The practice of setting out for several days on a wilderness trip goes back as far as we have records at Chewonki. In the 1920s and 1930s leadership of the trips fell to the counselors who ran the nature, woodcraft, or sailing activities. Each trip had a different emphasis depending on the activity that sponsored it. Trips explored the Kennebec River and Merrymeeting Bay above Bath, the White Mountains, Pemaquid Lake, and the Saco River.

Other destinations included hiking trips to the White Mountains and Tumbledown Mountain, sailing trips on Casco Bay and to Monhegan Island, and canoe trips on local lakes and rivers. Early Chewonki participants did not have the lightweight and well-designed equipment now available. The Chronicle is full of accounts of leaders tinkering with ornery old stoves and finding creative methods by which to jury rig and patch leaky tarps. In keeping with the spirit of goodwill and hard work, however, there were usually plenty of competent and energetic leaders around to keep everything running smoothly.

After Roger Tory Peterson’s stint as a Chewonki naturalist in the 1930s, nature activities remained tremendously important on all Chewonki adventures, fueled by the interests of founder Clarence Allen and a series of nature counselors who had learned a love of birds from Peterson. For years, nearly all the trip reports featured a list of birds that had been spotted on the trip. Many also included the plants, fish, and mammals.

Since the 1970s, Chewonki has been offering workshops and wilderness expeditions for family groups, senior citizens, and individuals. We have canoed the rivers of Maine, Quebec/Labrador and through the arctic tundra of the Soper River Valley on Baffin island, as well as the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and the Everglades of Florida. We have hiked the mountains of Maine and Baffin Island. We regularly sea kayak and sail the Coast of Maine. In winter, we take full advantage of our wood heated cabins at our sporting camps at Fourth Debsconeag Lake.