Oregon Session 1 Travel
Unless you’re driving directly to Camp Latgawa, you can meet our buses in Medford at the Amtrak station, Greyhound station, or airport. (You’ll need to reserve a bus seat via your travel form.) Arrive by 4:00 p.m. if possible, and 4:30 at the latest. Don't change your meeting place without letting us know; we take a checklist of campers to each site, and if you show up at the wrong place we may leave you behind, or you may delay our departure.
Read on for more details...
How to recognize us
We’ll watch for you, and all our meeting places are small enough that it won’t be a problem. In addition, our staff wears NBTSC T-shirts to make them easier to recognize. If you’re new to NBTSC, chances are good you will hook up en route with returning campers who can help you spot us.
The first day can be a bit stressy & confusing, so
- Pack in a day pack or other accessible place: a warm sweater, healthy snacks, a water bottle, a watch, and any necessary medications. Our first meal will be dinner, at about 7:00 p.m.
- Be sure to use the restroom at the airport, train depot, or bus station before you get on the unschool buses.
- Make sure to bring a lunch with you, or (if you’ll have enough time between arriving in town and meeting our buses) money to buy lunch in Medford. Otherwise you’ll be famished by the time we serve dinner around 7:00 p.m.
- If we make stops while traveling and you need to get off the bus, it is crucial that you return promptly.
- Be sure to listen to staff announcements during the bus rides. You may find out what cabin you’re sleeping in, who your advisor is, etc.
Arrival Information
Amtrak train or Amtrak bus
Amtrak trains (not buses) are typically late, so make sure that your train is scheduled to get into town by about 3:00.
Greyhound bus
We may have only 1 or 2 people arriving at Greyhound, and if that's the case we'll contact those individuals to arrange a pickup time. If we don’t contact you to make these special arrangements, please just wait at the station and a staff person will come pick you up as soon after you arrive as we possibly can. Feel free to call the number(s) listed on our contact page if you get confused while you're waiting.
Traveling by air
Don’t worry about finding us. First of all, we’ll have your flight number, and second, the Medford airport is small. Just go ahead and get your baggage and enjoy getting to know other campers. As long as you’re in the airport (but not past the security checkpoint, please), we’ll find you.
In the past few years more and more flights have been delayed, so we encourage you to book a flight that is scheduled to get you to Medford earlier than necessary, and without any tightly scheduled connecting flights.
A note about escort services for young travelers: If you are going to be attended by an escort service, be sure to let us know. But before you decide to sign up with an escort service, realize that while all your soon-to-be-friends are getting to know each other in the lobby of the airport, you may be stuck in a little window-less room all by yourself, not even allowed to use the bathroom on your own until we come sign you out.
Traveling by car
You can drive (or have someone drive you) directly to Camp Latgawa, arriving between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Cars are not allowed in the actual camp area so you will drive to the entrance, unload your luggage (you'll wheel it to your cabin on a cart provided by Camp Latgawa), and then--if the car is yours and needs to stay during the week--you'll park in a lot slightly further away.
If you are driving yourself to camp
Please be aware that you can’t drive your car during the week, regardless of your age—we will ask to keep your keys. Also, we will probably ask you not to use your car as a hangout space during the week; sometimes in the past this has contributed to a little bit of a separate culture that has felt exclusive and not so great to everyone else.
What if you get into Medford late, and miss us?
If your train/bus/plane is running late, call the number(s) listed on our contact page, leaving a clear and detailed message if you don't reach us directly.
If you don’t have the chance to phone, we’ll figure out your situation by asking at the airport/station. We’ll have a staff person stay and wait for you, or deal with it another way. (Despite airline strikes, fogged-in airports and delayed-till-the-next-day flights, lost luggage, and other mishaps, we’ve always managed to get everyone to camp. So, no worries.)
Departure information
Traveling by car
If someone picks you up at Camp Latgawa, they should arrive by 9:30 a.m. If they haven’t arrived by the time our buses leave, you may need to travel back to Medford with us, since we are responsible for getting everyone out of Camp Latgawa.
Traveling by bus, train, plane
Our buses will drop you off at your preferred location: Greyhound, Amtrak, airport, or—if you’re leaving town the next day and we’re handling the arrangements—at a hostel or hotel. You should be back in Medford by approximately 10:45, but try to arrange your departure for noon or later in case of snags.
Arriving early or departing late - lodging in Medford
What if you can’t arrive in Medford early enough? What if you can’t leave Medford late enough on the day camp ends?
Well.... Actually, we are hoping that because of our relatively late-in-the-day arrival time on the first day, and early-in-the-day departure time on the last morning, nobody will face this problem. But if you do, please contact us BY JULY 1 (important not to miss that deadline) and we will help arrange lodging and local transportation if you want us to. We will of course need to pass on all costs to you, and since we won't be able to spend lots of leisurely time comparison shopping, you might prefer to do this legwork yourself. If it does turn out that a number of people face this situation, then in the future we'll do some research and offer a simple, relatively low-cost option that groups campers together in hotel rooms (as we do in Eugene, for our Session 2 campers).
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