Camp leads teens on path to adulthood
RUFFIN PREVOST Billings Gazette | Posted: Monday, May 22, 2006 12:00 am
CODY - The road from adolescence to adulthood can be rocky. But for teens attending Dano Camp, one memorable stretch of that road leads through 40 miles of wilderness in northwestern Wyoming.
For the last decade, teens from around the Big Horn Basin have attended the unique wilderness adventure camp to learn practical outdoor skills as well as more nuanced lessons about developing confidence, trust and responsibility.
"A lot of these kids come into this with no intentions of being a leader," said Dano Camp board member Joyce Ostrom. "But before long, they're in there pitching in and helping out and showing the newer kids how to do things."
Dano Camp, named for Ostrom's late son, Danny Ostrom, was started by a group of Danny's friends after his death at age 25 following a horseback riding accident.
"At the funeral, the priest challenged everyone and said, 'Let's make a positive out of this negative,"' said Joyce Ostrom. "Some of the people there came up with the idea for a youth camp for boys."
Ostrom said the concept was a fitting tribute to Danny, who, like his father and two brothers, worked for the U.S. Forest Service and loved spending time in the wilderness.
"It's what our family does," she said.
Each summer, camp guides take 20 boys and 20 girls ages 13 to 16 on separate backcountry trips in the Beartooth or Big Horn mountains.
A three-day field camp gives teens a chance to literally learn the ropes - knot-tying and rappelling - as well as food preparation and survival skills.
Kids then decide if they want to progress to a weeklong backcountry trip.
"We've very rarely had to tell kids they can't come," said Troy Broussard, a former Army Ranger and Boy Scouts of America executive who is a part-time director for Dano Camp. "They usually decide for themselves."
"If they make it through that camp, then they are physically and socially up to it, so we put them on a trip," said Broussard.
The backcountry trips typically last eight days, with three adults supervising nine teens on a 40-mile trek through rugged terrain.
"The trips have evolved over the last 10 years until we've figured out exactly what works best with that age group," Broussard said.
Guides work with campers on conflict resolution, problem solving and other life skills, using what Ostrom calls "teachable moments" during the trips to illustrate life lessons to the teens.
Campers are challenged by guides along the way, and must keep journals of their experiences and insights throughout the hike.
"Dano was a great experience for me. It provided me with an outdoor experience I would never have had otherwise," said Zeke Elzey, one of the first Dano campers, now attending college in Powell.
"I learned how to survive in the wilderness, how to get along with all kinds of people, and to do things I never thought I could. I also developed leadership skills, learned to use them, and to be a person in charge of others," he said.
For the first five years, only boys participated, but girls have followed the same program for the last five years, said Broussard. Around 40 percent of campers return a second year to take on leadership roles.
Broussard said the camp is not geared toward at-risk teens and accepts a diverse group of campers, including those from single-parent homes or simply kids whose parents are not accomplished in the outdoors.
"A 40-mile hike with eight days' worth of food on your back is something most parents don't have the time or ability to do for their kids," he said.
The cost of the program runs about $500 per camper, but Dano Camp charges teens just $50 each for the trip, and those who can't afford that fee usually receive scholarships.
Local service groups, individual donors, government agencies and charitable foundations help fund the nonprofit camp, said Broussard.
Board members, some of whom are teachers and recreation workers, help identify teens who are most likely to benefit from the experience.
The camp provides identical backpacks and gear to each camper, including hiking boots, if needed.
Broussard said the experience for most campers is intense and transforming, and yields visible results by the end of the trip.
"Sitting around the campfire, they'll say some profound things that you don't expect them to say, and you realize you're getting to them," Broussard said.