{"id":914,"date":"2013-01-16T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2013-01-16T15:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/blog\/?p=914"},"modified":"2021-02-09T22:47:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T04:47:19","slug":"wanderers-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wanderers-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Camp Director Spotlight: Wanderers Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Wanderers Camp<\/a> in the San Fransisco Bay Area offers 5-7 day sleep-away camps, day camps, and backpacking trips, for kids grades 2-8. While kids at other SF Bay area camps are stuck in one place, these campers spend their days touching tide pool starfish, finding huckleberries, spotting tule elk, playing among the redwoods, rock climbing on granite, and camping and backpacking in remote wilderness areas throughout Northern California.\u00a0We interviewed founder Kurt Gantert<\/strong> about the camp’s beginnings and missions.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Tell us a little about yourself and how you started the camp.<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

I grew up backpacking, canoeing, skiing, etc. in upstate New York. \u00a0My parents were very outdoorsy and loved to take me and my brother out on long trips into the wilderness of the Adirondacks in northern New York.<\/p>\n

I remember having a natural affinity for the outdoors, but those first backpacking and canoe trips were pretty hard. \u00a0A big, heavy pack on my back, long miles of hiking, the bugs, rain, etc. \u00a0However, the positives of those experiences far outweighed the negatives.<\/p>\n

I felt so proud of hiking far and pushing myself to get to the top of a peak, or paddle across a huge lake. \u00a0The food tasted better out in the wilderness, the smells of the forest were amazing, learning how to survive outdoors and being self-sufficient, the feeling of freedom, seeing wildlife up-close, learning about the natural history of the areas we camped in, and the calm and serenity of nature were some of the things I became aware of being in the wilderness on those trips. \u00a0I could go on, but these experiences early in my life were very formative.<\/p>\n

During my late teens and early twenties, I worked at a summer camp called Pathfinder in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. \u00a0It is a boys canoe tripping camp that will be 100 years old this year.<\/p>\n

I worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor at first and eventually graduated to become a canoe trip leader there. \u00a0As a canoe trip leader, I led 3-15 day canoe trips for boys ages 7-15 into the wilderness of Canada.<\/p>\n

These trips were very challenging, but fun and life-changing in many ways for both the staff and the campers. \u00a0I saw the campers gain confidence, physical strength, learn teamwork and leadership skills, and much more. \u00a0The experience working at Pathfinder made me want to pursue a career in the outdoors. \u00a0After seeing how transformative these trips were for the boys, I was sold on doing this for a living.<\/p>\n

After 10+ years experience working as a backpacking guide, ski instructor, natural history educator and program director for numerous outdoor education and adventure travel companies, I felt like I was ready to start my own camp. \u00a0It was a dream I’d had since working at Pathfinder, and I felt like I was finally ready to go for it. \u00a0I was settled down and married with 2 kids in San Francisco. \u00a0I was enjoying living in SF, but was realizing that my family I weren’t spending a lot of time in the outdoors because our lives were so busy with work, school and social events.<\/p>\n

I read the book “Last Child in the Woods” by Richard Louv and it was the final inspiration for me to start the camp. \u00a0Louv’s book was about how modern children weren’t spending as much time in nature as the previous generation and it was having some serious negative effects on their mental and physical well-being. \u00a0The book had given me a focus for my camp: re-connecting children to nature!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Are there any special lessons or experiences you are trying to provide during the camp?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Wanderers is focused on connecting children to nature by:<\/p>\n