Camp Thurston Announces the Dirk Smith Outdoor Education Complex

PACKWOOD, WA — Following the launch of the Preston Rivers Memorial Wellness Center, Camp Thurston is proud to announce Phase II of its ongoing wellness initiative: the Dirk Smith Outdoor Education Complex.

Named in honor of Camp Director Dirk Smith—whose commitment to personal growth and accountability has shaped the modern Camp Thurston experience—the new complex dramatically expands opportunities for outdoor education and adventure at Lost Lake.

Located just minutes from the heart of Camp Thurston's growing campus, the Smith Complex extends our space to provide campers access to more than 133 acres of outdoor space.

New facilities include:

• A 32-foot open-air climbing wall

• An Olympic-caliber archery range*

• The first sections of a future ACA-accredited ropes course

• Miles of hiking trails through the forests surrounding Lost Lake

(*We are not currently accepting questions regarding the Great Archery Incident of 1996.)

The new complex will be overseen by Director of Outdoor Education Richard Bellingham, affectionately known around camp as "Mr. Bellingham." A lifelong climber, outdoorsman, and collector of unexplained souvenirs, Bellingham has scaled peaks on five continents and firmly believes that both altitude and attitude require firm footing and careful correction.

"Outdoor education teaches resilience, responsibility, and self-confidence," Bellingham explained while tying a knot that no one else in the room could identify. "Also, if campers are busy climbing this wall, they're less likely to have the energy to sneak into places they shouldn't."

Camp officials declined to comment on whether this statement was supported by data.

Director Smith praised the expansion as an important investment in the future of Camp Thurston. "Camp Thurston has always believed in helping young people grow through challenge," Smith said. "The new complex gives campers the chance to make mistakes that are significantly safer than the ones they invent on their own."

Smith also reflected on the ways the Complex—named in his honor by an anonymous donor— would transform his own career: "When I retired from education," Smith told us, "I assumed I would spend more time outside. Technically that has happened, though I continue to spend a surprising amount of my day going over the reasons campers shouldn't shoot things at one another."

The Complex joins the Preston Rivers Memorial Wellness Center as part of Camp Thurston's continuing effort to support campers' physical, emotional, and developmental growth through carefully structured opportunities for challenge, exploration, and occasional course correction.

Campers are reminded that safety instructions are not optional, and the phrase 'watch this' has historically preceded many regrettable decisions.