What is a camp? What does it mean to go to a camp? Although
it may seem a simple question to answer, definitions of camp tend to vary from
person to person, but they all have one important thing in common. Camps
generally bring people together into the wilderness. Some of the finest and
oldest camps are located in the Adirondacks and give us insight into what a
camp is.
For the more affluent, camps may take the form of a massive,
luxurious Adirondack Great Camp. For example, the Vanderbilt family, known for
their economic prominence in the Gilded Age once summered at Great Camp
Sagamore, shown below. The Vanderbilt family bought the camp from William West
Durant, the designer and developer of great camp style, in 1901. From there on,
the camp was a gathering place for the Vanderbilt family to relax, vacation,
entertain, and go sporting.
For other people, camp may look like the simpler cabin shown
below. There may be no electricity, or fancy accommodations, but this camp, like
the Great Camp Sagamore, is in the wilderness. The camp shown in the image
below is my family camp, which has been passed down from generation to
generation since my great grandparents bought it in the early 50s. Our camp
lacks the aesthetics and luxury of the great camp, but its primary purpose is
to serve as a gathering place for my family.
The Adirondack Great Camps may entice people to think of
camps as beautiful, large pieces of architecture, but camps do not need to be
mansions like the Great Camp Sagamore shown above. In fact, most camps are
simple cottages that serve as gathering places for friends and families in the
wilderness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanderbilt_family
I think it is really interesting to think about what a camp is because it is definitely subjective. Every individual has a different view of a camp and each definition is completely right. Until coming to Hamilton and doing AA, I had never heard of houses being called camps, I only knew of sleep away camps or day camps as being called camps. All the forms of camps I have now learned about all fit under the general definition of them being a way to bring people together in the wilderness. I think they are very important to the culture of the park and the fact that the park has always been a place to enjoy nature no matter how you go about doing that.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking a lot about this idea since class yesterday. There are so many different ways for people to interact in the wilderness and I don't think there is a "right" way or a "wrong" way. A camp could be a tent, a cabin, or a mansion. Whichever way, it doesn't bother me. While some may argue that those in mansions are being elite, I'd like to argue the opposite. Maybe it's more exclusive and elitist to shut out people's definition of "camp" just because it's more on the lavish side.
ReplyDelete