On January 6, 1999, then-Ohio Congressman Rob Portman stood before his colleagues in the US House of Representatives to pay tribute to one of Cincinnati’s “finest citizens.” He was speaking about longtime Kooch-i-ching Director John Holden, who had recently succumbed to cancer at the age of 75.

In the summer, you’re likely to find him leading a postprandial paddling session, poring over maps in the Map Room, fixing zippers in the Trip Center, or ripping across Rainy Lake in his Boston Whaler.

Do you miss campfire cooking as much as we do? Well now you can brush up on your baking skills with this tutorial on how to use a reflector oven from Ogichi staff woman Sara Upson, aka Uppy.

In the first episode, Cleveland Smith talks Woodsmanship and Ian Redfield’s first friction fire, while Matt Collins and Zach Schiller share their favorite trip memories from the storage room under the dining hall.

As the true impact of the vote reverberated across the call, the disappointment was immense. At the same time, we took comfort in knowing that we had made the correct decision.

“We are going through an incredible amount of contingency planning. We have to prioritize the health and safety of campers, staff and the community. We have a relationship with International Falls, and it's a relationship we respect.”

Teresa Baños is back with not one, but three recipes for making s’mores without a campfire. So grab some graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows, and follow along!

Gracious giver of all good food, Kooch-i-ching chef Ryan Siess shows you how to transform Sunday morning cinnamon rolls into Deer Island bread pudding (trademark pending). Yum!

In this video, Jack Hanley from Jack Hanley Fishing & Game shows you how to catch, clean and cook a rainbow trout from his home in Omaha, Nebraska. Master these techniques and you’ll be serving up pond-to-table trout in no time. “Booyah, baby!”

“Give it another whip or so,” says staff man and I-Falls local Wyatt Amdahl while standing in front of Deer Island and wearing no less than three articles of Kooch-i-ching clothing.

Kooch-i-ching staff man Hal Taylor wears his waders well in this fly-fishing tutorial straight from beautiful Brookville, Indiana. In the video, Hal takes you through the basics of setting up your rod, understanding your fly box, and casting.

In the fall, Johanna will work under Kathy’s leadership, learning the many nuances of the off-season role, from recruiting campers and hiring staff to the logistics of moving a small city to the Northwoods each summer.

How many vegetables can Henry Cordeal fit in a Vitamix? More than you think. Watch this veteran Kooch-i-ching staff man turn his blender up to 11 as he teaches you how to make a nourishing green smoothie.

Is Andy Howell kissing a stick? No, he’s just testing it for moisture—one of several skills that this Kooch-i-ching staff man will teach you in “The Art of Batoning,” a masterclass in splitting wood with a knife. Be sure to wear closed-toe shoes when you try this at home!

When Brandon Stanton, author of the popular blog Humans of New York, put out a call for “quarantine stories” last month, he received thousands of responses from around the world. One of those responses was from Rosie Ecker.

From beautiful Salt Lake City, Kooch-i-ching climbing instructor Michael Martinez shows you how to do a handstand. Don’t forget to stretch!

“We all know that feeling on [a] trip after a long, hard morning of endless paddling and wet portaging…and then your trip head announces that you are going to be stopping and making tuna melts. Although I cannot replicate that feeling, we can make a dang delicious tuna melt.”

From her home in Mexico, Ogichi staff woman Teresa Baños shows you how to transform a boring white T-shirt into a tie-dyed masterpiece in just a few simple steps.

Back by popular demand, Alex Ernst shows you how to tie four useful knots in this video: the bowline, the slip knot, the square knot and the timber hitch.

Nice day for a paddle indeed! Except that in this video, Alex uses an ice hook—not a paddle—to maneuver his canoe across a semi-frozen lake in Maine.