PNW – The Story of Camp Chi Exodus
An adventure awaits, are you ready? Thousands of years ago today, the Jewish people set out on a journey from Egypt that would take them 40 years to ultimately end up in the land of Israel. While we are uncertain if Moses framed the exodus to our ancestors in these terms, what we can tell you is that whether or not they knew it at the time, on that day, they embarked on what certainly became an adventure of a lifetime. Tonight, as we gather to celebrate Passover and re-tell the story of how the Jews, who were once slaves in Egypt, became a free nation by wandering in the desert, there are almost 100 Chi teens preparing for an adventure of their own.
In case you don’t know, today also marks 100 days until PNW begins! The Pacific Northwest Trip is a 5-week outdoor adventure program for campers going into 9th and 10th grade. The trip travels from Camp Chi westward through South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington State before heading North into Canada. Once in the Great White North, the trip goes through the Canadian Rocky Mountains, then heads back south, crossing the border into Montana and going back east to return home to Camp Chi. Along the way campers get to experience the wilderness, try new outdoor activities, and challenge themselves.
Like the Israelites, PNW campers sleep in portable shelters (aka tents), they learn to brave the elements (PNW has things like rain, heat and wind, not things like locusts, darkness and hail) and spend their days counting their 10,000 steps by hiking through the wilderness, cooking over an open fire (except our bread rises) and bonding as a community through shared experiences (the Israelites had eating manna and receiving the ten commandments, while on PNW we have things like surfing, white water rafting and getting the tourist feel for some major cities). Going on PNW creates memories that will last a lifetime and stories that they will retell to their families and friends for many years to come (and we don’t even have to deal with plagues!) The only difference is that PNW travels over 5000 miles (thank you, Lamers Bus Company) in 40 days (when you include staff training) while the Israelites took 40 years to journey 381 miles!
So just as Moses said to the Israelites, we say unto you – get ready, pack your bags, and let this adventure begin! (That’s a loose translation of what he said, we weren’t there to verify, but hopefully you get the gist.)
Be excited, PNW, is almost here!!!