Bogrim Etgar: A Great Success!

Bogrim Etgar was a great success!  Bogrim campers spent two challenging days in
the outdoors.  Campers were divided up
into groups of their choice where they were able to hone their hiking,
canoeing, kayaking, white water rafting skills and they had a blast.  While each group emphasized a different
outdoor challenge, all groups  used team
work to  support eachother through the
challenges they faced. Groups  learned  how to start a fire ( though they were pretty
confident about their Marshmallows  roasting abilities), to cook dinner in the
outdoors and  to pitch tents.  Below, are two excerpts  written by counselors who led the River
Canoeing group and the Biking group, to give you a taste of the Bogrim  Etgar
experience.

“River Canoeing for two days was quite an exciting challenge.
On the first day, we learned how to paddle, steer, and flip over capsized
canoes. After our canoe tutorial we had time to swim and play in the river with
our friends, we then canoed  FIVE MILES
to our camp site where we pitched our tents and cooked dinner.  There is nothing like macaroni and cheese
cooked on an outdoor fire!  After dinner we had time to sit around the fire and became well aquainted with Smoreos (smore
+ oreo= smoreo).  It tastes as good as it
sounds.  Around the fire we reflected on
the day’s events and discussed what our goals were for day two. The next morning,
we woke up with the sun, prayed the morning service in nature and canoed six miles! 
Through being challenged to participate in so many activities outside of
our normal routine, we learned so much about ourselves and eachother.  We worked together as a team and through that
experience made new friendships.”

-Sammy Levenfeld and Shira Weinstein

“The biking Etgar trip was so much fun! On our first
day, our campers used a map to navigate our bike route.  We hiked many miles of steep mountains and
were able to conclude the day with an EPIC downhill, which was welcomed with
open arms.  After a full day of biking,
we cooled off and relaxed in a pond near our campsite.  After a full, challenging day, we spent day
two on paved roads and stopped at another lovely pond for lunch. Our biking
trip, on the way back to camp, was unexpectedly delayed  by the seven turkeys crossing the road. We
invited them to join us, be they declined. 
To complete our trip, we stopped at Rondeu’s (our local ice cream parlor), a biking etgar tradition,
where we enjoyed lots ice cream!  There is
nothing like a cold cup of ice cream after two challenging days of  biking. 
We biked back into camp, where we arrived to a group of Bogrimers
cheering us on. What a fulfilling trip!’

-Naomi Druy, Jeremy Halpern and Sam Doernberg