During spring break, nine Mills students traveled to Little Basin in Santa Cruz County for a three-day camping adventure.
The camping trip was open to all Mills Students as an alternative spring break hosted by the Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation department. Students paid $40 to attend and had the opportunity to rent camping supplies from the college. Nic Van Dyke, assistant director of APER and organizer of the event, believed Little Basin would be the ideal camping location for its beach and forest activities.
“It’s relatively close by for a trip that’s only three days and two nights,” Van Dyke said.
While on the trip, students played games, hiked and went to Santa Cruz as well as Waddell State Beach. They also cooked hot dogs and made s’mores over a fire pit.
“The food was great, and it was fun hiking, playing and getting to know people,” CJ Roessler, third-year Mills student, said. “I would go again.”
This trip appealed to a variety of people, from those who have gone camping to those who were new to the activity. About half of the students had never gone camping. Students who attended without their friends were excited to meet new people.
Vanessa Salomon, second-year Mills student, attended the trip with a friend and was interested in the opportunity to go on another camping trip.
“When I was younger, I was in this organization called C5 Leadership Youth Foundation,” Salomon said. “It was an organization for minority students to develop leadership skills and they took me camping in Wyoming for a couple of summers. So, I found a love for camping.”
With only nine spots available, the trip filled up fast. About five students were put on a waitlist; however, only one student from that list actually attended the event. One wait-listed student, Maia Sinaiko, said she would go on the trip next year if it were offered again.
Because of its success, APER hopes to host a spring break camping trip next year. While the number of spots allotted to students will probably remain the same, it will give an opportunity for new students to attend the trip.
To find out more information about APER events, students should check the Student-News Digest. In addition, they can “like” the APER Recreation Facebook page or email recreation@mills.edu to be put on the organization’s emailing list.
