The Next Steps

Teaching Yoga on Silha Porch with Grace Getchell

Welcome to the next chapter of the Portage to Camp story.  My name is Lia Allen and I was a camper and counselor for 12 years along with my brother, Khaled Allen, and my dad, many years ago, Charles Allen.  Let's just say that us Allens love us some Camp Warren.  You can find us still on a plaque on the riding arena.  Khaled and I were active members in the riding program and even worked the horse program when we got to be on staff.  When offered the opportunity to give back to camp, and specifically the riding program, we couldn't have been more excited to donate that riding pavilion.

I was probably 18 years old then. My contribution was more sheer excitement rather than actual donation. I'm now 26 and I want to give back in my own, more direct way.  Camp has been the one consistent part of my life since I was 7 years old.  My family moved A LOT during my childhood, but Warren was always there for me.  Even now, many years later, Camp has provided me with friends wherever I go, a community of amazing people who love and support each other, and opportunities to have adventures and grow.

When Ryan and Reid carried that canoe and pack all the way to Warren 2 years ago, I was pretty impressed that you could do something like that and people would help pay for kids to go to camp. Beyond impressed, I was thoroughly inspired! So why not extend the plan?  Why not make it my own? I'm more of a backpacker now than a canoer, but I want to help bring the magic of Warren to kids who might not be able to normally go.  The friendships, the open-minded community, the inspiration, the connection with nature, and all the amazing people and places should be accessible to kids who want to go and people should KNOW about it!

That consistent connection with nature allowed me to find so much more happiness, stability, and truth than I believe I ever would have found without it. And so, with that introduction, I'm publicly announcing the continuation of Portage to Camp through my trek across the Continental Divide Trail.  It's a 2,600-3,100 mile journey (the official route isn't actually complete so milages vary depending on which way you go) from the border of Mexico to Canada.  This will take me from April to September and my goal to make people aware of how important a place like Warren is to young people and adults alike.  I want to be able to help more kids go to camp and make more people see why it is important.

I'll be updating this blog pretty regularly so please follow along as I tell stories of preparation, trail adventures, awesome friends who will be joining me along the way, and an inevitable conclusion in September.  I'm getting more and more excited and I hope you are too!

Love and hugs from Chicago!

Day 23-26: Homestretch

The last four days we went from Marble to Nashwauk to Kelly Lake to Hibbing to Eveleth. This stretch of the Mesabi Trail has been impressive. Rolling hills, mine pits, and pine forests surrounded us. We are truly in north country and are enjoying the fresh, crisp air.

The past few days we have had a few camp friends come say hi to us and show their support. As we mentioned previously the girls came to visit is in Marble. The next night Dave Searl made the treck to Nashwauk to see how we were doing and to catch up. When we stayed on Kelly Lake, Meghan stopped by to hear our stories.

Tomorrow is our last day, and with all the commotion going on at camp with our arrival and the start of another Warren summer, now would be a good time to summarize the trip.

This trip has been an eye opening experience, one that we will never forget. It has been exciting, fun, difficult, painstaking, and at times monotonous. There have been stretches of beautiful landscapes, and stretches of busy highways and city noise. We have seen the multitude of positives that small-town MN has to offer. Abe and I have spent both hours laughing and hours in silence. We have had the same conversations over and over again thinking that they may turn out different this time around.

If we had to choose one takeaway from the trip it would be that there are still so many people out there who are willing to lend a hand to a complete stranger, out of the kindness of their own heart. We would like to thank many of those people now, knowing this trip would have been dramatically more difficult without you: Jen and Jan in Bowlus, Vinnie and his family in Brainerd, Dave the farmer, Jim in Little Falls, Matt in Marble, Mike in Crosby, the Durhams in Grand Rapids, our parents, Tommy, Marlee, Villano, Pom, Greg Pomerantz, Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace. We would like to give a special thanks to Meghan Cosgrove and Dave Searl for helping us every step of the way. And finally to everyone who supported us in sending nearly 15 more kids to Camp Warren this summer!

Camp Warren will always have a special spot in our hearts. Portaging 300-miles is the least we could do to give back to a place that has given us so much over the years. To all the past and present Warren staff we want to thank you for everything that you have done and continue to do to make camp a truly magical place. Here's to the next 85 years!

Nothin' to it, but to do it.

Day 22: Marble Boys

The portage from Bovey to Marble was scenic but uneventful. Around lunch we were contacted by Courtney, Allison, MJ, and Fish who were hoping to camp with us that night. The idea of hanging out with some of our favorite camp people made the afternoon hike go by in a flash. We arrived in Marble in late afternoon and quickly met a few locals. We asked them about camping options in the area and one of them said there was an off-the-beaten-path camp site on a old mine pit. This sounded like a great option for us and the four girls.

The six of us were joined by our new friend Matt and a couple of his buddies from the town. MJ brought her guitar and we had an epic sing along with the whole crew. Definitely one of the best nights of the trip!

Tomorrow we are off to Nashwauk.

Nothin' to it, but to do it

Day 21: Bovey and Durham

Today was our first day on the Mesabi trail. We immediately noticed the trail was more hilly than the county road walking we had been doing, however we welcomed the secluded aspect of the trail as opposed to the shoulder. The trail went by many mine pits which had crystal blue water hundreds of feet deep.

We ended the day in Bovey and were lucky enough to get picked up by our friend Durham and head up to his cabin. We had a wonderful time with his family and friends eating, chatting, and laughing.

We are entering our final week of portaging and are looking forward to arriving at camp on Friday!

Nothin' to it, but to do it

Day 19 - 20: Entering Grand Rapids

Day 19: the Mosquitos have officially hatched! We started bright and early and much to our dismay were swarmed with Mosquitos, especially under the boat. There were many reasons why we began our adventure in early May. Getting as many miles under our belt before the bugs got bad was definitely one of them. We are happy we made it 19 days with no problems. The day was warm and a relatively easy day all around.

We paddled to a campsite on the Mississippi. On first glance from the water it looked like a rundown site. Once we had pulled out of the water and walked up the hill we realized the site was very well maintained. There was plenty of wood already chopped and stacked. We have also apparently entered bear country! The site had a nice bear locker which helped keep our gear and food safe and dry. We had to spend some of the evening in the tent during storms, but were able to make it for a few hours to enjoy a large fire and some dinner.


Day 20: We went to bed last night with predictions of severe thunderstorms. However, we woke up well rested and concluded that the storm had never materialized. The sky was cloudy and it had definitely rained most the night, but at the moment no precipitation fell. We packed up camp quickly and paddled back to the water access point we had left off at the day before. We knew we had been pushing fairly long days throughout the trip to give us some flexibility on the back end of the trip, and today would be no exception. If we portaged between 12-14 miles we would be in Grand Rapids by late afternoon.

The day proceeded without a hitch. Although fatigued from the last week, we kept moral high through the pouring rain in the morning and were grateful for the sunshine in the afternoon. As planned we made it to Grand Rapids! We are really coming down to the home stretch. Tomorrow will be a day off to rest our feet.

Nothin' to it, but to do it.

Day 17 - 18: GTL (Gawkers, Ticks, Laughter)

Day 17: overall the day was uneventful. A couple stopped to ask if we needed help and they gave us some directions. We couldn't help but notice that the lady in passenger seat couldn't stop laughing at us and was trying hard to conceal it. We continued on our way asking ourselves if we should feel badly that she was laughing at us?

As we came to the last mile of our day a truck stopped and asked if we needed a place to stay. He said his land was half-mile down and we were free to setup where we would like. We chose to sleep in the pole barn since a storm was supposedly on it's way. Dave (the farmer) was headed out fishing until dusk and told us the house was open. Another trusting person to add to the list. When he got home we stopped over to say hi and give our thanks. He had caught 6 Walleye. We had a lengthy chat and then headed off to bed.

Day 18: We left Dave's bright and early and headed on our way up River Road. The weather was warm and sunny. We had a great time grooving to tunes and hiking 11 miles. Saw a few tree farms today; it has been nice to notice and appreciate aspects of farm country while traveling on foot. Our friend Hal came up to camp with us tonight. Cooked brats over the fire. Two days till Grand Rapids!

Nothin' to it, but to do it

Day 16 - Portage 2.0

Today starts the second half of our trip! We got a ride back up to where we left off after a great wedding the day before. It was fun to catch up with so many camp people we hadn't seen in years.

We pushed hard today and made it up to a camp ground around Palisade. The camp ground was more busy than normal since it is Memorial Day weekend. Strangely enough we met a couple who said they used to live on Half Moon lake! What a small world moment considering the town of Palisade houses only 167 people.

Since Brainerd we feel we have entered the north country. Towns are getting smaller and we are seeing fewer people every day. It's refreshing to be in the great wide open.

Nothin' to it, but to do it.