Shelly Landau recently returned from CU Boulder, where she recertified with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Wilderness First Aid program. This two‑day course prepared students to assess, treat, and make critical decisions for injured or ill people in remote environments—skills that fit hand‑in‑glove with Camp Nakanawa’s long commitment to safe outdoor adventure.
Shelly brings this knowledge back to camp to help educate and train her fellow counselors. During counselor training, Shelly and Margaret Matens give “an overview of basic hiking first aid while at Nakanawa,” which reminds everyone that our safety practices are rooted in the real places our girls explore—from trails around the lake and the Dam to nearby Cumberland Cove, “only a 15 minute drive from camp… at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau.” Using slides filled with familiar photos and stories, Shelly walks counselors through the everyday issues we’ve quietly managed for generations: dehydration, sunburn and heat illness, insect stings and ticks, blisters, and the occasional sprained ankle.
She gives simple but powerful habits—packing water, hats, sunscreen, insect repellent, and closed‑toe shoes; drinking before you feel thirsty; and treating every sting with care, including knowing when an epi‑pen and 911 are needed—showing how good planning makes adventure possible. In this way, today’s training echoes the example set in the 1920s by Col. Rice, who first inspired our Bold & Ready outdoor education by leading campers on long trail walks from camp to Cumberland Cove, where they camped out and explored the Plateau. His spirit of preparation, resilience, and love for the woods still motivates us every time we lace up our boots and head down the trail with our girls.
Shelly, Margaret, and the entire Bold & Ready team continue Nakanawa’s long history of pairing outdoor exploration with thoughtful, up‑to‑date safety. For more than a century we’ve taken girls into the woods, along the trails, and out onto the water, always with trained counselors, on‑site nurses and doctors, and clear protocols guiding each step. As Shelly says, we are “really looking for some young blood to start taking this on,” and we are still seeking active, enthusiastic Bold & Ready counselors who feel called to carry this legacy forward for the next generation of Nakanawa girls. That legacy continues in our Bold & Ready program, where campers hike to places like Cumberland Cove, play in the waterfalls, and learn to love wild spaces—backed by leaders who know that “YOU set the tone” and that true boldness grows best in a carefully tended, safe environment. Wo‑He‑Lo!
