Berkeley Tuolumne Camp: The Way Back

11 August 2022 The Berkeley Times published an article in the Knox Book Beat titled "Real Treasures" reviewing Phil Coffin's The Way Back: A Journey along the Tuolomne River and the Berkeley Camp that Rose from the Ashes of the Rim Fire, which  mostly narrated selected details of a long phone conversation he and I had about the camp, his attachment to it, why he wrote the book, and some of both his and my thoughts about camp community life, diversity, forest management, choices made about rebuilding after the Rim Fire of 2013 and the influences of the Indigenous people of the area. (Photo is Phil, man of many talents.)

An expanded version of that review is on my LinkedIn page, referenced at the end of this blog post, because I want this blog piece to be mostly "before, during and after" photos of the Camp itself, with only minor comments from the review. I just think it's a place, a few people and viewpoints that need to be seen, rather than discussed or thought about abstractly, so it's more of a photo album than a review.

(Photo - rafting high up along the South Fork of the river.) 

Phil's book begins with a wonderful bike ride along the Tuolomne River from Camp to Oakland, with commentary on the the histories, landscape and communities he traveled through.

(The name Tuolumne Pronunciation: (Too WAH lahm nee)  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/En-us-tuolumne.ogg   () is of Native American origin and has been given different meanings, such as Many Stone Houses, The Land of Mountain Lions, and Straight Up Steep, the latter an interpretation of William Fuller, a native Chief. Mariano Vallejo, in his report to the first California State Legislature, said that the word is "a corruption of the Native American word talmalamne which signifies 'cluster of stone wigwams.'’ The name may mean "people who dwell in stone houses," i.e., in caves.) (Wikipedia)

The second part is many beautiful and heartfelt stories about being a camper, staff person and "community member" at Berkeley Tuolumne Camp himself  -- 

and then a good-sized portion on the fire, forestry and rebuilding of the Camp, with ideas and questions about how to rebuild the community and spirit of the Camp as well. It's well written, has many pictures, maps and good stories -- an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

You can pick up a hard copy of The Berkeley Times review at local independent bookstores or East Bay Media Center on Addison between Milvia and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Berkeley, or through The Berkeley Times, P O Box 559, Berkeley, CA, 94701-0559. It's the 9th Annual Poetry Edition, too, so there are lots of other things to read and art in it as well. Thank you, Wyndy Knox Carr

“I just had to write this book,” Phil Coffin said of The Way Back: A Journey along the Tuolomne River and the Berkeley Camp that Rose from the Ashes of the Rim Fire. He worked there in the ‘90s, and “It was a real gift for me as a kid.” “It’s a Berkeley institution; like Peet’s, Saul’s and the Ashby Market.”

(A lot of the high resolution photographs of the Camp are from Rick Williams Studios - thanks for posting!) 

 

 

          2012 - Cabin, "green cart," firewood and volleyball. Coffin wrote a history and nature guide to the Camp in 2001 as an Environmental Studies project while at Santa Cruz, the last year he was on Tuolumne staff, then worked in environmental education, wrote outdoor science curriculum for elementary and middle schools, built school gardens, led weekend bike trips, “served disadvantaged youth in tough neighborhoods” in New York City and the Berkshires before managing Berkeley’s Echo Lake Camp and now working for East Bay Regional Park District on conservation and planning.

Mighty nice trees, and many campers and staffpeople commented on how wonderful the shade was on hot days.

 

 

 Another Rick Williams photo of the river and walkway. Beauty!

“Looking back on those summers, ‘the playing field was so equal in terms of the hierarchy in our community. Race, class, and socioeconomic status didn’t matter as much as in the outside world,’ says Rachel Amare, who worked on Rec Staff and started attending Camp again with her own family years later as the Camp Nurse. Because the work environment was mostly free from racist, sexist and homophobic barriers, staff could be themselves and flourish creatively…We represented Berkeley.” 

And then... Summer of 2013 -- Rim Fire. First smoke in the distance, minor alarm, then -- evacuation and emergency personnel took over. (Some of the most dramatic photos are from Berkeleyside, who don't allow reproduction, 

but here are a few of the fire and destruction. This one on Harden Flat road is pretty brutal, and they don't get a whole lot better...

This was one of the ones a lot of us saw "back home," but others you can't even tell what they were or where they are / were on the grounds. :-( 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 Wah, again.

 

:-(

 

The loss of so many trees and the surrounding forest is a really hard part.

 

The bridge was "saved" but smouldering.

 

 

Once an assessment had taken place and money raised to rebuild from the Friends Of Berkeley Tuolomne Camp (FOTC) and the City of Berkeley, design and building began and over 2000 trees were planted by volunteers. <3  

The tent cabins look pretty bare in this 2021 picture, but at least they're there and welcoming campers, after a lot of new walkways, hiking paths and facilities were put in! 

A lot of the following photos are from the FOTC website, with details about events. Rigel Robinson cutting the ribbon, play area and amphitheater, stairs to the small falls, green chairs under a ramada thingy, lifeguard and beaverhead rocks

et cetera! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It will be up to the new staff and campers to make it funky again… incorporate influences from Green Day to Chez Panisse to Blondie’s Pizza to Tower of Power and bring that ‘East Bay Grease’” Phil said.

It was “devastating,” but also a “renewal and opportunity.” “The Camp community has the responsibility of embracing new staff and campers.” “I’m inspired (by the) rebuilding.” “One of the most accessible camps in the nation.” “Check it out. It’s incredible.”    

“It brings out the best in people and the best in Berkeley.” “On the river and walking the trails (you) fall in love with the earth.” I’m ready. Let’s go!

 

If you're interested in the Camp or any of the aforementioned issues concerning it, I encourage you to contact Phil or purchase a copy of The Way Back at

philipcoffin@gmail.com for $20 and $5 shipping, although it is also available on ebay and at Pegasus Solano and downtown.

 

Long version of "Real Treasures," Knox Book Beat, The Berkeley Times, Berkeley, CA, USA. (13 August 2022)  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-treasures-tuolumne-camp-wyndy-knox-carr?trk=portfolio_article-card_title  (13 August 2022)