In the second part of the two part Trailblazer series you will meet Remy, Ben, Jordan and Teddy. They will explain what it means to be a part of Trail’s End to them and how camp and their friendships have shaped who they are today.

Name: Remy Novich
Nickname: Remdog
Years in Camp: 9 years as a camper and 3 years as a staff member
Favorite Food: Cookout Cookies
Favorite Camp Tradition: Sing, Olympics, Olympic Sing, basically
Favorite Quote: “The moment may be brief, but the memory will last a lifetime”

I am a freshman at Muhlenberg College. In my time spent at Trail’s End, I have grown from a shy little girl into a confident leader in my community. When I was a First Year, I became friends with the 8 most important people in my life. They taught me the true meaning of friendship. I attribute so much of who I am to my friendships with them. These people taught me how to be the best version of myself. Without the guidance from my friends, I would be lost. All in all, my camp friends are the most amazing, genuine, caring, accepting, and funny people I know. The 9 of us have been through so much together. We really have each other’s backs. Our bond is something that very few people have and we are so beyond lucky to have each other. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t talk to each other. I know that my camp friends are going to be my best friends for the rest of my life. I think camp definitely has had a huge impact on all of our lives, as well as our friendship. In my opinion, a friendship fostered at camp is unlike any other type of friendship. Our undying affinity for our summer home will keep us linked together forever. We each started our Trail’s End experience as strangers and now, years later, we are a family.

Name: Ben Bass
Nickname: Bass
Years in Camp: 6 years as a camper and 3 years as a counselor
Favorite Sports Team: New York Giants
Favorite Food: I crave cookout cookies year round
Favorite Camp Tradition: Olympics Opening Ceremony or Lou Flego

I’m a freshman at Northwestern University. Camp has provided me with some of my most favorite and cherished memories. My camp friends are people that I could always turn to when I need advice outside of the same old people from home, or even just a good laugh. We find ourselves constantly talking, asking each other for tips on how to be the best counselor we can be. Now that we’re all in college, it’s easy to get caught up in our own busy lives. We all try to see each other at least once or twice throughout the year over breaks from school. When we can’t all be together, we all have a group chat on our phones that’s constantly buzzing—it’s our way of getting our dose of each other and camp year round for the 10 months that we can’t be at Trail’s End. Teddy and I frequently agree that though we may have come to camp without siblings, today we’re so thankful to have this group of true brothers and sisters.

Name: Jordan Halper
Years in Camp (camper and staff member): 8 years as a camper and 2 years as a counselor
Favorite Food: Dunkin iced coffee
Favorite Camp Tradition: Sing
Favorite Quote: “Better for having been with you”
What you look forward to every year at camp: Being with my best friends in the world every day
Favorite Camp Memory: Winning Sing 4 different times

I am currently a freshman at the University of Michigan. As cliché as it sounds, camp to me is the foundation of my entire life up until this point. It is the place where I learned to break out of my shell, held my first of many leadership opportunities, and of course, found my best friends. It is the root of all of my confidence and has honestly changed my life. I was fortunate enough to have a solid group of friends to always turn to. My camp friends always had my back no matter what, and were always there for me with a smile, a hug or a word of advice. As much as I love my home friends, the bond you share with your camp friends is genuinely unlike any other. My camp friends are my backbone as I dealt with the transition from camper to counselor and the responsibilities that came along with it. I am truly better for having met them and spending my summers at Trail’s End.

Name: Brett Finkelstein
Years in Camp: 9 as a camper, 3 as a staff member
Favorite Food: Pasta
Favorite Camp Tradition: Sing
What do you look forward to every year at camp: All of the traditions

I’m a freshman at Duke University. I started as a Lower Buddy in bunk 1 in 2003 and can’t even remember summers anywhere but Beach Lake, PA. Now it’ll be my 12^th summer, 3 as a counselor, and I don’t know where I would be without my camp friends. Being a camper for nine summers was the best and I loved every second of it. Heading into my 3^rd year as a staff member, I think it’s amazing to be the one to help my campers have as great of a summer as I did when I was in their shoes. I count down the days to camp, especially to see my campers and my best friends. At home, I’m known as the camp girl always wearing her camp apparel and talking about her camp friends. It’s all because at camp I’ve really met my best friends and the people who know me better than anyone else – I don’t know what I would do without them. I’m so lucky to have ended up at Trail’s End and met the people I have.

Name: Teddy Drucker
Years in Camp: 8 as a camper and 3 as a counselor
Favorite Sports Team: Yankees
Favorite Food: Pancakes
Favorite Camp Tradition: I’ve always been a sucker for Olympic Breakouts
Favorite Quote:  “The only person you should strive to be better than is the person you were yesterday”
What you look forward to each summer: Seeing Marc in his USA hockey jersey during 4th of July

I am currently a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis. Without being too corny, camp is my life. All of my favorite memories and best friends come from camp.  I started going to Trail’s End when I was 9 years old, not knowing a single person there. My first summer I was put in a bunk with David. Two years later, Bass came to camp and our friendship has been unbreakable since. I remember sitting at candle lighting the last night of camp LT summer, looking around thinking how unbelievably lucky I was to be a part of that and how I could never imagine not being with my best friends. Transitioning into being a counselor was seamless for me because I always looked at it as just more opportunities to stay attached to the place and people that I love. As for Bass and David, they are the two best friends that I have. I speak to at least one of them on a daily basis and I couldn’t imagine where I would be without them. One of the most special things we have done is create a group chat with all of our other friends that we post in on a daily basis. There is nothing better than checking my phone and seeing it light up with camp friends. Camp to me is a place that makes me feel special. It is a bigger part of me than anything else in my life. The memories I have made there have given me confidence throughout high school and now into college.