Hi, Sandy - the canoe base is in Minnesota (on the Canadian border). I assmed those were Minnesota place names in the version I posted. the verses in rise Up singing are the same, but here is the chorus, plus the skiing verses.

By Lake Duncan and Clear Water to the Bearskin I will go
Where you see the loon and hear its plaintive wail
If you're thinking in your inner heart there's swagger in my step
You've never been along the Border trail.
(softly)It's the far Northland that's a-calling me away
As take I with my packsack to the road.

...and the ski verses:
It's the hiss and glide of skis on newly fallen snow
It's the sparkle of the sun on snow and hoar
It's the snap and tingle of cold air upon the face
That calls me to the snowcapped peaks once more.

(as chorus)To Mt. Washington, Mt. Mansfield, and to Cannon I will go
Where the thrills of skiing make an endless tale
If you're thinking in your inner heart there's braggart in my talk
You've never skied along the snowbound trail.


Since I started hanging around here, I've been surprised to come across some songs I learned in camp in the 1960's. I had thought they must have been made up from past generations of counselors from my own Camp Chippecotton in Wisconsin, since they spoke of places in the area. It was a big surprise to learn that they were traditional songs from faraway places, and that my counselors just changed the place names.
-Joe Offer-