Base Camp Shines at a National Event

September 24–27, 2026

On Thursday, September 24, we arrived at Coulter Bay Group Site #6 in Grand Teton National Park and got Base Camp up and running — with help from Participants and volunteers who'd traveled in from Utah, Idaho, and Seattle.

We set up three 12' x 17' canvas wall tents: one for the cooks, one for meetings and dining, and one for the crew. Our Program's job for this National event was breakfast and dinner for the whole group, while Troy's team out of Utah handled lunches. Over four days, Susan and Dave — our volunteer cooks — turned out three breakfasts, three dinners, and a steady supply of hot coffee, and the response was tremendous.

But the food was only half of it. The real story was what happened around the camp each evening: Participants, mentors, and volunteers from different Programs gathering by the fire, trading stories, and building the kind of fellowship Base Camp was designed to create.

Sunday morning, after the last breakfast, many of the Participants stayed on their own to help break down camp. Before we said our goodbyes, one of them pulled me aside, gave me a hug, and said: “My heart is full.”

No report captures what that moment meant better than those four words.

— Jerry Doubleday, Assistant Base Camp Lead