated learning to dump it over and straighten it out. For Susie, it was traumatic. But, those safety drills were valuable when the time came to actually canoe a real river and not near a shore on Loon Lake with the safety of the shore and staff.

Adventures came in many forms. For Cindy Morrison (1960) and Sue Kiltie (1960-68), who were at the end of the canoe paddling forward, it came when the canoe tipped over and everyone got wet. It came when they could stop at the store on the AuSable to purchase goodies and later at night, zip their sleeping bags together to stay warm. Cindy also thought it was an adventure to wash her hair and bathe in freezing cold water. One trip it rained so hard that she and another small girl crawled under the lean-to, scared to death.

Barb Rehmus, Charla Batsell and eight canoeists left for their three-day adventure in July 1975 with much advanced preparation. The kitchen aides carefully packed the supplies they needed with the help of Cabin C. According to the “Loon” arrangements were made with Jolly Redskin campgrounds for “shining, bright canoes to start their journey” and the campers packed their clothes in plastic bags, took a special canoe class and off they went! A fifty-five mile trip in sunny and warm weather ensued for twelve to fifteen hours. “

After an A&W and a DQ, we settled down on the Jolly Redskin’s lawn,” wrote the reporter for this article. “We were all watching the guys next door because Jamie Shevin was complaining about not hearing a boy’s voice for so long.”

Another trip was outlined by Kellie Moore in the “Loon” of 1975 of the August adventures. “Everyone was surprised to see “Pringle” potato chips for lunch. During the day several canoes were attacked by one canoe of people splashing water all over us. A partially dressed man jumped out of the bushes and started talking to Nancy Merriot. She cracked up and kept canoeing,” wrote Kelly, who said they spent the nighttime comparing tans and burns, popping popcorn and singing and talking. “Spaz” (Cindy Knapp) had set up the tents, but had a difficult time and passed the chore onto someone else.”

The following day was another beautiful day, which began with bacon at breakfast. Their first stop was McKiinley Bridge. The latecomers were punished by girls standing on the bridge, spitting on them as they passed. (Nice) The final adventure came when Sandy Shepard tipped her canoe.

Towards the end of the camp’e era, when the camp merged with the boys from Camp Iroquois, the adventures changed on the trips. It was evident from the “Loon” of 1977-78 when Rufus (alias Scoop) Grobbel penned a piece about the trip.

“Earlier this week a canoe trip was planned. Even though our fearless leader Joe (Liberati?) and his sidekick Mel (Hurst?) were apprehensive about going through with the trip, because of weather reasons and their chauvinistic backgrounds, it was off to a good start on Tuesday afternoon. The trip lasted two days and one night and a lot of territory was covered. The trip was considered a success and when Joe was asked his opinion, he said, “Those girls are fantastic.”

If you were on any of the co-ed canoe trips, what was the difference? How had things changed?