A new gold standard for bold leadership draws young people to the wilderness
An innovative program builds on decades of leadership traditions in the camping world
As featured in Letters from Camp Magazine – Spring 2025.
When Omar Torrez Bravo told his parents he was going to go on a Boundary Waters trip for two weeks in 2023, “They thought I was crazy. I had never even heard of the Boundary Waters, and it was wildly different than anything I had ever done.”
At school, Omar had learned about, applied for, and was accepted into the BOLD GOLD program, a leadership development and wilderness adventure trip through YMCA Camp Menogyn. “It changed my life,” Omar said.
The official YMCA program description reads as follows:
BOLD/GOLD (Boys/Girls Outdoor Leadership Development) provides young people with a wilderness experience, partnered with an intentional curriculum. Expeditions allow teens from different economic, ethnic, religious and social backgrounds to build leadership, communication, and decision-making skills - using the wilderness as a classroom. Learn more at: www.ymcanorth.org/adventure/experiences/bold_gold
YMCA leaders have been quick to celebrate the program’s strengths
“BOLD GOLD is very intentional about leadership development,” explained Angela Wunderlich, BOLD GOLD program director from 2021-24. “There is a leader of the day and everyone rotates through that position. Each night closes with a ‘Courage Circle’ where campers share and reflect. These elements are structured within the larger leadership development curriculum of each BOLD GOLD trip.”
BOLD GOLD is a national program built on a strong local tradition. While BOLD GOLD — (Boys / Girls) Outdoor Leadership Development — got its start with the YMCA of Greater Seattle in 2011, the local version blossomed with the support of grants at YMCA Camps Menogyn and Widjiwagan beginning in 2014. Then in 2017, YMCA of the North further strengthened BOLD GOLD and merged it with the King Leadership Camp, a program that originated at YMCA Camp St. Croix in 1996.
The Y works with partner organizations and parents to set up participants for success, especially given the reality that many have never spent time in the wilderness before the trip.
“We work with youth-serving organizations in order to increase access and make sure young people have what they need to have a positive experience,” shared Angela Wunderlich, “We meet with parents to explain how we teach skills on trips and make sure they know their child will be safe.”
For Omar, his first impression of Menogyn ignited a whirlwind of emotions. “I was anxious, excited, and taken aback by the beauty. It was challenging, exhausting, and pushed me to my limits. Our group came from different backgrounds, but we worked well together and became buddies.”
Summer 2024 and beyond
During summer of 2024, the Y of the North served 180 BOLD GOLD campers and 16 Interns, for a total of 196 campers/leaders at YMCA Camps Widjiwagan, Menogyn, St. Croix, and Ihduhapi. Funders and donors provided over $82,000 in scholarships, including monies from the BOLD GOLD endowment.
“The power of BOLD & GOLD is the three to four year continuous programming for our BOLD GOLD camp-leaders. I can say [BOLD GOLD camper-leaders] have a toolbox, backpack and suitcase full of skill sets and assets to be successful in life” said Fotsch, the King Leadership Camp that merged with BOLD GOLD and now a YMCA of the North General Board member.
Learning to dig deep
After Omar’s first trip in 2023, he was invited to return to Menogyn for a 32-day Nor’wester trip in 2024. In 2025, he will spend 50 days in the Arctic, a trip that will have an emphasis on guiding as his focus.
“Camp taught me to lead a group, manage different skills and interests, address conflicts, and work as a team,” said Omar. “The experience has helped me mature and helps me at school and work. I’ve learned to dig deep, not give up, encourage others, and trust that no matter how challenging a day is, it will work out in the end.”
Going deeper on outdoor leadership
BOLD GOLD creates a unique opportunity to build bridges between young future leaders who happen to come from different backgrounds and who love nature and adventure.
We engage groups of youth from a wide range of backgrounds so that they learn how to lead and be led by people that are different from them. Our experiences give them a deeper understanding of their own lives so they know how to be effective changemakers within an ever-evolving global society. Our participants go home as leaders with a new perspectives on the world and what they uniquely bring to a group.