25th Anniversary Weekend Schedule (August 16 - 18, 2024)
Friday
4:00 - Until Early arrivals
6:00 Supper (Potluck dinner bring a dish or two to share!)
Saturday
7:30 - 9:00 Breakfast for Friday night arrivals
​
9:00 - 10:30 Check in
​
10:30 Welcoming Ceremony
​
11:00 - 1:00 Open Activities (To be determined)
​
1:00 - 2:30 Lunch / Settle in
​
2:30 - 3:00 Time Capsule
Opening the 2000 Time Capsule
Burying the 2024 Time Capsule
​
3:00 - 5:30 Open Activities (To be determined)
Snacks (fruit, energy bars) will be available
​
5:30 - 6:00 General Swim
​
6:00 Dinner
​
7:00 All Camp Game
​
8:00 Campfire
Sunday
7:00 - 9:00 Breakfast
​
9:00 Morning Reflection
​
9:30 Relax before heading home, Possible hike to Little Rock Pond
​
All times are approximate. Remember we live on Night Eagle time!
​
Follow the link to register online:
Look Who's Already Planning to Attend
Arctic Arrow Fisher Cares
Blue Heron Sun Meadow
Red Path Seeker Thunder Willow
Summer Bear Meadow Stone
Eagle Dance Ermine Wind
Heart Spirit River Bow
Yellow Flame Lynn & Don Ogden
Southern Star David Lamite
Loon Spirit Carries the Sun
Western Moon Stephen Dahl
Meadow Dreamer Marsh Hawk
Aiden Fillmore Todd Fillmore
Prairie Star Standing Cloud
Sun Quest Serge Mokeyev
Specifics
Who?
Night Eagle alumni, new and returning campers, families, and friends are invited to participate in our 25th Anniversary celebration.
​
What to Bring?
The weather in Vermont can be fickle, so plan accordingly and wear appropriate shoes. You may want an emergency flashlight if you plan to stay after dark as the dark comes earlier this time of year. Bring your own sleeping bags and ground cloths if you plan to camp. There are Maxwell Houses (outdoor privies) and running water at camp, but everyone should bring a personal water bottle.
​
Food?
On Friday, food will mainly be a communal event. Bring a dish or two to share for a potluck dinner Friday night. Night Eagle will provide food on Saturday and Sunday.
​
We prefer that our 25th Anniversary, as with all camp events, be free of tobacco and alcohol as well as electronics/cell phones.
​
Overnight?
You are welcome to stay overnight in camp, but you will need to bring your own sleeping bag. You may reserve space in a tipi or pitch a tent anywhere on the property, but fires will only be allowed in the tipis, at the food shelter, and under Hocoka. If you do plan to spend the night, let us know so we can coordinate everyone’s needs. We can also recommend some nearby motels or inns if you’re more inclined to a hot shower and a soft bed after a day in the woods.
​
Parking?
Plan to park near the front gate and walk into camp from there using the trail or the road. We don't want people to have to worry about cars traveling the road into camp. Besides, tires will tear up the road, but feet do very little damage!
​
Cost?
There is no charge to attend the event. We hope you can join us, reconnect with old friends, and share your Night Eagle memories.
In the Beginning . . .
In the summer of 1990, Allen Flying By and I began talking about beginning a primitive camp of our own similar to the camp where we were working at the time. The original idea was to find land in South Dakota, and Allen was going to explore that idea. Meanwhile, I would explore the possibilities of setting the camp in North Carolina, a place where I had worked at a summer camp for five years and explored on Quest, a travel camp that I had established in 1982. All the while, Allen and I stayed in contact with each other.
​
Early on, Allen told me that he did not believe the camp would be feasible in South Dakota because of logistics, mostly centered around transportation. I continued to explore Western North Carolina, contacting real estate agents throughout the region. I looked at a small abandoned camp near Brevard that had been used in the 1960's. I'll never forget the agent who contacted us about the property. We arrived at his office and he came outside to greet me with his hand extended. The first words out of his mouth were, "Tressler, Dick Tressler!" All I could think about was "Bond, James Bond."
He led us to the property, which had a small clearing covered in poison ivy and one building that could serve as an office and infirmary; however, the building was in pretty bad shape and would probably have to be torn down and a new one built. The property also had a lake bed (the lake had been drained), but power lines ran right down the middle of it and the site was adjacent to a two-lane back-topped road, leaving no privacy.
I looked at one other possibility, a small, former camp compete with cabins, an office and a dining hall. It's biggest drawback was its location, as it was miles away from everything, but additionally I was not looking for a camp with cabins.
​
The final real possibility was located in Todd, NC, an area not far from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. The property was really isolated and deeply forested with no place for anything other than a small pond. Since the site was shaped like a huge deep bowl, I could only imagine what it would be like in a rainstorm with water running down the surrounding mountainsides. The most interesting thing about that property was the fact that Eustace Conway and his camp Turtle Island was just a mile or so away.
After three years of looking at land, I had all but given up hope of finding a site that was suitable for the kind of camp that Allen and I had in mind. Land that was suitable had already been gobbled up by the state and turned into state forests and parks. The rest was priced at over $10,000 an acre, putting it way out of our reach. After considering the cost and the ever present danger of copperheads and rattlesnakes, I came to the conclusion that establishing a camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains would be prohibitive. (To be continued . . .)
​