From a farmhouse to 35 summers: the story of Wilderness Adventure
How a retired Marine colonel, his family and a single farmhouse became an adventure camp that has welcomed campers since 1990.
Since 1990, young people have come to this corner of Craig County to climb, paddle, hike and grow. What started as a retired Marine's idea and a single farmhouse is now a year-round camp, retreat center and festival ground on 500 acres beside Craig Creek. This is the story of how it got here, told through the people, places and traditions that shaped it.
Wilderness Adventure at a glance
- 1990 Colonel Gene Nervo and his family open Wilderness Adventure as a backpacking camp. 32 campers come the first summer.
- 1991 Twice as many: 64 campers in the second summer.
- 1993 Platform tents go up for the youngest campers, ages 9 and 10.
- Over the years The farmhouse grows into the Main Lodge, and the Sly Lodge, the Sneaky Cabin and the Admin Building are added. Groups, retreats and weddings join summer camp.
- 2017 The first WA Fest raises money for camperships.
- 2018 Camp Reckoning brings Grateful Dead classics to the property.
- 2020 The pandemic cancels reservations, and the family decides how to carry the camp forward.
- Today Jamie Nervo, the Colonel's daughter, runs Wilderness Adventure as Owner and Executive Director.
The Colonel
Gene Nervo, known to staff and campers alike as The Colonel, served 33 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He and his wife Patricia raised seven children on military bases around the world. A longtime Boy Scout leader, he had seen what time outdoors could do for young people. When he retired, he had a simple vision: a stretch of land with woods, fields, cliffs and creeks, where adventure could build character, confidence and leadership.
1990: a farmhouse and 32 campers
In 1990, at age 50, Gene made it happen. With Patricia and several of their children, he cleared land, built cabins, gathered gear and hired young leaders to guide backpacking trips into the neighboring Jefferson National Forest. He spread the word about a camp that was more rugged, more hands-on and more grounded in real outdoor experience than most.
That first summer, 32 campers came. The next year there were 64, and from there it took off. Base Camp was a single 1800s farmhouse, and it's still the heart of today's Main Lodge, which was built outward around it in the same style.
Four principles
Gene built Wilderness Adventure's programs around four guiding principles that still shape every trip:
- Strong work ethic. Everyone carries their share, on the trail and around camp.
- Clear communication. A group that talks things through stays safe and has more fun.
- Mutual respect. For each other, for the counselors and for the land.
- A positive attitude. Rain, blisters and long climbs are all part of the story.
The trail years
From the start, Wilderness Adventure was about getting into the backcountry. Groups of campers and their counselors set out for a week or more at a time, carrying everything they needed. They hiked the ridges of the Jefferson National Forest, paddled Craig Creek and the rivers beyond, climbed real rock and crawled through caves. More than one trip across North Mountain ended with a well-earned ice cream at the Dragon's Tooth trailhead.
The gear changed over the years. Generations of staff remember the old Peak 1 backpacks and the move up to Jack Wolfskin packs, cooking in a Bakepacker, and caving in shared overalls. In 1993, platform tents went up at Base Camp for the youngest campers, one for girls and one for boys. The spirit stayed the same: everyone carries their share, and everything should earn its place in the pack.
Growing up at camp
Wilderness Adventure has always been a family place, in the most literal sense. The Colonel's children helped build it, and for his grandchildren it was home. Jamie's children, Dylan and Danielle, grew up on the property. The family lived in a farmhouse down the road, and for a while in the Old Homestead, the log cabin that guests stay in today. When the two of them were small, bath time sometimes meant the camp kitchen sink.
Jamie's brother Geno was part of camp for years, too, and helped build parts of it with his own hands. He died of cancer a few years ago and is deeply missed by his family and by everyone who worked alongside him.
Camp had its animals too. The Colonel's dog Ebony kept watch from the porch of the old kitchen. A cat named Ernie made the equipment barn his own for years, and the camp pigs (Ham and Bacon among them) had a way of turning up where they shouldn't, including, at least once, the kitchen. Every year, around the same time, an eagle comes back to the valley.
A staff family
Hundreds of young people have worked summers at Wilderness Adventure as counselors, trip leaders, cooks and instructors. Some went on to outdoor careers, from commercial rafting to instructing. Plenty still call it the best experience they ever had.
Staff life came with its own traditions: themed staff parties (superheroes one year, lumberjacks another), camp songs and games handed down from one summer to the next, and sayings that stuck, like "slow is smooth, smooth is fast." Long after they've moved on, former staff still come back for work weekends to clear trails and fix things up, and some now send their own children to camp. Some stay for good: Abby Williams first came as an intern in 2013 and today runs the activities program as Activities Director.
From summer camp to year-round
As camp grew, so did the property. The Sly Lodge, the Sneaky Cabin, the Admin Building and more were added. Today there's also the pond, the climbing wall and ropes course, and campsites under the trees. Wilderness Adventure became a year-round retreat and conference center for schools, churches and companies, a wedding venue, and a place where families could stay the weekend and float down Craig Creek.
2017: music comes to camp
In September 2017, Wilderness Adventure held the first WA Fest, a weekend of live music, adventure activities and camping. Proceeds went to the Adventure Camp Fund, which gives camperships to young people who live out the camp's principles. Music has been part of the calendar ever since. WA Fest now takes place in late August, Camp Reckoning brings Grateful Dead classics to the property each spring, and Yoga Venture and The Appalachian Mountaineer bike ride have joined the line-up.
2020: a hard year and a new chapter
The pandemic hit Wilderness Adventure hard. Reservations were cancelled, staff had to be let go, and with the Colonel turning 80, the family had to think carefully about the camp's future. Jamie and Dustin Eshelman, then Director of Operations, chose to pick up the reins and keep it going.
They rebuilt by trying new things: weekend hangouts, programs for adults such as bikepacking and yoga retreats, and a labyrinth Jamie built deep in the woods from pine straw and moss. By 2023, Wilderness Adventure was one of the largest employers in Craig County, with 25 to 35 staff at the height of summer.
Still a family place
Today Jamie Nervo, who has been part of Wilderness Adventure since the very beginning, runs it as Owner and Executive Director, with a team that includes people who first came as campers, interns and trip leaders. Summer camp is still at the heart of it all. Every June, a new group of campers swaps their duffel bags for backpacks and heads out into the same mountains the first 32 explored in 1990.
If you were one of them, or worked here, or got married here, we'd love to hear your story. Get in touch.
