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Celebrating our 42nd Gathering - August 2022


We are back at Camp Scully this year. Make plans to join us for an exciting weekend near Albany, NY.

Jump To:    COVID   Registration/Lodging   Pitch-In  Dining   

  Activities    Jan Brown     Scholarships

Join us at Our 42nd National "Back to Basics" Gathering!!

From its inception, Women Outdoors has sponsored an annual Gathering for all members. In 2018, we moved from Sargent Center in NH, our home for over 20 years, to the Berkshire Outdoor Center (BOC). This year, with BOC still closed due to COVID, we will once again be back at Camp Scully, a rustic summer camp for kids situated on a beautiful lake near Albany, NY.

What do we mean by “Back to Basics”? There will be no staff, and we will be handling things and providing all services for ourselves, including activities, food service, meal cleanup, taking out trash as needed, etc. As we did for Gathering 41, we will be able to keep our operating costs much lower than recent years and will be passing the savings on to attendees by keeping fees as low as possible. In return, we will be asking everyone to pitch in with one or more tasks that best suits their interest and capabilities.

Join us for three or four wonderful days of fun, laughing and learning as we bring women together to sing and play, to make new friends and cherish their old ones, from all across the country. Whether you hike, bike, kayak, swim, gaze at the birds or at the stars, paint, play the ukulele or drum or you name it, sing, start campfires from scratch, scale walls, write or read, the Women Outdoors Gathering has something for almost everyone.




Camp Scully

Camp Scully is located on Snyder’s Lake in North Greenbush, approximately 10 miles from Albany and Troy in New York.

We'll have exclusive use of the entire facility, with RV, tent, cabin, and cottage options. For those not in a cottage, there are central bath houses with showers, toilets, and hot water.

24 Camp Scully Way,

Wynantskill, NY 12198


Campus Map



Resources

Pitch-In

To keep costs down, we will not be hiring any staff. When you register, we'll ask how you can help make this a successful Gathering. 

Activities

  • Lead a workshop.
  • Lead a hike or bike ride on/off campus (we have maps and directions)
  • Organize an evening activity - We're still looking for someone to organize a dance!
  • Note: We've already lined up organizers for the Talent Show, Game Nights, and Campfires.

Food/Meals - Help out in the kitchen

  • Supervise 2 or 3 kitchen meals (we will have instructions for each meal).
  • For one or two meals - prep/ setup or cleanup.

Organizing

  • Take a turn at the registration table. 
  • Take-down and final clean-up sweep before we leave.

Have Questions about:

Activities/Workshops: workshops@womenoutdoors.org

Kitchen or Organizing: gathering@womenoutdoors.org

Want to save some money? Make a new friend before you get to the Gathering? Sign up to drive a carpool! Or check to see if you can get a ride. CARPOOL to the Gathering 

Registration Details

Lodging – 3 Days / 2 Nights: $175 

Friday (8/26/22) 11 am to Sunday (8/28/22) 3 pm

Includes 6 meals, 2 nights lodging, and all activities:

  • Friday: Dinner, *New* Lunch Option additional $10
  • Saturday: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Sunday: Breakfast, Lunch

*NEW* Extra Day / Night: $53 or $65

Thursday (8/25/22) 11 am to Friday 11 am

Includes 2 or 3 meals, 1 night lodging, and all activities:

  • Friday: Breakfast & Lunch - $53
  • Thursday Dinner (arrive by 6 pm), Friday Breakfast & Lunch - $65
Check out our Lodging Options!

Saturday (8/27/22) – 1 day: $55 

Includes lunch and dinner, and all Saturday activities.

Scholarships are available today. To apply for a scholarship to the Gathering, download the request form as PDF or DOC, and return your completed application no later than July 26 to the Gathering coordinator at gathering@womenoutdoors.org.

Please note: Gathering attendance is for Women Outdoors members only. If you are not a member, please Join Now or Renew your membership!

Registration is Closed

Register and Pay by July 31
to avoid a $25 late fee!

Adding only the Thursday option after July 31 will incur at $10 late fee.

Registration Closes on August 18!

Cancellation Policy - If you cancel:

  • By Aug 1: Full refund 
  • Aug 2 - Aug 10: $25 cancellation fee
  • After Aug 10: No guaranteed refund

Activities




Like in our Sargent Center days, activities will be led by volunteers among us. The camp has hiking and paddling opportunities and space for indoor and outdoor activities.

Off-campus there are nearby waterfall hikes and biking trails.

Check out all of the various options and possible workshops and evening activities that will be offered:

Programming & Activities


Full Schedule



dining

Camp Scully doesn’t provide meal service, but we have identified some great local caterers to provide our meals!

Meals will be served in the camp's dining hall. 

Meal Times:

Breakfast: 8 am 

Lunch: 12:30 pm 

Dinner: 6 pm 



Special Dietary Requests

We will ask during registration if you have any special dietary needs or allergies. Please register by July 31 so that we can try to accommodate you! 


Note that you may need to bring food to supplement what we are able to provide. Storage is available for your perishables.

COVID Policy

Based on current information about Covid-19 and its variants, Gathering attendees will be required to

  • be fully vaccinated at least 2 weeks or more prior to the Gathering. We strongly recommend that you also have received at least on booster shot.
  • have a negative COVID rapid test within 48 hours of arrival to Camp Scully. Accepted tests are PCR Laboratory, Rapid Antigen, or at-home self-test kits. At-home tests can be ordered from https://www.covid.gov/tests

In addition, to reduce the risk of bringing Covid-19 to the Gathering, attendees are asked to be extra-careful during the two weeks before coming to Camp Scully. During that time:

  • Please mask up when indoors with people outside of your family/household.
  • Cancel your registration if you
    • are exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID -OR-
    • you start experiencing COVID symptoms (headache, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, or loss of smell).
    • You test positive for COVID.
  • Note: You will receive a full refund if you need to cancel for the above COVID related reasons.

    *Use of masks during your stay at the Gathering is optional.

    *Wherever possible, we will continue to schedule activities outside (we are Women OUTDOORS, after all!)

    ***If a potential attendee has a MEDICAL reason that they cannot be vaccinated, please contact Paris Horan at parishoran@yahoo.com with subject line: cannot vaccinate. Special accommodations (testing and masking) will be discussed and implemented.

    The Jan Brown Memorial Scholarship Award

    In 2019, our 40th year, we introduced a scholarship award to honor the memory of Jan Brown. Jan was one of our beloved founding mothers. She was an historian and office manager whose contributions to Women Outdoors were vast: Jan tracked our organization's history and publications, as well as kept a comprehensive bibliography of books written by and about women's voyages and adventures in the outdoors that has now been donated to Mount Holyoke College, along with our Women Outdoors archives. She was a world traveler who visited far-flung lands and regaled us all with her marvelous photos and stories. To pay tribute to Jan's countless contributions and her inspiring life, we will be awarding a full scholarship to attend the National Gathering. Future winners will be announced at the Gathering. Don't miss the announcement, timing to be determined—the recipient won't know until you ALL know!

    RIP, Jan, we love you, and we miss you.  Read More about Jan

    Our Winners

    Presented August 27, 2022

    Lisa Vaas

    In honor of outstanding leadership and service, the Women Outdoors Board of Directors gratefully award Lisa Vaas, in recognition and appreciation of your exemplary leadership and long-standing dedication to Women Outdoors, the 2022 Jan Brown Memorial Scholarship. Image above of Lisa with Mary presenting the award.

    Presented September 11, 2021

    Mary Charney

    Granted in recognition of meticulously reasoned & researched communications on issues facing the Board, problem-solving of leadership issues at the organizational/procedural & personal leader level, and devising a procedure to vet & recruit board members. Image below Anna & Mary

    Anna & MaryMary has requested that the award monies – full cost of tuition to the Gathering – be redirected to the regional funds of her Finger Lakes chapter, to be used towards funding The 2022 Anna M. DeSousa Memorial Spring Service Project.

    Presented September 7, 2019

    Sandy Zohari   

    For excellence in web design and support of our online presence.

    More Links / Contact

    More Information:

    If you have any questions or special requests, please send us an email to gathering@womenoutdoors.org

    For workshops and evening activities: workshops@womenoutdoors.org

    Check out these pages for more info!

    Lodging Options       

    Programming & Activities  

    Full Activity Schedule

          Resources 

    You can also check out our Photo Gallery. Have you attended past Gatherings? We'd love to see your best photos of attendees and activities for any year.

    Photo Gallery

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