SALISBURY — Seth Gibson of Middlebury received a lifetime achievement award from the Vermont Camps Association (VCA) at a recent ceremony. Gibson has been working at Keewaydin Camp for Boys on Lake Dunmore since 1967. During that first summer he and long-time Middlebury resident Abbott Fenn led a seven-week, 500-mile canoe trip with 15 people and seven canoes.
Gibson continued to lead Keewaydin’s summer wilderness trips until 1992 when, at age 56, he had gone on a total of 24 trips, accumulating 7,800 miles, largely in the northern reaches of Canada and in Maine. He served as coordinator of the Wilderness program from 1992 until 2012, and during that time served as the head driver for the program.
Throughout the years Gibson has supported the VCA as a member and cheerleader of all that is good in camping and getting campers out into wild places. He’s also been a champion of the Wilderness Paddlers group in the Northeast and continued to travel in areas of far northern Canada.