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Mission and Philosophy

We want campers to make friends, learn outdoor skills and have fun and adventure in the mountains! Campers will grow more confident by participating in challenging outdoor activities and learn the value of teamwork by working with others to achieve common goals. 

Location

Mountain Adventure Guides is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, near Erwin TN, on the Nolichucky River (between Asheville, NC and Johnson City, TN). We run our programs in NC and TN.

About Camp

Camp is an all outdoors, rustic, adventure based program. Campers sleep outdoors in tents throughout the program or in tarps when backpacking.

Activities

Activities offered are backpacking, caving, rock climbing, mountain biking and whitewater rafting. Please visit our website for program itineraries and details for specific programs. Activities are age appropriate and include comprehensive instruction. Prior experience is not required and MAG provides all major camp gear

Nolichucky River Base Camp

Our Base Camp is bordered by the Nolichucky River and Cherokee National Forest. The Appalachian Trail is just feet from our door! Base Camp has hot showers, swimming, a sand volleyball court, horseshoe pit, bonfire ring and the best whitewater rafting in the southeast!  Tall mountain peaks ranging from 3,100 to 5,200 feet dominate the landscape of the Unaka Mountain vicinity.

Group size and make up

All groups are coed. The mixture of boys and girls in each group varies according to the order registrations are received. All participants are registered on a first received, first enrolled basis. If your child is the only boy or girl in a session you will be contacted in advance with options. 

A coed staff team leads all trips. The maximum number of campers on each trip varies depending on the trip but 8-12 is the typical size with 3 guides. Each trip has a minimum of two staff at all times and a 4:1 ration. The small size of the group allows more individual attention for each participant.

Blue Ridge Mountains, near Asheville, NC

The Pisgah National Forest - Pisgah Ranger District is renowned for its high mountain peaks and the Blue Ridge Parkway between the towns of Brevard, Waynesville and Asheville, NC. This is the most spectacular area in the southeast for adventure camp activities like backpacking and hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and camping. The district also includes Cold Mountain, Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wilderness areas.

Mountain Adventure Guides

Founded in 1999, MAG is well qualified to guide and instruct all activities that we lead. You can count on us to provide your camper with high quality guides and equipment. In addition to our adventure camps for teens, MAG owns whitewater rafting outposts on the French Broad and Nolichucky Rivers (dba 1-866-USA-Raft). MAG also guides rock climbing, caving and backpacking clients in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee for all experience levels throughout the year. Our clients include summer camps, scouts, youth groups and families on vacation.

Camp Directors

Richard Dulworth has many years of outdoor adventure experience and first guided professionally in 1983. A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, Richard has worked as an ACA Certified Whitewater Instructor, as well as a rafting, climbing and backpacking guide, instructor trainer and consultant. He has served as a backpacking Trip Leader for the Sierra Club, Director of Wilderness Challenge Programs for Camps Kahdalea/Chosatonga, and as River Manager for USA Raft, Inc. Richard's wife, Jeanne Goins Dulworth, manages our Adventure Camp programs each summer. In 2003, Jeanne was recognized as one of the top ten outdoors' persons of the year by "Hooked on the Outdoors Magazine!" In her "off season" Jeanne is a professor of graduate and undergraduate Social Work at Western Carolina University, where she was awarded the Chancellor’s Meritorious Award for Engaged Teaching in 2007.

Instructors and Guides

There are always at least 2 guides with a group. The trip leader is at least 21 years old and an upperclassmen or recent college graduate. Trip leaders are experienced and have advanced certifications and first aid training (Wilderness First Responder, WFR or Wilderness First Aid, WFA or equivalent, and CPR), gained through guiding and/or working with summer programs and/or participation in wilderness leadership programs like National Outdoor Leadership School, Outward Bound and College Outdoor Leadership Degree Programs. Assistant trip leaders are at least 19, will have finished a year or two of college, and typically have attended summer camp programs with extensive wilderness components. In addition, they have solid personal outdoor experience, as well as demonstrated experience in working with kids, in addition to having participated in our pre-camp clinics and training programs. Assistant trip leaders are trained in first aid and CPR.

We are extremely proud of the high quality people who guide with us each summer. All strive to teach, coach and motivate teens to grow and learn from their experiences with us.

Discounts

Immediate families with more than one child will receive $100 for an 18 day camper, $75 for a two week session and $50 for a one week session for all siblings after the first child. A full deposit must be paid for each child and each session.

Tuition includes

Tuition includes round-trip transportation from the Asheville airport to Base Camp, all major equipment, food and instruction costs. Tuition does not include $35 per week recommended pocket money, minor gear (i.e. headlamp, sleeping bag, etc.) personal clothing and footwear, a physical exam by your physician, transportation to or from camp (we do shuttle from the Asheville, NC airport – no charge), or medical expenses beyond basic first aid, such as emergency room or urgent care fees, doctor's examinations, x-rays, clinical tests, prescriptions, or emergency medical transportation. 

Health and medical information

Basic first aid is included in camp tuition. Outside treatment and prescriptions will be billed to the parents or parent’s insurance. A health and authorization for emergency treatment form will be mailed in the spring. Each year a new form must be completed and signed by a physician and must include immunization record and physician record.

Safety

In all outdoor adventure programming involving travel in remote areas and the unpredictable forces of nature, there will be some element of risk. Our highest priority is your child's safety. We are well qualified to lead all aspects of your teens program and MAG has an excellent safety record. We minimize risk through low staff to camper ratios and small group size, extensive preparation, staff training, use of high-quality equipment, and safety policies and procedures. We also provide the supervision, instruction, and equipment needed to minimize risk while participating in camp program activities.

Arrival and departure via car

Campers should arrive at Nolichucky base camp between 2:00 and 3:00 PM on opening day. Closing day departure is between 9:00 and 10:00 AM.  We cannot accommodate campers prior to opening or after closing times.

Airport and pick up and return

We meet students who travel by air at the Asheville, North Carolina airport. The abbreviation is AVL. Please schedule your arrival at the Asheville airport as early as possible the day camp begins (we realize that most campers will not be able to arrive until afternoon, but please schedule a morning departing flight). Please, no 6:00 AM departing flights from Asheville. The ideal time for Asheville, NC airport departure is between 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Please check your trip information on flight arrival and departure times before you book a flight. We recommend refundable tickets and that you purchase travelers insurance.

Asheville airlines have strict rules regarding rules for unaccompanied minors (15 y/o or under). Please check with your airline for rules and/or additional fees.

Equipment and what to bring

Who may enroll

Our camp is best suited for physically active teens who are committed to spending time away from home in an all outdoors setting. We expect campers to have good attitudes, try their best and play an active role in activities. Camp is fun, challenging and exciting. Any boy or girl 10 – 17 , provided they meet age requirements for the trip they choose, may enroll. All sessions are coed. Applications are accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Camp directors reserve the right to refuse acceptance of any applicant deemed undesirable or not in the best interest of Camp. 

Student conduct expectations

Our camp is not appropriate for students who do not actively want to attend an outdoor adventure program. Camp is not appropriate for students who have behavioral or emotional problems or lack motivation for attending. Our program has not been designed for the special needs of kids with behavioral or emotional problems. Our camp is not a therapeutic or rehabilitation program for troubled kids.

Visitation and/or phone calls

Camp provides an opportunity for campers to gain the self-confidence and independence important to a young person’s development; therefore, the camp program should not be interrupted with visits or calls from or to relatives or parents unless there is an emergency. Thank you..

Registration is rolling, first come, first served. Camper applications received after a date is full will be put on the wait-list.

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2008 MAG Adventure Camp contact information: 2 Jones Branch Road, Erwin, TN, 37650 USA
Phone: 866.813.5210 or 423.743.7111.  fax (423) 743-1357
Email: camp@mtnadventureguides.com

For additional information or questions, please call the camp office or visit our website at www.mtnadventureguides.com