Women’s weekend
If your ideal getaway is seclusion, reading a good book, being alone to rediscover yourself, exploring new adventures, learning new crafts or participating in laughter-filled activities, the Camp Fire USA Women’s Retreat Weekend might just be for you.
“Every woman deserves a retreat to break away from everyday life and rejuvenate,” says three-year camp veteran and local volunteer organizer Gloria Waggoner.
Waggoner estimates that about 100 female campers annually come from all over the Northwest hoping to find private time to think, read, and explore the natural beauty of the camp and its surroundings.
“And if it rains,” Waggoner says, “it cannot dampen our spirit of a good time.”
The 16th annual Women’s Retreat Weekend will be Sept. 8 through 10 at Camp Sweyolakan. Sweyolakan is a Native American word meaning “sign of the pines.”
Camp Sweyolakan, which is owned and operated by Camp Fire USA, is one of the oldest resident camps in the country, and is situated on the shores of Mica Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Secluded, accessible only by boat, and with more than 5,000 feet of shoreline, the camp has two large sandy beaches and 300 acres of forested hillside.
It was established in July 1922 through the organizational efforts of Camp Fire, John McCornack and the Spokane Kiwanis Club. The camp was originally just for girls, but it became co-ed in the mid-1980’s.
“It has been a summer haven for generations of young people for over 80 years,” says Elizabeth Giles, Camp Fire public relations/marketing coordinator. “They are not camper age any more but they love to come back and reminiscence.”
“I love the natural beauty of Camp Sweyolakan, and the laughter, excitement, challenges, pampering, peace and harmony, shared by the women who attend,” says Waggoner.
Campers are women who are 18 years and older. “The maximum age is undisclosed as everyone spends the weekend acting as kids in their hearts,” Waggoner says.
Each camper chooses what she wants to spend her time doing. Camp activities include boating, games, archery, hiking and swimming. There is also a rope swing, high ropes course and a survivor challenge for the more adventurous camper.
“The survivor challenge is a bit physical,” says Giles. “The challenges are part puzzle, part game show, lots of teamwork and all fun.”
Various crafts are offered. For instance a camper can make homemade goat’s milk soap with essential peppermint and tea tree oil; or they can create a groovy “tie-dye” item, beaded bracelet or necklace; or they can practice iris paper folding which is used on greeting cards and scrapbook pages. Some activities require extra fees of $2 to $40.
Full-body and chair massages, pedicures, facials, manicures and waxing are all options that will help a camper feel pampered.
Sleeping accommodations are outdoors in open-sided rustic cabins. Lighted restrooms with hot showers are nearby. Camp staff provides well-balanced meals and snacks.
Camp fee for the weekend is $90. All registrations postmarked after Monday will be charged a $15 late registration fee, and there is a $25 cancellation fee.
Camp begins at 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 and ends at either 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. on Sept. 10. Early arrival is permitted on Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. for an additional $2 fee. Campers drive or carpool to a parking lot on the west side of Lake Coeur d’Alene and ride a boat to and from camp.
Directions are given once a camper’s registration has been received.
Some of Waggoner’s best memories include singing camp songs led by Roberta Larson while paddling down the bay in a grand 1920s canoe with nine other friends, and Judi Messina and Linda Polley at the helm; watching Cricket Pierce “fly” on the giant rope swing; and completing the high ropes challenge course and then marveling that petite septuagenarian Betty Ann Nelson was right behind her setting the record as the most senior camper to complete the course.
“I love that everyone brings a smile, backpack and heart filled with joy,” says Waggoner. “I love that differences of affiliations, economics, and age does not affect the camaraderie among the campers. And I especially love the wonderful camping friends and the camp memories I have from each of the retreats I have attended.”