Boy! What a year! Covid-19 has thrown us some curveballs over the past 8 months, that's for sure! Our program was devastated... business was swept right out from beneath our feet and we fell hard. Instead of talking about the struggles however, let us show you all the silver linings...
A LITTLE HISTORY...
Founded in 1990 by retired Marine Colonel, Eugene Nervo, Wilderness Adventure has been operating summer adventure programs for 9-17 year olds for 31 years! Located on 500 acres of rural fields, forest, mountains, and streams, WA is also home to two large log-cabin lodges along a half-mile stretch of Craigs Creek in Craig County, VA. The lodges house participants visiting WA as part of our group retreat program...schools, corporations, churches, etc. Over the past 31 years, WA has touched hundreds of thousands of individuals from across the country and around the world. However, nothing has impacted our business as much as COVID-19. Here's what we're doing about it :-)
NEW FACES... OLD HATS
In trying times, change is inevitable. While many of our staff were forced to seek employment elsewhere, a couple of new faces emerged from the past to help us rebuild. Meet Jamie Nervo, Executive Director, and Dustin Eshelman, Director of Operations.
Jamie and Dustin are hardly new faces at all; both have a long history here at WA and are excited to be back and in full swing to help us rebuild and reinvent.
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Jamie is the oldest daughter of our founder, Col. Gene Nervo. She's certainly been around this block! Jamie started here as a trip leader on some of our first summer trips alongside her dad! As time rolled on, Jamie's love for WA has never dwindled. She has always been present around camp either cooking for groups, raising her children around the porch, building trails, or working in the garden. As the new Executive Director, Jamie is using her artistic vision and unstoppable energy to create new events, attract new energy, and give WA a fresh start. Dustin Eshelman is hardly a new face either. Starting out as a trip leader in 1997, she caught the eye of the young director, Pete Eshelman and the two went on to get married here on the property in 2000. While Pete remained the Director of Operations until 2008, Dustin went back for her masters in education, raised two children, and start a business of her own. Returning as the new Director of Operations, Dustin is using her business savvy, organizational skills, and intense desire to see us succeed in order to get us back on our feet and the word of WA out into the world.
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2021 SUMMER ADVENTURE CAMP
Despite COVID, we are so very proud to have pulled off a successful, yet shortened 2020 Adventure Camp season without a single hitch. Our new staff were absolutely amazing and the campers, top-notch.
If ever there were a healthy place to spend your time as a child, it's outside, under the stars, learning new skills. We know these kids need the wilderness more than ever right now. Be sure to take advantage of our UNBELIEVABLE early-bird specials and give your child the gift of experience!
Early-Bird Discounts
- Pay in full by Jan. 15th and receive 30% OFF the entire tuition!!
- Pay in full between Jan. 15th and Mar. 15 and receive 15% off tuition.
- Learn more about Adventure Camp here: www.wilderness-adventure.com/about-camp
CREATING AN ADVENTURE CENTER
When every group canceled and things were looking bleak, we built ourselves a campground, cooked up some delicious food, called in the musicians, and invited families to come "hangout" with us every weekend...outside! For the first time in our history, WA is open to the public to camp, rent tubes or canoes, order food out of our Outpost (aka Equipment Barn), and listen to live music every Saturday night! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates on when we'll start back up in Spring 2021!
www.wilderness-adventure.com/adventure-center
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THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR...
Weekend Hangouts 2021
We'll be firing up our weekend hangouts again this Spring. Fun for the whole family...live music, camping, delicious food, cold beverages, tube and canoe rentals with shuttles, zip-lining, and more!
www.wilderness-adventure.com/hangouts
Yoga-Venture Spring 2021
This May, keep an eye out for our 2nd Yoga-Venture retreat! In October of 2020, we worked with talented yogis to pull together this inaugural event and it was WAsome! Yoga, meditation, healing sound baths, and more amazing classes were offered. We'll be hosting again this Spring so be on the lookout for updates and registration details!
Check out last year's event details here: www.wilderness-adventure.com/yoga-venture
Spring 2021 Bikepacking Event
Into long-distance cycling? Love to explore the rural countryside? We're hashing out a new 2-stage, 200 mile backpacking event in conjunction with our local endurance series organizations. Stay tuned!
The Appalachian Mountaineer
This past November, WA also hosted the inaugural Appalachian Mountaineer gravel ride across the endless miles of beautiful forest service roads in Craig County. With distance options of 15, 25, 40, and 60miles, this event attracted over 200 riders on a beautiful Autumn afternoon. Riders finished up with chili, cold beverages, live music, and plenty of camping options for the entire weekend of fun. No doubt we'll be revving this one up again next Fall.
Check out last year's event details here
