Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alumni, and Friends,
2024 has been a busy year! In addition to eight great weeks of Camp Trinity on the Bar 717 Ranch and a week of Family Camp, we hosted two work weekends, two weddings, a Trinity County elementary school environmental camp, a prescribed fire burn and training, and our annual Alumni Weekend.
Although most of you know Camp for its warm and sunny summer weather, the ranch actually has distinct seasons that dictate what we can get done around here. Here’s a glimpse into what we’ve been working on throughout the year.
In the winter, when the days are short, we spend a lot of time planning for Camp. Most of the camp buildings are closed down, save for the barns and the houses where wood stoves work overtime to keep the year-round residents of the ranch – our family and our Ranch Managers, Noah and Adrienne – warm and cozy. The animals grow thick, furry coats, and a fine sheen of frost often covers the ground until late morning when the sun peeks over Moonrise Hill to thaw things out. During those few precious sunny hours, we prune fruit trees, tend to animals, and fix the inevitable things that break. This year, we also worked on finishing up the renovations to the Bigfoot Platform, which got a major upgrade with the help of our Work Weekend crews.
In the spring, we ramped up our preparations for the summer. We brought three new horses into our herd (Andre, Lucky, and Satchel), added 25 chicks to our flock, and welcomed two lambs and 12 piglets to the Small Animals Barn. In March, we hosted a Work Weekend, where our amazing crew helped prep garden beds for planting, burned back overzealous blackberry bushes, and readied platforms for the season.
Inspiration Point Of course the highlight of our year is welcoming kids to Camp. After months of quiet here in the mountains, there’s nothing quite like the sound of kids gathering, singing, and playing together under the apple trees. We had another incredible summer full of adventure, friendship, and growth. We celebrated highlights like the 79th Annual Community BBQ and the Wizard of Oz themed Harvest Festival, but equally special were the unremarkable camp days spent swimming in Hayfork Creek and trying out program areas; gathering together at the end of a hot afternoon to share dinner on the eating platform. After nearly 30 years of running Camp, these comfortable moments are still the most special to me.
And then, one day in August, the Family Campers head back down the road and all of a sudden it’s quiet again–well, mostly. Fall is always an especially beautiful and busy time and this year was no exception. With the support of partners like the Watershed Center, we were able to use prescribed fire to safely burn 50+ acres of ranch forest and pastures. We’ve been using prescribed fire for the past decade to manage fuels, make the ranch more fire safe, and to increase the health and resilience of our forests. We also hosted elementary school students from Trinity County who spent a week exploring the ranch and learning about the ecology of our region. In October, our Fall Work Weekend crew helped close out the season – moving hay into barns for the animals, harvesting the final crops from the garden, and even making pork sausage.
Now we are back in the depths of winter – with forecasted lows this week in the 30s. Before we start the New Year, we wanted to share some fun facts, fond memories, and photos from 2024. We hope you enjoy this slideshow, which includes a small sampling of the many, many highlights of this year:
Seasons on the Ranch
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Camp by the Numbers
427 – The number of campers who attended Camp in 2024
100 – The percentage of campers who said their experience was excellent or very good in the post-summer survey
6 – The number of international countries represented by our staff
13 – The number of U.S. states represented by our staff
12 – The number of U.S. states represented by our campers
34 – The number of Camperships awarded to deserving families
8 – The number of backpacking trips to the Trinity Alps
36,000+ – The number of home-cooked meals prepared in our camp kitchen
95 – The number of years Camp has been in business
5 – The number of baby goats born during the summer
7 – The number of former campers who returned to the ranch to as staff this year
70 – The number of tons of hay loaded into our barns to feed the animals
Too many to count – Fun memories made with friends
Camp Matters: Thoughts from Our Community
If you’ve ever tried to explain the impact of Camp, you’ll know it can be tough to capture the experience in words. Below are a few of the comments we received from our community this year that touched us and reminded us how much Camp means to you all.
From Campers
“I realized that camp is one of the most important communities in my life, even though I only go there 14 or 30 days out of the whole year. I feel a strong connection to the place as well as the people. The feeling I get from camp is something I haven’t got from anywhere else, that’s why camp means so much to me. I believe everyone should experience that at least once in their life.”
“After camp, I found myself more open to embracing new experiences and more perceptive of the world around me.”
“I’ve been coming to camp since I was 11 and since then camp has HUGELY improved my confidence, leadership skills, mental health and overall appreciation for life.”
“The Bar 717 Ranch has fully changed my life. I was going through a very rough time when I first came to camp but the community and way of life at camp helped me more than I could ever explain.”
From Parents
“My child came back fundamentally changed. He was very anxious and unsure of himself before he went to camp. Upon his return he became open and much more confident. He has a pep in his step I had not previously seen. The transformation is truly remarkable.”
“Camp Trinity stays in the conversation for the entire summer and really, the entire year. Reflecting on and sharing such a positive experience seems to be a standard by which to navigate through the everyday. New friends and interacting with strangers and older campers/counselors supports positive social skills, confidence and independence.”
“Bar 717 was the traditional camp experience we had been looking for. Blending independence and safety, the camp allowed my child the freedom to explore her interests, from camp crafts to horseback riding and blacksmithing. She talks about camp a lot and definitely made some “core” memories!”
“The experience has been extraordinary for both our children. We are grateful for the values of personal responsibility, kindness, openness, flexibility, and resilience that we share with the camp. Sending our kids to Bar 717 has been amongst our most joyful parenting decisions!
From Staff
“Working at camp has been by far the most rewarding job I have ever had. I have loved having the opportunity to be a part of the wonderful camp community, which has given me the chance to meet and learn from so many amazing people. My time at the ranch has taught me so much about myself, and allowed me to grow immensely as a person. I have learned so much about the importance of hard work, perseverance, teamwork, patience and so much more.”
“Two words: do it. Take the job, go to camp, do the roadtrip! Nervous is a small word for what I felt going to camp for the first time, but once I was there I melted into camp life effortlessly. Camp is full of endless fun, friendships, memories, and experiences you couldn’t even begin to imagine without experiencing them yourself. From the Amos Moses to the overnight mac n’ cheese, I long for camp life everyday, and I can’t wait to be back.”
“I had such an amazing time at camp this summer. Truly one of the best things I’ve ever done. It meant so much to me to be the person facilitating campers’ experiences, just as counselors did for me when I was a camper. I loved every part of it.”
Looking Forward
We have a lot to look forward to in 2025. Before we know it, Camp will be here again and we can’t wait. We have planned again for another full season of Camp, Family Camp, Alumni Weekend, and a Junior Backpacking Trip. Enrollment is under way! Make sure to sign up early, as most sessions were full last year. We also appreciate your help in spreading the word to new families. Please feel free to invite any prospective campers and parents to join us for our next Virtual Information Session on January 21, 2025.
Our advisory board has been working diligently to ensure that we meet our annual fundraising goal for the Campership Fund. We are proud to offer this support to families who want to send their children to Camp but need a little help. We believe that the benefits of Camp—of the time spent outdoors, unplugged, and with friends—should be available to all children. If you want to help give the gift of Camp to a child, you can make a tax-deductible donation here. If you know someone who could benefit from a Campership, please encourage them to apply by February 1.
We will again host two work weekends – one in the Spring (date coming soon!) and one in the Fall, and we have exciting plans to break ground on a new and improved Trading Post, Counselor Shack, and Office building. We are also nearing completion of the sauna at Girls Camp, which has been rebuilt with the help of campers over the last few years. We are also excited to continue our partnerships with organizations working to responsibly manage the public and private lands around Camp. In the spring, we will host the U.S. Forest Service Women in Wildfire Training and partner with the Watershed Center to host a firefighter Crew Boss Academy.
Over the last year, we’ve also been engaged in refreshing the look and feel of our Camp materials. In the new year, we’ll roll out our updated website and other design elements that we hope will carry us forward as we proudly approach our 100th year. If you’re looking for a fun way to revisit Camp’s long history, you can pick up a copy of Recipes for Life, an incredible collection of stories, photos, recipes and writings lovingly compiled by camp alum Tori Nourafchan in honor of our 85th Anniversary, at the Trading Post.
You all – our campers, families, alumni, friends, and neighbors – are the heartbeat of Camp Trinity on the Bar 717 Ranch. We are grateful for your continued support and we wish you all the best as you begin a New Year.
Sincerely,
Kent
