The Week

Campers check in at Burns High School in the afternoon. Campers riding the camp bus from Portland, Eugene/Springfield, or Bend arrive in Burns in time for check-in (see the bus itinerary).

From Burns we all head south to the mountain together. Phones go away for the week, and camp begins.

The first day at camp will involve a lot of eating and drinking water as we get acclimated to the high altitude.

We’ll start with a series of short runs and stretches lead by running legends such as Max King and/or Melody Fairchild.

After a big lunch campers will make their way up the ridge above camp and cross country to Fish Lake where they can take a dip in the refreshing water. An easy run back to camp follows.

The day starts bright and early before the sun has risen. After eating a few of the several hundred pancakes flipped by the one-and-only “Diamond” Doug, we will load up on the buses and head up to the summit (9,500ft)

Big Indian Gorge

Beginning just before 8 am, the hike opens with a steep traverse down into Big Indian Gorge. It’s single-file monkey-style and in silence while we enjoy the quiet wilderness around us.

Tune in to your surroundings. Silence is golden. It speaks volumes. Silence is when you finally hear your soul speak to you.

You’ll stroll through aspen groves, splash through creeks, and brush against sagebrush until we reach the end of the gorge where we will stop for a quick lunch.

Interactive mapExplore the Big Day route↗

60/60s Up the Little Blitzen Gorge

We will make our way back up the mountain in Little Blitzen Gorge running 60/60s (60 seconds hiking, 60 seconds running).

Obstacles are how we find the gold in us. Deprived of water, what do a tree’s roots do? Dig. Deeper.

After about 8 Miles we’ll reach the “waterfall” and begin the steep ascent to the top of the ridge. Some “mountain goats” by the name of Max King and Jackson Brill have been known to run out of the Gorge, but you will likely be so exhausted you’ll be lucky to not cramp while slowly walking up and out.

21 Miles down – 7 more back to camp

At this point you’ll be out of the wilderness and back on the Steens Loop road. The ultimate accomplishment is to make it all the way back to camp before the cutoff time

“You’ll make it out…”

Here is a song inspired by “the Big Day” and written by a former Steens camper.

We’ll drag our tired bodies out of bed, eat breakfast, then stretch and shake out yesterday’s “Big Day”.

We’ll have a tent inspection, take team/tent photos, and hear an inspirational message from Harland, the camp founder.

After lunch we will go through some group rotations learning about various running related material (examples include running form, race visualization, strength training, etc).

Then before dinner we will head out on an easy run.

Tomorrow we race Cross Canyon!

The “Cross Canyon” race is a favorite among former campers. The race starts in the middle of a jeep road surrounded by sagebrush. Your only directions are to follow “where the sun would naturally set”.

There’s no trail. No map. And you must finish as a team.

Are you going to be the salt or the vinegar on your team?

Each team will start by themselves, staggered by one minute.

As a team, you have 60 seconds to memorize a quote before you are off running wild – you’ll have to be able to recite that quote when the race is over.

After quickly descending, you’ll cross a small creek and make your way up to the plateau. The looming question is whether or not you will be greeted by a giant snow bank.

Interactive mapExplore the Cross Canyon route↗

At the end of the plateau – if you kept your bearings – you will finally get a glimpse of the finish line. Commit it to memory, because as you drop down in the final canyon you won’t see it again until you are within 100 meters.

Gallivanting your way through the groves of aspens hopefully you miss the cliffs – if you don’t, you’ll have to find a way down.

Uphill 5K

You won’t be complaining about hilly courses anymore.

Bar Hang

Think you have what it takes to hang from a bar longer than anyone else? Sounds easy right? Well most campers don’t make it more than 3-4 minutes.

Tug-o-War

Do you have the stamina and strength to hold off the other teams?

Water-bottle Relay

An 8 person two mile relay – straight uphill and right back down. The burning lungs at a dusty high altitude is comparable to none.

Skits!

Buses come off the mountain and arrive at Burns High School around 10:30 am. Families can pick up campers there at about 10:45, and charter buses to Bend, Eugene/Springfield, and Portland leave at noon.

I like to see kids come out of Steens at the end of the week as a changed athlete with the attitude that there is no physical or mental challenge they can’t overcome.