We thought we were going to get arrested

One of my all-time favorite summers was the year I got to be a cabin leader at an out-tripping camp. Each week, we would take a group of young boys into the Ontario backcountry on a canoe trip. Some of my most unforgettable camp experiences happened out there—watching a dragonfly slowly devour a monarch butterfly, witnessing a storm literally go around us, picking wild blueberries to add to our breakfast.

But the one that stands out the most? A helicopter landing right in the middle of our campsite.

It was the first night of a three-day trip, and we had just finished setting up our site. Off in the distance, we heard a helicopter. At first, we didn’t think much of it—aircraft weren’t all that uncommon. But then we realized it was getting closer. And lower.

For those unfamiliar, much of Canada sits on the Canadian Shield—a landscape of massive rock formations that often serve as natural campsites. As we soon learned, they also make excellent helicopter landing pads.

So now, picture this: 8 teen boys who had never seen a helicopter up close, absolutely losing their minds. My co-leader and I, completely clueless about what was happening and thinking we had done something illegal. And this massive machine landing in front of us.

As soon as it landed, a man hopped out and made his way over to us. He explained that fire reports had come in from the area, and they were tracking down the source. They were also trying to locate the person who had made the report. We explained that we hadn’t seen anything or called anything in. After a few minutes of conversation (and indulging our boys’ questions), he thanked us, climbed back into the helicopter, and just as like that, they were gone.

I love telling this story not just because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but because it’s a perfect reminder of something crucial when working with kids: expect the unexpected.

You can have all the training, education, and knowledge in the world, but at some point, something is going to catch you completely off guard. And in that moment, you must be ready to adapt and roll with it.