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Published often and occasionally by the campers and staff of Camp Trinity on the Bar 717 Ranch in the interest of news, fun, and ... Good Camping!

Vol 5 | Fall 2018 | No. 1

Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alumni, and Friends,

Greetings from Camp, where we are still reveling in the memories of another great summer on the ranch. This summer was full of exciting new and familiar adventures: trips to the Alps, a newly-revived outpost at Emily's, hikes up Gates Mountain, and fire hose dances at the Harvest Festival were just a few of the highlights. Now that camp is over, we have been busily working on the new kitchen. As soon as the last group of family campers disappeared down Hyampom Road, we got straight to work pouring concrete, putting on the roof, and winterizing the new building so that we can continue to make progress once cooler, wetter weather sets in. We are excited to show you the finished project and serve up the first spaghetti dinner when camp begins in June. Until then, you can keep up with updates and photos from the project on our Kitchen Page.

There are some other exciting things in the works as well. Enrollment is open for summer 2019 and sessions are filling up quickly. We made the decision to change our fourth session to a two-week session and are excited to offer that option to new and returning families this year. You can see dates and rates and enroll on our website.

We are also looking forward to more opportunities to connect with the camp community outside of the ranch this year. We'll be spending the weekend of November 3-4 in the Bay Area hosting an alumni gathering and an open house in Berkeley. Whether you attended camp 50 years ago or just joined the ranch family last summer, we'd love to catch up with you, hear about your camp experience, and tell you about the exciting things going on at the ranch. The events will be hosted by camp directors, staff, and the advisory board. We are planning to host similar events in Southern California in the spring.

We hope you'll enjoy this issue of Campservations, which features a number of stories from campers who spent time at the Emily's Outpost this summer. For me personally, it's truly special to see a new generation connect with the homesteading experience and embrace the pioneer values of building community and respect for the environment that are so fundamental to the Bar 717 philosophy.

Wishing you all the best from all of us here at the Ranch,
Kent

Spotlight on the Emily's Outpost

This summer, we revived a camp tradition of offering kids the opportunity to spend time at an outpost away from main camp. Over four sessions, more than 80 kids took advantage of the opportunity to live for a week at the old Emily's homestead across the river. We asked campers to share their stories and are excited to publish a few here.

My Outpost Experience
by Ona Gordonson

This year during my time at camp, I decided to try out the outpost program at Emily’s. I was at first unsure If I wanted to do it, but after seeing the slideshow. I was convinced that it was definitely for me. I worried that maybe I would be missing out at camp’s activities or hanging out with friends, but the outpost experience outweighed the entire week of camp that we missed. Read more.

Emily's Outpost!
by Clara Feldman and Ryan Tripp

Looking back on summer, our days at Emily’s are some of the ones that we miss most. We were away from some of our friends but that didn’t prevent us from enjoying our time. Emily’s was a unique experience that we’ll take with us for the rest of our lives. Its amazing to be a part of the camp tradition that hasn’t existed for the entirety of our camp careers and that it finally resurfaced in our last year. Read more.

An Outpost Family
by Trace Garcia

I am 11 years old and last year was my 3rd summer at the ranch. I had heard many stories about the outpost experience years before and was exited when I found out that this year they were bringing it back. I was was super exited when I found out that I had been chosen to go along with 10 other kids to go to the outpost. Read more.

A Week at Emily's
by Everett Watterson

Going to the outpost changed me for the better. I learned tons of new skills and met so many new friends. In August, I went back up to camp for alumni weekend with my family. We went to Emily's and it was all the same. The drain still worked, and that was probably my favorite part about the outpost: making lasting changes to a place that people will enjoy for generations to come, partly because of my efforts! I had the time of my life at Emily's, and I would wholly and totally recommend it. Read more.

Did You Know... ?

… that Nick, Jean, and Watson moved to the ranch full-time to help run Camp during the summer and build the kitchen this winter?

… that we’re holding our first Open House of the season at Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore in Berkeley on November 4th? We're also hosting an Alumni Gathering in Berkeley on November 3rd.

… that we’ve already hired our first new counselor for summer 2019? Suzie will be joining us from Australia to work in our small animals and riflery programs.

… that our adopted BLM wild horse, Chulo, went to live in Texas for the year with a camp family and former counselor? Don’t worry, he’ll be back for the summer.

Summer Reflection
by Lucy Robb, 2018 Counselor

In all honestly, before I’d even boarded the plane leaving Edinburgh I was wondering what I had done. I was in way over my head. What was I thinking? Flying half way around the world to the middle of nowhere where I knew nobody to spend the summer working with kids I was worried would hate me from the word go. Read more.

Pouring Concrete: Haikus

As progress continues on the new camp kitchen, we've begun pouring the concrete for the new eating platform. This process involves lots of careful preparation and quick action. We asked our ranch crew to share their experience with pouring concrete in haiku form. Read their submissions and see photos of the most recent pour.

The Bar 717 Ranch

Mountain Ranch living for children ages 8-16
Established 1930
email: camptrinity@bar717.com
phone: (530) 628-5992
website: www.bar717.com

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