2016 reunion -- Welcome to former campers from all FOUR Carbide camps!

The July 15-17, 2016 Carbide Camps Reunion - See the Update
Our site is
www.carbidecamps.net
This is a free event (Donations cheerfully accepted to support future events.)
Barb Neddo, Dave Gardner, Angela Allison, Marty Wyatt and Bob Lilley

This is one of our annual reunions, and it takes place at a time of continuing and disturbing changes on Blue Creek. The Hunting and Fishing Lodge has seen much damage and vandalism since the closure of the residences and campground nearby -- an early consequence of property ownership changes on the Creek. Former Camp Galahad was still for sale the last we heard, but there are also sad stories and mysteries about events there under previous management. Details on its current status are unknown.

So -- take a deep breath, and move on. Our advance team says:

July 15 - Friday evening starting at 5 PM: Thanks to a generous offer from former campers John and Julie Wiles, we're trying something new for the Friday evening event! We are invited to their cabin in Elkview (about 30 minutes from the campsites) for food and drinks. There's space inside, and also for tents outside. See Maps 3 and 4, below, for guidance. Signs and balloons will be posted at key points along the route.

July 15 through 17: A group of hard-core campers will set up on Blue Creek, join us at Wiles' cabin on Friday evening, and then return to the Creek for the weekend.

The plan is to continue camping, hiking, etc., on Blue Creek. The Hunting and Fishing Lodge may be unavailable (maybe unsafe), but the Camelot and Carlisle locations should be usable.

Please RSVP to [email protected] or to Barb Hicks Neddo ([email protected]) with your email address and number of people attending. It really helps with the planning!.

There are new maps this year!: Look at these and print them! Don't get lost! (Your GPS machine may not show all the back-roads. Maps to Wiles' cabin are new this year.)

    Map 1: From I-79 to the H/F lodge
    Map 2: To the former Galahad, Camelot and Carlisle sites
   
 Map 3:  To John and Julie Wiles' cabin - general map
    Map 4: To John and Julie Wiles' cabin - details

It just seems prudent to repeat our safety tips for camping and visiting on the Creek: The routes to the Hunting / Fishing Lodge and the camp sites require travel on dirt roads with multiple stream crossings. The camp sites are far away from the nearest help, in undeveloped areas without cell-phone and near-by emergency services.  Wildlife is present ("...why does it always have to be snakes?" -- I. Jones). Plan to bring appropriate vehicles, food and water, optional overnight camping and hiking gear, first-aid and any medications or other needs. Visits and camping are at your own risk. In heavy rain, the Creek can flood the roads (and other stuff) very quickly. Everyone should always be alert to avoid accidents and to help others.

Now, about that fourth camp: Camp Brookside was established in the 1940s as a summer camp along the New River near Hinton, WV for children of Carbide's Alloy Plant workers. See the Brookside website. The National Park Service held a  grand re-opening of the refurbished Brookside back on May 21. Maybe that facility could serve as a location for a modified reunion event sometime in the future...
-------------------------------------------------
As we prepare yet another get-together, please allow me a brief personal space:
We've suspected for some time that there would be changes and new purposes for "our" campgrounds on Blue Creek. Reminiscence and even sadness are measures of the human condition, but how we choose to adapt constructively to the Creek's evolution will be a measure of our character, molded by those magical Carbide summers. The Carbide camps on Coal River, Blue Creek and the New River continue as long as we tend their spirit in our hearts and with our families and friends.