Drawing of the future cabin

Camelot Bunkhouse Fundraising

A core part of the MITOC community, and in particular our access to the mountains, continues to be our well-loved "Camelot" cabin, located in central New Hampshire. As you may know, Camelot was built in the 1970s (on a shoestring budget), and it is nearing the end of its useful life. Since 2013, the Outing Club has been working to build new, safe and modern sleeping quarters on the Camelot property, which will ensure that MITOC can fulfill our mission for decades to come.

MITOC partnered with Maclay Architects to design a new bunkhouse for Camelot which will be located approximately 100m from the existing cabin. The new bunkhouse will contain five bedrooms (sleeping ten persons each), a large central hallway, and a covered deck. We anticipate the cost of the new bunkhouse to be approximately $500,000.

With the design now complete, we are actively seeking donations. If you are able, please consider donating to help us hit our fundraising target. We broke ground on site preparation in 2024, and fundraising permitting, we will complete the new bunkhouse in 2027. This project will ensure we can fulfill our mission for the next generation of MITOCers.

Donate Read more
❯
Donate
❯

← Back to GNARMPFSK

Outing Club Offers Students Chance to See Nature

By Kathy Sun, Staff Reporter · The Tech, Vol. 112, No. 20, page 11 · April 14, 1992

Read the original issue on archive.org →

As an alternative to the long days spent at MIT, the Outing Club, operated by students and alumni, takes every opportunity to help students escape problem sets by organizing various activities that bring them closer to nature.

According to Richard Brezina ‘92, a coordinating chairman of the group, “The club is organized to help people ‘get away’ from MIT. … Our main goals are to make trips convenient, inexpensive, and fun.” MITOC has approximately 200 members, about 50 of whom are active, with a third taking the role of experienced leaders. The club’s trips often include activities such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock-climbing, and even ice-climbing. To keep things in order, MITOC meets twice a week to plan trips and discuss how to improve future “outings.”

One special activity MITOC has offered was a winter school, held during Independent Activities Period. About 50 students, faculty, and alumni enrolled this past January. Students learned about the skills necessary for cross country skiing, how to hike in harsh weather with snowblades, and other winter sports needs. “Once a week, they did lectures which included winter hiking and winter skiing,” which then helped on weekend trips, said Abraham D. Stroock ‘95.

Each year, MITOC also hosts a fall and spring circus in which a large group of people head out to the mountains for a long weekend and camp-out. This year’s spring circus will be held at Camelot, a cabin near Plymouth, New Hampshire.

Trips have traditionally been gone to places such as Arcadia National Park and Baxter State Park, both in Maine, as well as numerous stays in the backwoods of New Hampshire. The club welcomes all students, especially freshmen, to join now. Trips are normally organized by popular request, and the ice-climbing season looks to be around for a few more short weeks, club members say.

Jonathan Richmond PhD ‘91, a member of MITOC’s board of directors, said, “In one weekend, the club taught many lessons of community which are so often lacking at MIT, and built relationships of friendship and respect.”