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MoosejaW
Camp-y Business page 67
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CAMPING OUTFITTER
AND
WILDERNESS GUIDES
••
40,
.‘,4, 4erce,
•
r7.
1.^
HIGH END FLEECE AND
WINTER CLOTHING
TENTS, BACKPACKS, BOOTS
AND MUCH, MUCH MORE.
David Jaffe and Robert Wolfe help David Rubin.
WINTER SALE
THRU
JANUARY 24
•
3405 Orchard Lake Road - Keego Harbor
738-JAW1 (5291)
Mountaineering & Backcountry Travel
Since 1955
SI A "011LL
Charlevoix, MI
Nestled in Michigan's north woods on beautiful Lake
Charlevoix, Camp Sea-Gull offers a full range of land,
water and fine arts programs. A pleasant learning environ-
ment for boys and girls, ages 8-15.
Join us for a get-acquainted reception on Friday,
Jan. 15th, 6:30-8:30pm, at the clubhouse of
Aldingbrooke Apts (5770 Drake, W. Bloomfield).
The Schulmans (313) 851-1318
No gain.No pain.
Keeping your weight at a moderate level may scale
down your risk of heart attack. So maintain a healthy
diet and lighten up on your heart.
V American Heart Association
J
questions. Every day the
two young men come up
with new ideas. Their expe-
riences at Camp Seagull
around the campfire with
kids of all ages in all kinds
of weather prepared them to
think on their feet.
Ian Burnstein attended
Camp Seagull with Mr.
Wolfe and Mr. Jaffee, both
as a camper and as a staff
member. "They really know
what they're doing," he says,
explaining that the three of
them have taken hundreds
of kids on trips all over
Michigan and Canada.
Friends like Mr. Burn-
stein were instrumental in
getting Moosejaw off the
ground. The lease was
signed on October 5. Mr.
Wolfe wanted the store to
open by the end of the
month. So he and his part-
ner called on everyone they
knew. Friends and family
spent the next 3 1/2 weeks
frantically transforming the
former dog grooming salon
into a high-end camping
store. "We just came in with
bats and hammers and
started taking it down," Mr.
Wolfe says.
The store sits on northern
Orchard Lake Road near a
resale shop and a diner, a
party store and a gas sta-
tion. It is, Mr. Wolfe admits,
a destination store. You
have to intend to go there.
But he says the location
hasn't been a problem, and
the rent is hard to beat. A
steady stream of customers
wanders in throughout the
day. Some buy; some just
want to talk.
Mr. Jaffe enjoys the talk-
ers. "The best thing is when
you get somebody who has
been on some serious camp-
ing trips and they come in
and say, 'This is a great
store, we really needed
something like this in the
area,' " he says.
Moosejaw Mountaineer-
ing isn't only for serious out-
door-types, though. The
store also caters to eight
year olds headed to summer
camp for the first time. The
place is stocked with sleep-
ing bags, ski gloves, Sierra
cups, biodegradable sham-
poo, long johns, Gortex,
fleece and down jackets,
wool sweaters, hiking boots,
sleeping bags, tents and an
entire wall of backpacks and
school bags.
But Mr. Wolfe and Mr.
Jaffe want Moosejaw to be
more than just a retail out-
let. They have also begun
taking groups on camping
trips, which they intend to
make a staple of their busi-
ness.
In early November, Mr.
Wolfe and another guide
took eight teen-age girls on
their first winter camping
trip to the Bruce Peninsula
in Canada. The group hiked
eight miles through the
snow on Saturday and two
miles on Sunday.
Stephanie Lichten, 16,
loved the trip, which she
helped videotape. Except for
a few blisters, everything
went smoothly, she says. "I'd
do it again for sure."
Eventually, the partners
plan to approach athletic
clubs, companies and other
organizations to set up
camping excursions.
They talk about an envi-
ronmental group, a summer
store in Charlevoix, a
Moosejaw wilderness school,
a mail-order business. "But
we'll just take it one step at
a time for now," says Mr.
Jaffe. ❑