Trips and Activities

"Our sons have learned that trying new things is just as important as competition,
and they return home with new self-confidence in all that they've accomplished."
—Pine Island Parent

TRIPS

Over 40 canoe, kayak, and hiking trips go out from Pine Island each summer, taking boys from the summits of New Hampshire's White Mountains to the border river between Maine and New Brunswick. For the youngest campers there are two- or three-day trips to learn fundamental camping skills, while older, more experienced boys may go for as long as a week into wild country.

Each boy chooses his trips with guidance from the staff. Easier trips are offered early in the summer to build stamina and confidence. Much of the preparation takes place in the woodcraft program at camp, where fire building, first aid, and cooking skills are taught to all campers to make them comfortable and capable of contributing on trips.

Self-reliance and community cooperation are developed and strengthened on the trail, where a group of eight boys and two counselors depend on each other to perform well. At least one counselor on each trip is licensed by the State of Maine as a trip leader, and at least one staff member on each trip also has the Wilderness First Responder certification.

Older boys are expected to act maturely and help younger campers learn the basics. Campers are taught from the beginning to respect the privacy of other hikers, and for this reason Pine Island has a solid reputation with trail supervisors.

Pine Island also offers trips of an educational nature, most notably to our saltwater outpost on a coastal island. A life-saving station in the 1800s, the island is still home to an active lighthouse as well as many acres of undeveloped forest, tide pools, and clam flats. Here boys learn about Maine's coastal history, flora and marine fauna, and sample Maine lobster straight from the pot.

ACTIVITIES

Pine Island offers an array of daily activities for campers when they are not on camping trips. A camper is allowed to select his activities each day. All activities offer a series of ranks that a camper can achieve through perseverance and with the guidance of the staff. This motivates boys without competition and allows them to chart their own progress throughout the season. The lack of competition has proven over time to be a critical component in boys gaining self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment.

On the waterfront ...

SWIMMING
An island is a natural place to learn water sports and skills. Pine Island makes the most of its environment and exposes boys to the basic keystones of competency and safety on the water as soon as they arrive at camp. Every boy is encouraged to strengthen his swimming skills at Pine Island. The swimming program follows Red Cross standards and ranges from beginning courses to life-saving and basic rescue. Special attention is given to non-swimmers. In addition to instructional periods, every boy is required to achieve the rank of beginner at a minimum. There are two general swim periods every day, during which three lifeguards are on duty.

ROWING
Handling a rowboat becomes second nature to almost every Pine Islander. Sound rowing technique is the first step to good seamanship, and rowing is a source of pleasure and exercise unknown to the youth who lives with an outboard at his back. Our rowing fleet includes nine wooden boats custom designed and built for PIC, and a single scull. As with all boating activities, life jackets are required at all times.

KAYAKING AND CANOEING
Kayaking and canoeing instruction prepares campers for safe trips on lakes and rivers throughout Maine. Kayaks are excellent craft for younger boys; they are responsive, easy to handle, and lots of fun. Canoe trips can last up to 7 days, though we offer many shorter trips of varying difficulty over the summer. At camp, boys learn the basics of canoe safety and rescue.

SAILING
Hundreds of boys have learned to sail at Pine Island. Great Pond is a large lake, 32 miles around, with islands and bays that invite sailing excursions. The sailing program is designed to accommodate absolute novices, who increase in rank with the staff's guidance. Advanced sailors at Pine Island will know the rules of racing, how to repair both wood and fiberglass boats, and how to splice, read charts and tide tables, and navigate. PIC owns a fleet of two JY-15's and two custom-made Sloan 12 1/2 wooden catboats.

FLY FISHING
Great Pond is one of Maine's premier smallmouth bass fishing lakes, a perfect place for boys to learn to fish both with spinning gear and with fly rods.  Fly fishing is offered as a full-fledged activity at Pine Island with a counselor dedicated to it.  The camp owns a number of fly rods and reels and all the gear necessary for tying flies.  During a typical fly fishing activity boys can learn the basics of fly casting or fly tying.   Many boys have caught big bass on flies they have tied themselves.

Beyond the waterfront ...

In addition to our waterfront program, Pine Island also offers an array of land-based activities. As with our other activities, the objective in our non-waterfront activities is to encourage personal responsibility and fulfillment through a sustained, disciplined method.

SHOP
The Shop epitomizes this deliberate approach towards mastery of a skill. PIC's workshop is equipped with a collection of hand tools for working with wood. The object is for boys to become familiar with all the basic hand tools through completing projects that they chose from a list provided. These projects range from a simple toolbox or coat rack, to a model sailboat that can take a whole season to complete.

RIFLERY AND ARCHERY
In riflery and archery, the standards of marksmanship, safety, and instruction are the highest. As in other activities, both programs offer the opportunity to earn rankings and insignia, but the emphasis is on each boy's improvement of his own record rather than constant competition with others.

TENNIS
We have two professionally maintained clay tennis courts on the mainland. Individual instruction gives confidence to the beginner, while coaching and a tennis ladder whet the skills of advanced players.

WOODCRAFT
Pine Island's woodcraft program teaches boys the basic camping skills they'll need on our many trips. Boys can learn basic axemanship, fire building, first aid, emergency shelter construction, leave-no-trace techniques and much more. Achievement in woodcraft at Pine Island culminates in the Maine Woodsman and Junior Maine Woodsman certification program, which includes in-camp instruction, followed by a supervised 3-day trip where campers construct their own sleeping shelters, cook all the food themselves, and pass numerous examinations in essential camping skills.