Wolfe's Den: Hi, my name is Rift
Sitting on my grandparents’ counter, a cedar rectangle rested on a paper towel with an array of acrylics next to it.
It was a blank canvas.
Outdoor School was the next day and I hadn’t yet decided on a camp name. My best friend had already crafted his “Garfield” nametag and it was up to me to complete the duo as “Odie,” but I went rogue. With about 12 hours to go before I was to arrive at Camp Meriwether, I found myself painting R-I-F-T on my rustic nametag – my alter ego super identity I had crafted with my friends.
By all measures, I shouldn’t have been a high school Outdoor School counselor. I had a miserable time as a sixth grader. I was antisocial and whiney and my own counselor was a far cry from the enthusiastic and zany mentor I was expecting. Lethargic and passive, his camp name was Jon (real name: Jonathon. Still don’t know how that name slid by) – we didn’t bond.
I wanted to be the role model I never had at Outdoor School and be someone who would have the ability to help out the kids who felt left out or shy but contained lots of life and personality just below the surface. So, in 2006, I set out to fulfill that desire.
With four sixth grade boys in my cabin, we made the most of our week in camp and lived in, arguably the most beautiful of the campsites at Meriwether (Struan!) but something touched me. One of my boys that first year reminded me of someone: me. I tried to give him the best week possible, but felt like I should have done even more.
12 years (and 15 weeks of camp) later, I’m still feeling the effects of that very first year.
Never since 2006 have I missed a week of Outdoor School. I went two years as a counselor, two years as a senior counselor and have been on the staff since 2010. Helping to make Outdoor School a magical place for the high school counselors, sixth grade students and even other staff has been among the greatest joys in my life.
Every year, I am faced with added tasks and challenges as I continue to grow even while volunteering at a place I am intimately familiar with. And with each new role, I am able to learn about myself and my skills and bring that back into life after camp.
I had that pleasure just last week as Tillamook Outdoor School loaded Camp Meriwether with the sixth grade students from Tillamook and Mill City and were led by incredible counselors from Tillamook, Santiam and Neah-Kah-Nie.
It was one of the most special weeks of camp for me, partly because my ODS story continues to come full circle.
That boy in my cabin that very first year? He eventually came to camp for a few years as a counselor: RedBear. In 2013, Redbear had a sixth grade boy who bonded with our entire group and just last week, that particular sixth grade camper returned as a counselor: Moose. He came back because of RedBear and RedBear came back because of me.
I officially became a great-grandfather at Outdoor School.
This program has been having profound impacts on our youth for decades and continues to teach them, in near equal parts, natural resources and empathy.
Nestled near Cape Lookout, with stunning vistas of the Pacific Ocean through groves of trees, our program has returned to the expansive, beautiful Camp Meriwether, what many consider to be its home. Campers and counselors get to sleep in a cabin with three walls, be wary of raccoons and be removed from electricity (and more importantly: WiFi) for almost the entire week. We sing silly songs and learn about forestry, animals, a little engineering, fishing and each other. We create an overwhelmingly positive environment where there is no judgement or mean words and are quick to praise and help.
Outdoor School, for me and countless others, is a little utopia away from the chaos and messiness of the “real world,” but if enough of us carry that spark of joy we learn at ODS and introduce it back home, we can bring that utopia everywhere we go.
Cheers,
Jordan “Rift” Wolfe