Darrell Charboneau has been involved with Birch Bend Campgrounds since 1972, and at 76 he still teaches archery there when his health allows. In late 2020, he was told his cancer was terminal. He is now booked on a cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo next April, according to the Pioneer Press.
A Rare Tumor, and a Doctor's Blunt Assessment
Charboneau's cancer began as a small-intestine tumor that metastasized to his liver, according to the Pioneer Press. It was later identified as a rare gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the KIT exon-13 variety, according to the same report — a genetic driver so uncommon that primary KIT exon 13 mutations account for only 1% to 2% of all GIST diagnoses nationwide, per research published on Taylor & Francis Online. GIST itself is rare to begin with: the American Cancer Society estimates about 6,000 cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, with roughly 60% to 65% originating in the stomach and about 25% in the small intestine.
Charboneau told the Pioneer Press that his doctor said he had beaten the odds so far. He has also said he understands the cancer will eventually kill him and is making use of the time he has. The newspaper reported that he has gone through a sequence of experimental drugs and was scheduled to start another experimental therapy the week before its story was published. Charboneau told the paper he had no approved drugs left and was participating in clinical trials.
How the Drugs Work — and Run Out
Advanced GIST may be treated with targeted kinase inhibitors, with treatment choices depending on a patient’s situation. Research indexed on PMC describes sunitinib, sold as Sutent, as an approved second-line therapy, including for tumors with KIT exon 13 mutations resistant to initial imatinib treatment. Ripretinib was approved by the FDA in 2020 as a fourth-line therapy, according to the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These general treatment details do not establish which drugs Charboneau has received.
What Treatment Guidance Says
FDA labeling indicates ripretinib (QINLOCK) for adults with advanced GIST who have received at least three prior kinase inhibitors, including imatinib, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That general indication does not establish which treatments Charboneau has received. The National Cancer Institute reported that a phase III trial of regorafenib for advanced GIST included 199 patients; the trial’s results likewise do not describe Charboneau’s treatment history.
Decades of Scouting at Birch Bend
Before retiring in 2016, Charboneau was chief financial officer of Foussard Montague Associates Inc. (FMA), a St. Paul-based hospital laundry and linen management company, the Pioneer Press reported. He had also held executive positions at Minnesota Distributing and Manufacturing and Faribault Foods.
His connection to Birch Bend Campgrounds in rural Pierz has lasted longer than his business career. The 320-acre site is run by the Pine Bend Association, where Charboneau is a former president and remains chair of the audit and investment committees, according to the Pioneer Press. He co-founded the College of Wilderness Knowledge and taught at Birch Bend at least five times in 2026, including archery instruction for visiting children.
A Free Campout Rooted in Native Culture
Birch Bend hosted a free campout focused on Ojibwe and other Native cultures earlier this month, drawing more than 100 scouts, the Pioneer Press reported. The Pine Bend Association scheduled the 2026 American Indian Culture Merit Badge Campout for September 18–20, with registration capped at 125 scouts and the Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post as a partner, according to the College of Wilderness Knowledge. The newspaper reported that Paul Kaardal helped organize the event; his brother, Erick Kaardal, leads a long-running St. Paul scout troop.
Scouting’s Participation Policy
Scouting America describes its Scouts BSA program as open to boys and girls, according to the organization’s program information. That national policy does not indicate the gender makeup of participants at Birch Bend.
The camp itself is a primitive facility, licensed by Morrison County, with 25 campsites, pit toilets, hand-pumped wells, and no electrical service, according to the College of Wilderness Knowledge. It sits on Round Lake, which runs roughly 25 to 30 feet deep, and the Pine Bend Association owns two-thirds of the lake, per the Pioneer Press.
From an Oil Refinery Buyout to a Northern Lake
The Pine Bend Association’s move to Pierz followed a 1959 land sale. Founded in 1931, the association sold its original Dakota County property for $45,000 after the Pine Bend refinery had initially offered $1,200, the Pioneer Press reported. The association used the sale proceeds to buy 320 timber-covered acres southwest of Mille Lacs Lake for Birch Bend. Charboneau attended an association anniversary event in 1982 and later advocated leasing some camp land to family campers, according to the Pioneer Press.
A Life of Travel, Undeterred
Travel has remained part of Charboneau’s plans. He has visited all 50 U.S. states, every Canadian province except Newfoundland, and every continent except Antarctica, according to the Pioneer Press. The two tickets he has booked for next April’s Hong Kong-to-Tokyo cruise are his latest planned trip. Charboneau has said he hopes to continue teaching archery at Birch Bend if his health permits.
The camp sits in a region shaped by decades of youth organizing, some of it now organized under a new name. Scouting became co-ed around 2018, and the Boy Scouts of America rebranded as Scouting America the previous year, according to the Scouting Newsroom. For Charboneau, based in Maplewood just outside St. Paul, the work at Birch Bend has outlasted a terminal diagnosis by years, one archery lesson and one trial drug at a time.
