Where the Trail Led

There are moments in life we remember fondly, and then there are experiences that quietly shape the way we move through the world.

For five YMCA Camp Widjiwagan alumni, some of those defining moments happened deep in the wilderness. They spent days paddling across remote lakes, carrying canoes over rocky portages, climbing to the tops of mountains, cooking meals over camp stoves, and navigating challenges that couldn’t be solved with a quick internet search or a call home.

Along the way, they learned how to lead without dominating, persevere through discomfort, trust their teammates, and adapt when plans changed.

Years later, their lives and careers look very different. One studies snowpack in the Arctic. Another helps couples navigate life’s challenges. One built a nature-based retreat destination in West Texas. Another leads a philanthropic foundation. A recent graduate even devoted her senior capstone project to understanding the culture of Widji itself.

Like decades of campers before them, they became familiar with the lyrics of a favorite camp song: “Oh the years they come, our paths will seldom mingle, and each one of us will go our way alone. And the comradeship that we have shown each other, keep us Widjiwagan ever known.”

Little did they know those words would come to hold deep truth. Because despite their divergent paths, each of them points to the same place when asked where many of those core skills first took root: the trail.

When Kate Hale completed her Voyageur trip, she realized she wanted a life that combined science, adventure, and time outdoors.

That aspiration eventually led her to graduate school at the University of Colorado-Boulder and, later, to a career as a snow hydrologist studying snowpack, climate, and water availability across alpine and Arctic landscapes.

Looking back, she sees a direct connection between her work today and her years at Widji.

“Widji showed me how to do hard things, love doing hard things, connect authentically with others and myself, and want to be outside doing something bigger than myself,” she says. “When I think about where I am professionally and personally, it all originates from Widji.”

Today, as a professor and academic advisor, she finds herself playing a role similar to the counselors and mentors who helped shape her own journey.

Sarah Rothstein

Founder, The Charmadillo
Camper 2003–2009 | Staff 2010–2014

Sarah Rothstein spent years working in luxury hospitality, before a year-long trip to New Zealand to dive deeper into the world of eco-lodging.

Those experiences eventually inspired her to purchase 44 acres in Central Texas and create The Charmadillo, a nature-based lodging and event destination built around a vision of hospitality rooted in nature and community.

When she describes her vision, it sounds remarkably familiar.

“I created The Charmadillo to be a space where people could reconnect with themselves, nature, and their fellow travelers. Widji was the first place where I experienced the depth of that kind of connection, and I feel incredibly honored to have created a place where others can experience that feeling too.”

For Sarah, the values she experienced at Widji didn’t stay in the wilderness. Rather, they became the foundation for the kind of place she became passionate about creating for others.

When Kelsey Hunt graduated from college, she wasn’t entirely sure what came next.

After several years working in optometry, an unexpected opportunity emerged during the pandemic. Her cousins were launching a foundation and asked her to help lead it. Today, she serves as executive director of the Rock Rose Foundation, which supports organizations working to advance equitable access to food, housing, education, and healthcare.

Throughout those transitions, Widji remained a constant for her.

“When I was lost and unsure of my career, I felt like I always had Widji as a landing spot,” she says. “I’ve been drawn to value-centric jobs and communities because my time at Widji was so formative.”

The leadership lessons she learned as a camper continue to guide her today.

“Widji taught me that there are so many ways to be a leader — and they all have value.”

Nancy Brittain originally planned to become a lawyer. Then she took a job leading wilderness therapy trips. That experience changed everything.

Today, she owns a therapy practice in Colorado, supporting individuals and couples while leading a growing team of clinicians. The connection to Widji is obvious to her.

“Leading a trip, you get so much experience in group dynamics,” she says. “You have to keep track of morale, address conflicts, and have caring but direct conversations.”

One lesson in particular has stuck with her. “Being able to endure discomfort while keeping it light is an important lesson in how I lead today.”

The wilderness taught her that growth often comes through challenge, something she now helps others navigate every day.

Most college students don’t write a senior capstone project about a camp they attended. Colleen Maloney felt compelled to do exactly that.

After discovering anthropology at Macalester College, she became fascinated by the idea of culture, how communities develop shared values, traditions, language, and ways of seeing the world. Naturally, her research turned toward a place she knew well: Camp Widjiwagan.

As she interviewed alumni and staff, one phrase surfaced repeatedly: “The Widji Way.”

Everyone recognized it. No one defined it quite the same way. The more she studied it, the more she realized that Widji’s influence isn’t found in a single tradition or philosophy. Instead, it lives in the attitudes, habits, relationships, and values that alumni carry with them long after leaving camp.

“My relationship with Widji is a place I love so much and a place I want to change in a positive way,” she says. “People within a community need to stay involved and keep trying.”

More Than a Destination

The careers are different. The journeys are different. The destinations are different. Yet each of these alumni directs their story back to the same wilderness experiences as they reflect on who they have become. Widji didn’t chart a single path for them to follow. Instead, it gave them the confidence to find their own. Whether studying Arctic snowpack, building community through philanthropy, creating spaces for connection, helping others navigate life’s challenges, or exploring the culture of camp itself, each carries forward lessons first learned on trail.

Because the true impact of Widji isn’t measured in miles paddled or portages completed. It’s measured in the lives shaped along the way.