Flooding at the Boat Harbor

In 1997, over the weekend between Staff Week and the first week of Scouts, a heavy rain fell. A VERY heavy rain fell. As a result, the lake rose dramatically over the weekend, leading to a flooded Boxwell when camp opened on Sunday for Scouts.

The waterfronts at Parnell and Stahlman saw water come up over the beach. Neither could conduct swim checks. Trails were washed out. Campfire areas were flooded.

Shown here is the Boat Harbor staff site. At the time, there were no group staff sites, so each staff stayed by their program area. The staff site was a bit closer to the lake than the modern teaching shed is, but as you can tell from the photo, the lake was well above its normal level. The trash barrel and the four man tent to the far right demonstrate how high the lake had risen over the weekend.

Just the normal kind of complication you have to put up with sometimes on camp staff!

Flooding at the Boat Harbor, 1997. Collection of Scott Danton.