YMCA Camp Menogyn hosted an adventurous group of MTS Secondary students and staff for the annual fall camping experience. Ms. Albin, MTS Secondary art teacher, organized seasonal adventures for students several years ago and the fall trip is a great one.
A highlight that makes this particular trip unique was seeing the northern lights.
On their way to camp, the group made a few stops on the north shore to enjoy Lake Superior. That night almost every student was in their bunk beds, when one of the students, Enrique came back to the cabin with his phone. He showed the teachers a beautiful photo of the starry sky that his phone had been able to pick up. It looked suspiciously green!
Ms. Anderson said, “Enrique, this looks like the northern lights!” She went outside and confirmed that the northern lights were faintly visible above our cabin. Staff woke everyone up and the group watched the sky as the lights became more intense and more colorful. The lights moved from being just on the northern horizon to being around them and over their heads—moving and changing constantly.
What a special night! It was truly the perfect way to start their four day adventure.
The next day, the group of 20 split into three groups and headed into the Boundary Waters for a night of backcountry exploring. They returned the final night for a celebration at the base camp, complete with time in the sauna, swimming in the lake and s’mores around a campfire while the moon reflected on the lake.
Of course, there were pranks and scary stories and laughs, like all the trips. They had so much fun that the students tried to bribe the teachers to turn the vans around and go back to camp.
They can’t wait for winter camp in February!
