February Campout - Camp Krem | |
| February 3 - 10, 2008 Our winter "campout" at Camp Krem is coming up again. Camp Krem is located a few miles from Boulder Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains. You can see photos of Camp Krem at http://www.campingunlimited.com/factour.htm. Camp Krem was established as a summer camp for developmentally disabled people, but during the off season it is used by other groups. HSC has arranged to use the camp in exchange for a small amount of maintenance work, so the price of this gathering is only $10 per person to cover firewood and a few group items. The camp is situated on top of a beautiful hill with panoramic views. We will have full use of the large dining hall with a fireplace, a large restaurant-type kitchen, outdoor decks (not all covered from rain), two other indoor lounge/meeting spaces, men's and women's bathrooms with (free) showers, and even a cheap coin operated laundry room. Outdoors there is a fire pit in an amphitheater, a play structure, a gazebo and basketball hoop, as well as miles of hiking trails on the property. (There's a pool but it's closed for winter.) The weather in February in this area ranges from torrential rain to balmy sunshine. I'm hoping we hit that gorgeous sunny week we usually get in February, but we can't count on it. That's why we need roofs! If you come, prepare for a variety of weather conditions. We will have to venture outdoors to go between the dining hall, cabins and bathrooms, so warm clothes, rain gear and umbrellas are a good idea just in case. Sleeping accommodations consist of ten cabins, each of which will hold 10 people on five sets of bunk beds. These cabins are not winterized. The cabins have roofs and doors but the top couple of feet of the walls is just screen. In case of rain, which is fairly likely in February, we will need to cover the screens with plastic sheeting, which HSC will provide as part of the camp fee. The cabins are not heated and most have no electricity. (A couple have light bulbs but none have outlets.) Bring flashlights and lanterns that can be used indoors. The bunks have mattresses but we'll need to bring our own bedding. Make sure it's warm bedding! (Extra blankets or quilts with sleeping bags should work.) Ten people, two or three families usually, share each cabin. Itís easy to put up a curtain of some kind as a divider if people want one. If you know a family you'd like to share with, arrange it with them, then let me know and I'll put you together. I recommend that you bring a doormat to keep the mud out of the cabins and make clean-up easier. Those staying in the cabin will be responsible for cleaning it up before leaving. Because we are getting to use Camp Krem in exchange for work and because there's no janitorial service, we'll need to each pitch in to get the work done. I'm anticipating that the maintenance work we'll do (it could be organizing their camping or craft supplies or filing or weeding) will take about 20 to 30 hours for the entire job. Depending on the number of families attending, it would probably take one to three hours per family to complete this maintenance work and possibly less. Each family will probably have a bathroom and dining hall cleaning shift too and we'll all help do a thorough clean-up of all the facilities we use before we leave at the end. Camp Krem will provide cleaning supplies but we need to bring our own towels, soap, personal items, as well as bedding. We also will provide our own food and do our own cooking, as we do when camping. We will be having our infamous Potluck Dinner at Six each night. We'll be able to use the kitchen, including refrigerators. The kitchen is big enough - it is huge! - that it is comfortable for most of the group to use together. You don't need to bring eating utensils - they have plenty of silverware, plastic plates, cups, and bowls. But please bring pots and pans. The ones at Camp Krem are too super-sized for most normal cooking. You can also bring your table and camp stove and cook outdoors under the eaves of the building if you can't stand being so civilized! We plan to have the fire pit going even in the rain, so bring those Dutch ovens. The camp is only a couple of miles from Boulder Creek and access to groceries. No pets or firearms are allowed at this facility. Smoking is only allowed in designated areas. RVs will need to park up the hill a bit. There are no hook-ups and we need to make sure not to block fire lanes. Please let me know if you'd like to bring an RV or camper. OK, if you're ready to brave the possible rain and make your way to the Santa Cruz Mountains to hang out in a glorious spot with some of the most wonderful people on the planet, send:
Please note: Camp Krem holds 100 people plus those staying in RVs/vehicles. Priority is given to HSC members and those staying the full week. Questions? Email me at pamtellew@lmi.net. |
