- Camp Steiner, a historic Boy Scout camp in Utah's Uinta Mountains, opens to the public as Sunrock High Adventure Base Camp.
- The camp will continue to welcome youth groups, but will also be open to families and community groups.
- The camp is less than two hours from Salt Lake City and about an hour from Park City, but first-time visitors may feel worlds away.
You never forget your first big trip away from home.
For Ben Lusty and generations of scouts, it was Steiner Camp high in the Uinta Mountains from Utah.
“It was the first time I remember see the stars “It was like in the movies,” he recalls. “It was just amazing to me.”
But it was not only the landscape that left an impression.
“What I really saw was how the young boys and young men dealt with things that they didn’t see every day – like waking up and it was cold and working with that, having to walk a lot, there was nothing easy up there – overcoming those challenges and then learning new skills,” said Lusty, who became a staff member.
“A lot of these young men, these boys who have been going to camp for years and years, who are now fathers and grandfathers, have told stories “They’ve honored their wives, their children and their daughters all these years,” said Shad Stevens, a longtime scoutmaster who is breathing new life into the historic camp. “But these women have never set foot in this camp.”
Until now.
Last year, the Boy Scouts of America, which are rebranding to Scouting Americahave decided not to renew their special use permit for U.S. Forest Service lands. Stevens and the nonprofit Sunrock Foundation stepped in not only to keep the camp, but also to open it to the public. Sunrock High Adventure Base Camp.
“Now I'm faced with a flood of dads and grandpas saying, 'Let's take our family to camp!'” Stevens said.
Playing with a goal
“For nearly 100 years, Camp Steiner has served Scouting America’s Scouts and families, providing opportunities for adventure, teamwork and outdoor experiences to thousands of young people, preparing them to lead lives of impact and purpose,” Gordon Shattles, Scouting America’s director of corporate communications, said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Lusty said it was a lot of fun.
“It’s hard for young men, and especially young boys, to have fun, and so this was a space for them to do that. We had some pretty crazy games of tag, and they could throw hatchets and shoot bows and rifles and stuff like that,” he recalls.
It was also a lot of work.
“It was the first time I had to really work hard, do physical labor and work with a team of people,” he said of his years as an employee.
Stevens hopes to continue that legacy as director of Sunrock High Adventure Base Camp and chairman of the Sunrock Foundation Board of Directors. He is also a teacher.
“Let’s play with a purpose. Let’s go on an adventure, but let’s get closer to each other,” he said. “Doing what’s difficult allows us to know ourselves better and to know each other better.”
Doors openning
Sunrock High Adventure Base Camp will continue to welcome youth. Stevens noted that this is actually a Forest Service requirement for a special use permit.
But instead of being limited to boys and scouts, the camp will be open to all sorts of youth groups during its relatively short summer season, which won't be able to start until after the snow melts in the mountains. Two weeks, however, will be reserved for families and another week will be reserved for community groups and other non-profits.
“Our goal is to make these mountains accessible to as many people as possible, because we don’t own the mountains. We don’t claim to. We think we’re stewards of them,” Stevens said.
The camp opened last week with a week of service and a Camp Steiner staff meeting, but full programming won't begin until next year.
This summer, “groups will come to the mountain with the belief that they are there to help clean up,” Stevens said, noting that the camp's nearly century-old buildings are registered as historic sites and must be maintained to specific standards. relying heavily on donations to contribute to it. “We will not build anything new during the first year, or even perhaps the second, because our objective is simply to maintain or repair the current structures.”
Some recreational activities will be offered, but the camp will step up next year with a fully decked waterfront, rock climbing, hiking, workshops on topics like wilderness survival, and more.
Registration for next year will open on July 27, the same day the camp holds an open house to the public.
Nature can make you feel small.You should seek this feeling when you travel.
Connect with nature, disconnect from devices
The camp is less than two hours from Salt Lake City and about an hour from Park City, but first-time visitors may feel worlds away.
“There’s no cell phone service. There’s barely any electricity. It’s a really primitive area, that’s by design,” Stevens said. “The weather and nature are unpredictable. That’s just the way it is, and that’s one of the best things about this area: learning to deal with the unexpected.”
Back when it was called Camp Steiner, it was the highest Boy Scout camp in the country, at 10,400 feet, and campers had to walk a mile just to get into camp.
“I think there will be a number of families who are up for the challenge,” Stevens said. But there will be accessible alternatives“We know that the mobility of families will be limited.”
Lusty, who volunteers with Sunrock, hopes new campers are open to other types of challenges.
“I hope people who are up there in August enjoy the thunderstorms every afternoon. I hope people who were up there in July enjoy the hot afternoons and the cold mornings. I hope people enjoy the cold, cold water,” he said. “I hope people get a chance to feel like they’ve been a part of this legacy for almost 100 years.”
