A Tale of Lifelong Friendships Forever Rooted in Adventure

Surrounded by ledged sandstone cliffs colored pink, purple, and orange, the Fond du Lac River thundered white down the Manitou Falls, air misting and cold.

Sally Stockwell recalls paddling close to the falls with her five trail mates, the cliff-tops studded by the green and brown boreal forest of far northern Saskatchewan. They were in a green wood and canvas Chestnut canoe cutting a line through swift moving water, and Sally’s trail counselor Katie (Knopke) Bartholomew warned them to stay close to the shore. “You will paddle so close, I want to see a line of green paint on those rocks!” (No canoes were actually harmed in this story).

It was a legendary Widji moment made possible by a pioneering group of women who blazed a new trail for female campers 50 years ago, and in doing so, brought lifetime friendships into being.

They’ve kept their paddles wet

The women involved refer to themselves as GV73 —Mary (DeBur) Pesta, Karen (Gustafason) Crossley, Keelin Kane, Wendy (Friedlander) Doane, Sally, and Katie — and have remained close ever since that trip. Very close. This year marks the 50th anniversary of their trip, an occasion they marked this August with a trip into the Boundary Waters, straight out of YMCA Camp Widjiwagan.

But it all stems back to that moment, 50 summers ago. In 1973, Camp Widjiwagan’s Voyageur trip was 40 days for the male campers and 23 days for the female campers. That didn’t sit right with Katie, who was set to lead that trip. Title IX had been enacted the year before, and the cause for equal opportunity was sweeping the country.

Katie, determined to make a change, went to then-Camp Director Armand Ball, and argued that girls were capable of doing the same trip as the boys. With some convincing, he agreed. Soon after, Katie was asked to organize the first 30-day Voyageur trip for women. The women on that trip were well-trained, had been prepared by previous trips with knowledgeable guides and were ready for a groundbreaking trip.

That’s how it came to be later that summer, the GV73 women set off on a 30-day adventure that would end up stretching into the next 50 years (and beyond).

From Hatchet Lake to Uranium City

The group traveled from Camp Widjiwagan to Winnipeg and then took a train north. Their canoes were stored in the cargo area, but there weren’t any passenger cars, and so they rode overnight in the caboose with the engineers. When they arrived in Lynn Lake in Manitoba, a bush pilot took three of the ladies and one canoe attached to the pontoons of the plane and dropped them at Hatchet Lake (and then repeated the process). This was the first time Widjiwagan had flown female campers in for a trip.

They launched their canoes from Hatchet Lake along the Fond du Lac River and spent the first half of the trip completely cut off from civilization. The first person they encountered was a senator from Iowa and his fishing guide. According to Wendy, “They were catching 30-inch trout and throwing back anything that was smaller than 20 pounds!”

Keelin explained, “The peace and quiet, the solitude, the chance to travel with the sun, eat when you are hungry, to sing under the stars with your friends, to live for just a while in the great green north. ... People who haven’t done it can’t see the appeal, but those who know, nod in understanding.”

The women were prepared for challenges and hardship. On the first set of rapids, out of caution, they portaged their gear first, reasoning that if they swamped, they would still have food. But they didn’t have a problem on those rapids, nor the ones that followed. Their confidence grew, as did their ability to communicate with few words.

The campers were 17, Katie as the leader was just seven years older. They felt invincible. They were ready, willing, and strong. They relied on the knowledge and experience they had gained from Widji counselors and guides from summers before. The influence those leaders had was a foundation that prepared them for this trip.

Their trip ended at Uranium City midway down the north shore of Lake Athabasca in Northern Saskatchewan.

A seven-mile cliff rose on the northern shore east of Uranium City. Knowing that if a wind came up as they paddled past it, they would find no landing, they stayed up all night to paddle in the calm pre-dawn hours. “I can’t stress how daunting these cliffs were!” remembers Wendy. “If it had been windy at all, we wouldn’t have been able to paddle.”

The Northern Lights filled the sky with bright color. They sang and paddled until the shimmering green and blue night sky gave way for the sunrise and completed their journey at dawn. When they got to the dock, they hauled in their gear and all curled up and fell asleep. Wendy explained, “When the people who worked at the docks arrived in the morning, they found us all asleep. They took us in, cooked us meals and took us on a boat to go water skiing. They were so kind. We were grateful, but also a little sad to be back to civilization.”

The 50th Anniversary Reunion Trip

On Aug. 14 this summer, Widjiwagan was buzzing with energy from just-arrived campers, eager to start their adventures in the week ahead. Keelin, Sally and Wendy arrived at camp, ready to embark on their 50th anniversary trip the following day, with the other women unable to participate this year.

During after-dinner announcements, Camp Widjiwagan Executive Director Matt Poppleton introduced the group who showed off their original Voyager sashes. Director of Alumni Philanthropy Natalie King presented replica paddles (smaller versions of the original that hangs in the Trips building) to commemorate the
anniversary. Afterwards, campers and staff surrounded the women, eager to talk. They walked through camp, reminiscing and telling stories, learning about recent updates to camp from Matt.

Wendy shared, “meeting the current campers and counselors was a highlight for me. That is a part of me that most of the people in my current life know nothing about, and yet the experience forged me into who I am today.”

The following morning, they set off for a five-day journey, beginning with a Lake One entry point. Keelin noted, “It was easy to be together. You just start from where you are.”

Sally said she “loved being back in the Boundary Waters, the feel of paddle in her hand, gliding across the water, never knowing what is on the other side of the portages, being with longtime friends, and even though we hadn’t canoed together in five years, we very quickly slipped back into the same camaraderie. Everyone knows what to do.”

In an after-trip email, Wendy said, “the trail clothes are washed and folded. The trail boots drying out and ready for some oil. The reunion trip to Widji and the BWCA with lifetime friends is over; but the warm, happy, and proud feelings are very much alive and with me. The ‘proud’ feelings come from seeing Camp Widji today and all that it has become. There has been a lot of vision work and real respect for what has come before. The Widji spirit and way is alive and well.” 

And they’ve already started talking about another trip for next year.