Browse Our Stories

Welcome to
My Outpost Story

Outpost is proud to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in 2011! To celebrate, we have created this special project - My Outpost Story, a website dedicated to our campers, parents and staff who have shared in the Outpost experience for several years.

The first-ever day of Outpost in June 2002 - and the very first game of Blitz!

On the left side of this page is a navigation area that allows you to easily browse through the stories. Here's what you'll find:

Profile (on the right): A quick glance at who the page is about and how long they've been at Outpost.

Photos: Photos of the person (people) on the page, usually spanning their years at camp.

Videos: Several of our campers and staff chose to create short videos highlighting songs, skits or random parts of Outpost that they particularly enjoyed from their experience. They are GREAT! (not all pages have videos).

Stories: Most of all, the pages share the experience of Outpost in the words of each of the participants themselves, following a interview format provided by our Outpost Directors.

We will be publishing a new My Outpost Story on a regular basis throughout 2011. If you would like to tell your own Outpost story, email Candy.

The "new logs" at Canyonside (stage one of two) - we moved camp there in 2004 from across the road in the Preserve

Outpost's Story!

Outpost began in the summer of 2002, and was located just east of the Adobe Ranch House in the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve. The first summer we averaged approximately 25 campers per day, and had 3 Senior Counselors, 3 vans that managed to serve all of Carmel Valley, Poway, Scripps Ranch and the surrounding communities, and a large learning curve! It was exciting and new for everyone involved, and there are still about 20 or so individuals (campers and staff) who have been continually involved every year since 2002.

The philosophy, which remains very much in place today, was to "create camp" from the participants themselves: the staff and campers. Each three-week session, we bring together children and young adults to explore, play, laugh, discover new things about themselves, and grow together. We emphasize positive actions and relationships, and encourage everyone to take appropriate risks, build friendships and be themselves.

The stories in this project are a direct reflection of our success in meeting these goals over the last decade, and are filled with personal testimonials of this philosophy.

Our campers and staff spelling out OSC with their bodies in 2005 - Stuart snapped this shot from a small plane overhead

After two summers in the Preserve, our growth and "footprint" necessitated a move to Canyonside Community Park, our current location, across the road from the Preserve. In partnership with the City, we built an "old-fashioned" log amphitheater, which provides the venue for AM Blitz and PM Campfire each camp day.

We grew steadily during the years that followed, and by 2007 began averaging about 200 children per day in our Day Camp and Senior Outpost programs combined. In 2008 we'd grown to having 19 vans providing door-to-door transportation for communities located in a 10 mile radius around Rancho Penasquitos, a staff of 85, and a growing reputation as a wonderful program.

One critical development during this time was the increase in the number of our Junior Counselors who had previously been Outpost campers, and Senior Counselors who had previously been Junior Counselors. These "veteran" staff value our traditions, have spent many summers at camp, and enjoy maintaining our culture by passing everything along to new campers and staff each summer.

In 2008, Outpost Summer Camps underwent an expansion, adding three new programs. To accomodate the needs of our camp families during the school breaks, we launched Winter Camp and Spring Camp, seasonal programs built off of our summer philosophy. We also began a unique after-school social skills program for children struggling to be successful with their peers, called FRIENDS. FRIENDS has positively affected the lives of many elementary aged children, helping them find more success on the playground, at camp, and in extra-curricular activities.

In 2009 we launched our Pre Camp program for children ages 3-5! We discovered a terrific preschool site at the North City Presbyterian Church in Poway, adjacent to a creek and a small "wilderness" area, perfect for our program. Over 150 children enjoyed Pre Camp in 2010, as it doubled in size from its first summer and promises to grow again in 2011. Best of all, Pre Campers are already Outpost experts when they "graduate" and get to attend Day Camp after completing a year of Kindergarten.

Our 2010 Staff in 100% Camp Mode - made up of Pre Camp, Day Camp, Senior Outpost counselors and their Directors

Outpost has much planned for the next ten years. We are currently transitioning from Outpost Summer Camps to Outpost Recreation and Education. In addition to our existing summer camps, seasonal camps and FRIENDS programs, we are developing and rolling out additional after school programs as well as parent education workshops and classes. We are creating a detailed, highly effective staff training and development program for child-serving organizations such as camps and after-school centers, as well as a consulting service for the leaders of those programs. We are excited about our future and hope to continue to celebrate anniversaries for some time!

We hope you have enjoyed reading about our history and invite you to continue exploring this site. Click on "Next Story" below to continue, or scroll back up to the navigation area on the left side of this page to choose your own story!

Sincerely,
Stuart Jones and the Outpost Summer Camp Directors