Possible Future Adult Camps
November 2016* Sea kayaking on the Wilk Coast of Charleston, S.C.December 2016* Winter Wonderland in Gatlinburg, Tenn.January 2017* New Year’s Eve in Savannah, Ga.Spring 2017* Horseback riding, climbing, zip lining, canoeing and outdoor painting class in Arkansas* Washington, D.C., bike tour and sightseeingSummer 2017* Telluride via Ferrata, hot springs and Fourth of July celebration* Climbing, ATV riding and canyoneering in Arches National Park in Moab, Utah* Lake Superior kayaking and Isle Royale National ParkFall 2017* Boundary Waters canoe/packing trip near the Canadian/American border* Acadia National Park hiking, climbing and horseback riding on famous John D. Rockefeller Carriage RoadsWinter 2017* Skiing and tubing at Wolf Ridge near Asheville, N.C.* Deep-sea fishing, kayaking around Amelia Island/Cumberland Island on the Atlantic coast
Not taking a turn on the zipline was never an option.
Situated in a carved out part of the Cherokee National Forest at the YMCA Camp Ocoee outside of Cleveland, Tennessee, the line is strung between two telephone polls and takes riders about 100 yards through the trees.
The ride itself wasn't that much of a concern for me, nor was the idea of stepping off of the platform. It was getting to the platform that gave me pause. I've seen videos of people riding ziplines over rivers, canyons and even buildings, and it looks like fun. But to actually ride the zipline, we had to climb a telephone pole three and a half stories high. I'm not really afraid of heights, as I did once jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but that plane took me to the jumping-off place. Being on a roof doesn't bother me either, but stepping off the ladder to get there does. Can't tell you why, but it always has.
And, let's be honest, I spend 99.9 percent of my workday in a chair, and most days, I rush home to the couch.
So here I was at the inaugural Adult Adventure Camp & Retreat, a weekend at Camp Ocoee. The zipline was my first real test, though it had been made clear that nothing we would be asked to do was about competition or even testing one's mettle. It was about grownups having fun. And we were. Our group had already spent time on the archery and BB gun ranges, but neither of those involved mustering up much bravery.
The zipline features safety ropes and belays - but you first must climb that ladder, and then the pole. And a heavy rainstorm had left everything wet, including the heavy-duty staples stuck into the pole that served as hand and foot rests.
That didn't seem to worry or faze the counselors, so I figured if they weren't worried, I shouldn't be. At least not publicly.
As we were getting geared up, I was even thinking that I should go first. Not out of any sort of machismo, but because I learned long ago that going first gets it over with and shortens the time you have to worry or chicken out.
But Chris Berry, 54, who works at BlueCross BlueShield in Chattanooga, jumped to the front, and before I knew it, she was hooking the safety rope to her harness and making her way up the pole. She did great and seemed to have a ball zipping through the trees.
Then local retiree Carolyne Long, 65, stepped forward. She was there with her husband, Al, 69. Carolyne got about halfway up and announced she couldn't make it. She'd recently had knee replacement surgery and needed it done on the other knee, she explained later. The disappointment in her voice made it clear that this was not about lack of want but about can't for her. She let go of the pole and was lowered to the ground via the safety line.
It was a moment that set a tone for the rest of the weekend for me.
I think all of us - ranging in age from 42 to 74 - wanted to experience the adventures that a camp like this offers, but sometimes physical limitations get in the way. We weren't going to simply sit back and let things like bad knees or back problems stop us from having fun, however. Which is why when it was my turn, I clipped onto the safety line and climbed up the pole without thinking too much about it. Just do it and have fun, I told myself. And that's what happened.
While I don't care to do it again, I'm glad I did it.
The idea behind the camp
This Adult Adventure Camp was the idea of Joy Krause. She originally conceived the idea after starting a business called Boomers Together that would organize events like dining experiences, workshops, meetups, hiking and biking excursions for baby boomers, those of us born between 1946 and 1964.
She approached YMCA Executive Director Bill Rush about the Y being involved somehow. He had been thinking of new ways to utilize the facilities at the Y's Camp Ocoee and ways to appeal to a larger demographic. The two realized they shared a common goal and the adult camp idea was conceived.
Originally called Boomer Camp and since renamed Adult Adventure Camp & Retreat, the first was held in August. In addition to the shooting experiences and zipline on Friday, we spent the better part of a hot, clear but muggy Saturday in canoes or on standup paddleboards making our way to an island where we swam, jumped off a rope swing and had lunch.
Later that night we were treated to a wine and cheese tasting hosted by Brian Leutwiler, general manager of Imbibe Chattanooga. This was an adult camp, after all.
Krause and Rush had no idea if people would respond and were pleasantly surprised when the 24 slots - 12 men and 12 women - filled up immediately. After the success of the first one, they not only plan to have more at Camp Ocoee, they are planning others around the region.
"We were so happy, and surprised, that people loved the idea," Krause says.
A second camp scheduled for Oct. 14-16 was already one-third full before the first one got underway, says Krause, who has plans for many more.
Our 24 campers and staff all stayed in Wasson Lodge, where we ate wonderful hot meals, slept in comfortable twin beds and had access to hot showers and cold A/C. Though I have to admit that sleeping in a house full of adults felt like a Marx Brothers movie, with maybe the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles thrown in.
My bed was a couch in the main lobby downstairs, which I thought was perfect because I was alone, but the bathrooms were busy all night long - this was an adult camp, remember - which meant creaky hinges and shutting doors at perfectly timed intervals. At one point, I gave up on sleep and just laughed, lying there in the dark.
Sitting around the campfire earlier that evening, several people mentioned being apprehensive beforehand about sharing a cabin with strangers, but most agreed meeting new people was a big part of the "camp" experience.
Everyone at camp had a story and was there for different reasons.
Paula Barnett, 53, was like about half of the two dozen campers: She'd never attended summer camp as a child.
"The zip [line] was the best part for me," she says. "The line itself was not really the accomplishment, but climbing that pole was."
Marty Biddel, 67, was a Camp Ocoee veteran, having first attended at age 5 in 1956, then returning pretty much every summer with his wife and three children until his wife's death two years ago. The weekend for him was about healing and moving on, as much as it was about reliving some wonderful memories, he says.
"This place is so special to me," says Biddel. "I plan to put my wife's ashes in one of the coves that we used to go to."
For Barnett, new experiences were exactly why she flew in from Orlando, Fla., just for the camp. She'd always wanted to attend summer camp after hearing about them from her mother, but she'd always thought she'd go with a friend or two. Once she'd made up her mind to attend a camp with or without a sidekick, she went online to search for camps for boomers and found a newspaper article about the one at Camp Ocoee. This was her first real go at such an excursion by herself, which made it even more of an adventure.
"I would do it again," she says.
So would I.