Greetings from Wentworth!

It’s been another busy and fun stretch here at Pemi, with the programming continuing at pace and the boys enjoying everything camp has to offer. We’ve had beautiful projects created down at Art World and in the wood shop, sublime performances at campfire, boys zipping across Lower Baker Pond on Sunfish and Lasers, and scores of awards earned down on the archery range. Our full session boys have been cruising along at full speed for over a month now, but even our second session campers may as well have been here all summer at this point. Every boy in camp seems to be operating with the confidence and ease of a Pemi veteran, in no small part thanks to the leadership constantly on display from our older and veteran boys. We had a fun and heartwarming Junior/Senior Campfire, and this group of 14- and 15-year-olds has really taken the idea of mentorship and leadership to heart.

With our annual competition against our friends at Camp Tecumseh coming up on Friday (it’s the oldest intercamp rivalry in the country; details at the end on how to follow along with results), our oldest boys have risen to the occasion, confidently and purposefully assuming more visible leadership roles throughout camp. From Johnny Thibault announcing extra swim practices; Noah Katz meeting with baseball pitchers of all ages; Alex Fernandez teaching Pemi cheers; 14s Emmitt Baggish, Sam Weber, River Morgan, and Sam Chapin leading morning calisthenics on Intermediate Hill; to 15s such as Noah Littman, Vittorio Campanile, Adam Aronis, Ryan Aronis, Will Bixby, Bryce Madom and others meeting with each age group, our oldest boys have been building the energy and momentum for our annual competition.

Best of all, however, they’ve been strengthening our spirit of camaraderie and community. Tecumseh Day may serve as the highlight of our athletics calendar, but it comes at only the midway point of the second session and with two full weeks of camp left afterwards. The effort the boys put in now towards working on a camp-wide goal will undoubtedly pay dividends well beyond Friday. Our 15s are intentionally building closer bonds with campers of all ages, mentoring and looking out for them, and this won’t end with Tecumseh Day. As our staff and older guys have consistently reminded the community, the magic of this week of preparation really rests on continuing to take full advantage of all that Pemi has to offer before, during, and after this week. Read on for a further glimpse into just some of what that’s entailed since last Wednesday!

On Thursday afternoon our 12s had the opportunity to play tennis against nearby Camp Lanakila over in Vermont. While we don’t play sports with Lanakila as frequently as our other neighbors, we always appreciate the chance to get some extra and different competitive opportunities in. The group of Kieran Clark, Hudson Eng, Eddie Horn, Finn Shapiro, Connor Pike, Hunter Blauer, Manolo Sevillano Luque, Parker Brown, Michale Vitale, Jasper Gandhi, and Colin McLean earned a 4-3 victory in a very close match. Lanakila was up 3-1 with four matches finished, but the Pemi crew kept at it and closed out the final three matches of the afternoon. Finn earned praise for grinding out a very hard-fought win, as did Wade and Parker, but really it was the full team effort that helped push the boys over the edge.

Continuing with tennis action, on Monday we had two teams head over to Walt Whitman for a late afternoon match. The 15s group consisted of Rudi Wei, Will Bixby, Vittorio Campanile, Sam Chapin, Noah Littman, Alex Fernandez, Sam Weber, River Morgan, Adam Aronis, and Ryan Aronis and the 11s brought over Henry Howe, Ariyan Gandhi, Will Fritts, Jack Moskoff, Declan McGovern, James Wasnick, Walker Seidel, Pepe Sevillano Luque, Sebby Richards, and Declan Donohoe. The 15s cruised to victory, as did the 11s who won 6-1 on the back of strong play from #1 singles player Walker and the #1 doubles combo of Sebby and Jack.

On Thursday a group of 13-year-olds headed up to the Greenleaf Hut with staff members Will Meinke and Colin Ross. The crew of Lazar Kazim, Mounir Abdelkarim, Nate Lavelle, Benjamin Welch, Shields Waitzkin, Julian King, Alex Ivanov, and Asher Brown enjoyed the trek up before settling in at the hut for a delicious, hot, freshly cooked dinner courtesy of the AMC hut “croo.” On the second day of their trip, the boys experienced the reality of weather in the White Mountains: things can change quickly, and a beautiful Thursday doesn’t say anything about what Friday will look like. They woke up to overcast skies and storms in the area. After consulting with the Greenleaf Hut staff, the decision was made to forego the ridge hiking and head back down the same way they came up. While disappointing for the boys that they didn’t get the full trip as planned, it was also a great learning moment about respecting weather conditions in the wilderness and how to navigate risk/reward decision making.

We also had two overnight trips go out last week to destinations outside our more regular rotation of trips. Our 2025 trip counselors have taken a special interest this session in planning new routes or going back to less frequented locales so that our full session boys can continue to explore new areas of the White Mountains and our second session boys can dive straight into some of the more remote and wild locations. Owen Walls and Austin Greenberg led a trip from the Baldface Trailhead right on the New Hampshire/Maine border, summiting both Baldface peaks and enjoying stunning views of Mt. Washington and the surrounding Presidential mountains. In addition to this being a special trip in terms of location, it also featured a wider than usual age range amongst the campers on the trip. It was an intentionally mixed age group to provide some fun mentorship and leadership opportunities, with camper ages spanning 9 to 13. The boys on the trip – Brian Lorig, Dylan Thibault, Mac Casertano, Wills Waitzkin, Timmy Lorig, James Wasnick, and Oliver Nevius – thoroughly enjoyed the experience and came back raving about both the location and the group!

Our other overnight trip included a group of 9, 10, and 11-year-olds – Landon Dow, Henry Matlack, Asher Goldring, Haben McNulty, Hibbard Brown, Walker Seidel, Hyland Butler-Scott, and Leo Schirripa – who went off to the Zealand Trailhead to hike up to Zeacliff and Mt. Zealand. Tucked away in between the Franconia and the Presidential ranges, the Zealand Trail allows boys to access a remote section of the Appalachian Trail, giving our younger boys the chance to get into some more accessible but still pristine wilderness.

We also had the return last week of the 14s canoe trip led by Reilly McCue and Helena Singleton. Reilly, a world-class naturalist, professional outdoor guide, and legendary Pemi figure for the last 35 years, provided a writeup from the trip that I’ll excerpt here:

Another fantastic Pemi trip to Maine is in the books! Over the decades and starting in 1989, I’ve been fortunate to take somewhere between 150 and 200 Pemi dudes into the wilderness of Maine. Most of these outings have been on the famed Allagash Wilderness Waterway, however, in recent years we have added a 14’s canoe trip to the Rangeley Lakes Region. In particular, our trips have been on Lake Mooselookmeguntic where we canoe from campsite to campsite along the shorelines of the Phillips Preserve. This preserve and its primitive campsites are being managed to save into perpetuity a true wilderness experience that can be accessed by all with a little physical effort and camp savvy.

Let the trip begin! Ten Pemi boys were able to go on this years trip withpriority being given to FULL season campers. The remaining few spots were filled the Pemi way, with a raffle! Helena Singleton would also be joining this year and adding her extensive canoeing and rowing experience (head of Pemi canoeing), first aid, life guarding and general awesomeness to the group…

Group cohesion was initially tested upon arrival at the put-in location and then daily as we arrived at campsites, set up new camps, took down camps, loaded and unloaded canoes in the early mornings and afternoons, canoed in close proximity during the day, organized group swimming, fishing and naturalist time periods and of course shared meals together. Each repetition within our new daily routine resulted in increased team efficiency. Canoe partners through our trip included; Zach Pierson and myself, Helena and Thomas McNelly, Tom Mele and Nikolaus Rumplymar, Nico Richards and Rudi Wei, Charlie Toomey and Sam Weber, and finally Noah Katz and Sidney Harris. Although I’m sure a variety of different pairings would have worked equally well with our stellar group, these ones worked flawlessly from the outset and were kept throughout the trip.

Some of the memories from our trip that will stay with me forever:

6 perfect hours of van riding with ten 14-year-old boys. Undoubtedly a world record that may never again be matched…or will it?… Seeing the thousands of mayfly (Hexagenia limbata) exuviae littering the surface of the water each day… First Pemi bio-blitz on Farrington Island. The photos of the lifeforms we found will be viewable for eternity on the “Pemi Nature Program” INaturalist account. Download INaturalist for free and follow the Pemi Nature program!… Our evening of fishing night #2 with the oboe-like spiraling notes of the Swainsons thrush filling the golden hour air…Charlie Toomey yelling uncontrollably, “I’ve got one!” After hooking and landing his first fish. Loons and Eagles everywhere! Charlie Toomey yellling uncontrollably, “I’ve got one!” After hooking and landing his second, third, and even fourth fish… The “chill boat” silently and efficiently just getting the job done. Pizza night! Watching leaders find their voices. Seeing the high level of teamwork setting up and taking down camp at our last site…

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this trip. A special thank you to Helena for all the help throughout. And a huge thank you to the 10 Pemi boys who made this one of my favorite weeks of 2025! I look forward to seeing what you guys can accomplish the rest of this summer, as well as the next couple of summers as 15’s and 16’s with Pemi.

For the full account of this incredible trip, check your copy of Bean Soup this winter!

On Friday the boys of Lowers 6 and 7 – Julian Blaustein, Parker Brown, Iñigo de Hoces, Hudson Eng, Wade Fleming, Sebastian Liebel, Jasper Gandhi, Jonny Hasan, Connor Pike, Bennett Purdy, Manolo Sevillano Luque, Anderson Stritar, and Michael Vitale – drove over to nearby Mt. Moosilauke for one of the premier day hikes in the Pemi trip program. Mt. Moosilauke is a rare free-standing 4,000-footer in the White Mountains, with very little elevation gain prior to getting to the mountain itself. The boys drove to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge where they set off for a loop going up Gorge Brook Trail, across the Carriage Road, and down the Snapper Trail, getting some great ridge hiking atop Moosilauke and enjoying the majestic views looking northeast towards the heart of the White Mountain National Forest.

Additionally, we had day hikes go out last week for many of our youngest campers. On Friday boys from Juniors 1 and 2 – Rhodin Bernstein, Zach Goobic, Sam Moskoff, Griffin Sears, Thomas Sullivan, Saleem Usman, Russell Follansbee, and Pierce Golay – headed to nearby Stinson Mountain for a short hike with incredible payoff at the top. The next day another group of Juniors – Santiago Losada, Andrew Ramich, Teo Ivanov, Dylan King, Charlie Moskoff, Myles Woolley, Jay Wall, Jeffrey Eng, Charles Golay, and Rafe Romine – enjoyed the same trek. Both groups had lunch on top while looking down on Lake Stinson.

We’ve had several day hikes go out this week, with trips so far to Mts. Tecumseh (Parker Brown, Julian Blaustein, Ben Comey, Sasha Honig, and Trip McNulty), Pemi (Nicholas Brown, Declan Powers, Julian Park-Jacobs, Brecken Putzel), Welch and Dickey (Cairo Clapper, Brian Lorig, Julian Park-Jacobs, Mac Casertano, Declan Powers, and Devran Efe). Pemi boys continue to get out into the mountains in droves this summer!

The Nature program has had a banner week with excursions and field work both in and out of camp. We’ve had trips to Indian Pond and the Connecticut River (Julian Blaustein and Pierce Golay), to observe tanagers on Pemi lands across the lake (Connor Smillie, Johnny Thibault, Elliott Lefebvre, Rhodin Bernstein, and Casey Vaz), for insect observation at Bischoff’s Field by Upper Baker Pond (Anderson Stritar, Julian Blaustein, Johnny Thibault, and Nicholas Brown), and for birding before breakfast (Anderson Stritar, Casey Vaz, Sebastian Liebel, Elliot Lefebvre, James Wasnick, Micha Tolbert, Brandon Lyu, Timmy Lorig, Wil Bixby, Sidney Harris, Charlie Milgrim, Nico Richards, Julian King, Nolan Shah, Tyson Madkins, and Julian Blaustein). All of these trips provided boys with the opportunity to engage in hands-on, direct fieldwork observing and learning about different flora and fauna.

We also had a group take part in a citizen-scientist and community service opportunity via our participation in the annual loon count. This local census helps scientists track the loon population in the state, providing valuable insights for ongoing conservation efforts. It’s a long-running project that Pemi has been proud to participate in for many years. A group of boys – Yaseen Usman, Finn Gaughan, Mason Russell, Arjun Patel, Johnny Thibault, Sam Chapin, Saleem Usman, and Rhodin Bernstein – woke up early on Saturday morning and headed out onto either our lake or nearby Upper Baker Pond to participate by observing both adult and baby loons to add to the state count. Thanks to the group, and to Deb Kure and Nick Gordon especially, for their energy towards this important effort every year!

Saturday’s campfire, as it so often does, showcased the best of what Pemi has to offer. Gathered around the campfire circle on a beautiful Saturday night, we had beautiful, fun, funny, and inspiring performances from campers and staff of all ages. Manfred Creane, Connor Smillie, Johnny Thibault, and Dylan Thibault gave an excellent rendition of The Beatles’ “Let It Be,” Max Fox regaled us with a story, the Three Wise Men (Connor Smillie, Bryce Madom, Sasha Honig) were followed by 8-year-old Pierce Golay’s “One Unwise Man” performance, continuing his streak of performing at every campfire during his seven weeks at camp! Junior Santiago Losada impressed us all by playing “Seven Nation Army” on the guitar; it was a great piece from a camper who’s just recently picked up the instrument! Alex Fernandez and Nico Richards brought new flavor to the campfire circle by performing a salsa dance that they’ve been working on all summer, while Henry Moore recited a Pemi campfire classic: “The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Robert Service. The night closed out with The Campfire Song and with boys calmly yet excitedly turning their thoughts towards the week of preparation for Tecumseh Day.

For those who wish to follow along with Tecumseh Day scores and updates on Friday, please follow our X/Twitter account (@CampPemi) for the timeliest information.

As always, this newsletter has barely scratched the surface of the week at Pemi! Check back in next week for more on our athletics events, trips, nature exploration, artistic endeavors, and the simple joys of life at Pemi!

Pat Clare