On the first day, you’ll come to Amnicon’s base camp to meet your guides and learn everything you need to know to be prepared for a safe and fun experience. We do a big campfire on our sandy beach of Lake Superior that night.

The next morning, we drive you out to the Flambeau and the adventure begins! Each day you’ll paddle down the river, setting up camp each afternoon. There is time to swim, explore, and play before cooking dinner over the fire. You’ll end each evening with a intentional and meaningful community conversation around the fire. After three nights camping along the river, we’ll pick you up and bring you back to Amnicon.

The trip culminates in a campfire and closing ceremony back at our sandy Lake Superior beach. With a sky full of stars above you, the biggest lake in the world beside you, and your new-found-friends in front of you, you’ll feel proud of all you’ve accomplished and learned during this week in the wild.

You don’t want to miss this!

Amnicon as an organization does have connections to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and the Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Network. However, many groups that come on Amnicon trips require that there be no mention of Christianity to their campers. This trip will include thankfulness to the Creator, and discussions of each person’s experience with spirituality, but will not have an emphasis on the Christian worldview. 

What to Expect:

• There will be moments of thankfulness before each meal. Thankfulness is directed toward the Creator, the earth, and the people who helped prepare the meal. 
• Each day will begin and end with an intentional community conversation that will be focused on helping the trip participants build strong friendships with each other and an appreciation for the natural world. These conversations may draw on stories or poems from around the world, and campers will be invited to share stories from their own lives as well. 
• Amnicon’s staff will not use the Christian Bible as a basis for any discussions or prayers during the week. 
• Amnicon’s staff will not initiate any conversations about Christianity.
• If a camper initiates a conversation about God, staff will be respectful of whatever the camper’s views are. 
• Amnicon staff will never attempt to change a camper’s beliefs or worldview. They will NOT attempt to “convert” anyone to Christianity. 
• At the end of the week, all trip participants will be given a keepsake necklace in the shape of a Chi-Rho (the cross-like shape in the middle of Amnicon’s logo). The necklace is a gift to celebrate everything they’ve accomplished on the trip, and a reminder of the friendships and memories they made. The Chi-Rho shape does have it’s roots in the Christian tradition. The history of the shape may be shared with the campers when they receive their Chi-Rhos. But the focus of the Chi-Rho necklace is on the experience these campers have had together at camp. Accepting a Chi-Rho necklace does not mean that the camper has accepted Christianity or a Christian worldview. Accepting a Chi-Rho necklace means that the camper is proud of themselves for what they accomplished on the trip, and want to remember the experiences they had here, and the people they conected with while at camp. 

If you have any other questions about what to expect on the trip, feel free to contact camp by emailing info@amnicon.org or calling 715-364-2602.

Our wilderness guides are amazing, and you’ll love them. We send two highly trained individuals with each group. They will be at least 19 years old, and have been chosen because they have demonstrated an impressive level of maturity, a love of nature, and a desire to connect with and serve our campers. We do our best to hire a diverse staff every year, and often hire staff from overseas! Amnicon does not discriminate in our hiring based on gender identity, sexual orientation, race, country of origin, or religious affiliation. 

Trip participants must be:

• At least 11 years old on the first day of the trip,
• In reasonably good health,
• Able to lift and carry 30 pounds over a short distance,
• Able to swim 25 yards and tread water for 30 seconds while wearing a USCG certified Personal Floatation Device (life jacket)
• Able to walk half a mile over uneven terrain without assistance, AND
• Have a licensed medical practitioner sign a health form certifying that they are healthy enough to engage in the kinds of activities we’ll do on this trip.

Anyone with a chronic medical condition must:

• Be able to manage their own care without assistance,
• Bring all their own medications and supplies,
• Be willing and able to communicate with Amnicon staff if they’re not doing well,
• Have experience managing their condition during prolonged periods of increased stress & activity, AND
• Have not had any medical emergencies within the last year.

If you have questions about whether this trip will be a good fit for you, don’t hesitate to contact us! Call 715-364-2602 or email info@amnicon.org

That’s TOTALLY FINE! Lots of people who come on Amnicon trips are new to the whole wilderness, canoeing, and camping thing. Your guides will make sure that you have what you need and know what you need to know. You are in good hands. 

The answer…maybe. How many bugs there are depends on a LOT of different factors. We’ll bring bug spray, and you’re welcome to bring your own as well. 

We’ve found that the one thing that makes the biggest difference with the bugs is your attitude. If you decide at the beginning of the trips that the bugs aren’t important enough to ruin your whole experience, then they won’t be that bad! 

Good food is a high priority at Amnicon! We have a trail menu that adapts lots of the foods you are used to at home: pancakes, pasta, brats and lots more. There are plenty of snacks, too! If you have specific dietary needs please let us know so we can be prepared with good food for you, too.

One of the ways we are going to challenge ourselves this week is by leaving our cell phones behind. Yes, even the adults will leave their phones behind too. Cell phones will only distract from the experience we’re trying to have together, and are highly prone to getting lost & damaged. Every year, we have campers (and adults!) tell us how freeing it was to not have a phone for the week, and how valuable it was to take a break from technology. This is a unique experience that’s hard to do in everyday life, but we get to do it together at camp.

That said…we REALLY value getting good photos from the trips. Amnicon will send along one (or two) cameras with each group. Campers ARE allowed to bring their own cameras as well if they’d like. We’ll share the photos from the week in a Google Photos album, and on social media after you get back home.

There are sturdy outhouses at boat landings every few miles along the river. At each campsite you’ll find a kind of toilet that we affectionately call a “Ranger Box”, which is essentially an outhouse toilet without any walls around it.

The toilets are short walk away from the campsite, far enough that no one can see you while you’re using it. To ensure that everyone has privacy, we’ll leave the toilet and hand sanitizer at the beginning of the path that goes back to the toilet. Everyone in the group will know that if the bag of toilet paper is missing then someone is down there, and to not walk down the trail until that person gets back.

It might feel a little weird using a toilet without any walls the first couple times. But after a bit you’ll get used to it, and you may even come to appreciate that no walls means they don’t smell as bad as enclosed outhouses.