Camp Pathfinder is a boys'

Summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

Algonquin Provincial Park Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Can ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The camp is best known for its

canoe tripping Canoe camping, also known as touring, tripping or expedition canoeing, is a combination of canoeing and camping. Like backpacking, canoe campers carry enough with them to travel and camp for several days, but do so via a canoe or kayak. Descri ...

program. Pathfinder follows a tradition of using wood and canvas canoes. Several other camps in Algonquin and elsewhere follow a similar tradition of tripping with, building and restoring canvas canoes. Pathfinder's canoes are painted a distinctive bright red. The current owners are Glenn Arthurs and Michael Sladden. Mike Sladden or “Sladds” as many call him, serves as Camp Director.

History

Camp Pathfinder was founded in 1914 by William Bennett and Franklin Gray. In 1922, the camp was sold to Herman J. "Chief" Norton, who became one of Pathfinder's most influential owners. Pathfinder was almost shut down or sold to the Ontario Provincial Government when the government told Norton the lease for the camp (and the others in the park as well) would not be renewed. The government later renewed the lease and the camp (and all the others in the park) remained in operation. Since then, owners or co-owners have included Frank J. Horton, Bill Swift, Roy Thrall, Mac Rand, Glenn Arthurs, and Michael Sladden. Camp Pathfinder is located on Source Lake, in Algonquin Provincial Park, just more than a mile away from Highway 60. Source Lake is an access point to the Algonquin Park canoe route system. There are no campsites on Source Lake. There are, however, a few residential cabins and the camp itself on the lake. The camp is located on an island in the lake, commonly referred to as Camp Pathfinder Island or "CPI". On the opening days of each session, the whole camp meets at the new council ring, and a meeting introducing the camp session is held. This meeting, and other aspects of the camp, have a number of traditions. For example, there is a site believed be the grave of a man known as "Algonquin Joe", and it is traditional to put a fallen leaf on the site. The camp also features a ropes course and climbing walls. Recently, the camp completed its 100th season.Brandon Kilijansk
" Camp Pathfinder’s golden anniversary"
, ''

Amherst Bee The ''Amherst Bee'' is an American, English language newspaper established in 1879 which serves the Buffalo and Williamsville area of New York, and is part of the Bee Group Newspapers Bee Group Newspapers are a family of suburban newspapers publi ...

'', April 16, 2014.

Canoe tripping

Pathfinder has an extensive

program. Trip duration and destination vary by the age group of the campers on the trip. The youngest campers normally stay within the boundaries of

Algonquin Park Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canad ...

or very close to it. The older campers ('Bears' or 'AA's') venture on longer and more challenging trips with varying destinations. Some trip destinations outside of Algonquin Park have included: *

Albany River Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: *Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name * Albany, Western Australia, port city in the Great Southern Albany may also refer to ...

*Ashewig River *

Attawapiskat River The Attawapiskat River () is a river in Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada, that flows east from Attawapiskat Lake to James Bay. It is the third largest river entirely in Ontario. Course The Attawapiskat River travels a distance ...

–

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost p ...

* Big East River *

Bloodvein River The Bloodvein River is a river in Canada. It flows west from its headwaters in Red Lake in northwest Ontario to the east side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba through the boreal forests of the Canadian Shield. It is around long. Lakes along its le ...

–

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Its southern end is about north of ...

* Broadback River *

Coulonge River The Coulonge River (; ) is a predominantly wilderness river in western Quebec, Canada. One of a dozen or so significant tributaries of the Ottawa River, it has a length of and a drainage area of , and runs in a general south-eastern direction fro ...

–

Noire River Noire River or Rivière Noire may refer to: North America * Grande rivière Noire or Big Black River (Saint John River tributary), in Maine, United States, and Quebec, Canada * Noire River (L'Assomption River tributary), Matawinie, Lanaudière, ...

* Dumoine River *

Harricana River The Harricana River (french: Rivière Harricana) (also known as Harricanaw River) is a river in western Quebec and northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is long, has a drainage area of , and has a mean discharge of . While 80% of its drainage area is ...

Lady Evelyn River The Lady Evelyn River is a river in Nipissing, Sudbury and Timiskaming Districts, Ontario, Canada. The river begins at the confluence of the North and South Lady Evelyn Rivers and flows to its mouth at the Montreal River. It lies mostly in L ...

– Temagami River *

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

–

Michipicoten River The Michipicoten River is a river in Algoma District of northern Ontario, Canada, which flows from Dog Lake and joins with the Magpie River to empty into Michipicoten Bay on Lake Superior near the town of Wawa. This river is in length (includ ...

–

Missinaibi River The Missinaibi River is a river in northern Ontario, Canada, which flows northeast from Missinaibi Lake, north of Chapleau, and empties into the Moose River, which drains into James Bay. This river (including Missinaibi Lake and Moose River t ...

–

Lake Temagami Lake Temagami, formerly spelled as Lake Timagami, is a lake in Nipissing District in northeastern Ontario, Canada, situated approximately 80 km north of North Bay. The lake's name comes from ''dimii-agamiing'' "tih-MEE-uh-guh-MEENG", which m ...

Magnetawan River The Magnetawan River is a long river in Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. The river flows 175 km from its source of Magnetawan Lake inside Algonquin Provincial Park to empty into Georgian Bay at the community of Britt on Byng Inlet. ...

– Moose River–

– Lake Superior Provincial Park– Sand River–

Nastapoka river The Nastapoka River is a tributary of East coast of Hudson Bay, flowing in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in Quebec, Canada. This river is one of the most important rivers of Nord-du-Québec, the 39th of Quebec because its wate ...

Mistassibi River The Mistassibi River is a river in central Quebec, Canada. It is long and has a drainage basin of . Its source is an area with unnamed lakes about east of Canso Bay of Lake Albanel, eastern neighbor of Lake Mistassini. The name ''Mistassibi'', ...

Rupert River The Rupert River is one of the largest rivers in Quebec, Canada. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Quebec, it flows west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of . There is some extremely la ...

* Severn River– Fawn River– Pipestone River * White River– Pukaskwa–

Winisk River The Winisk River is a river in northern Ontario, Canada, that starts at Wunnummin Lake and flows east to Winisk Lake. From there it continues in a mostly northly direction to Hudson Bay. The Winisk River is long and has a drainage basin of . T ...

References

External links

*
Canvas Canoe Fleets
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pathfinder, Camp Organizations based in Ontario Camp Pathfinder Summer camps in Canada Buildings and structures in Nipissing District 1914 establishments in Ontario