RCA Dark Sky Camp at OMSI's Camp Hancock
April 9 - 11, 2010 - Friday 3pm until Sunday Noon
Registration deadline is April 2nd - Pre-Registration and Pre-Payment Required!
Our Fall outing will be the weekend of October 8-10, 2010

WE HAVE BEEN ASKED NOT TO ENTER BEFORE 3PM ON FRIDAY!

Camp Hancock is an OMSI sponsored field station for the promotion of science education, located 2 miles east of the John Day river in NE Oregon in the Clarno Fossil Beds.

It is a rustic youth camp with bunkhouses, messhall, bathrooms (hot water and showers), and limited camping area. There are no planned activities except viewing and eating. Napping, chatting, reading, napping, hiking, and did I mention, napping? The science buildings are not open to us and we have no activities planned for kids as this is our adult observing weekend.

Because of OMSI requirements we do NOT allow drop-ins or visitors, except those that are registered and spending at least one night. Children are not allowed without parents and must be under parental supervision at all times. All fees are per person for the use of the facility and/or bunkhouses.

We are again negotiating with the US Park Service to use Dob Valley for this outing.
More Info as we get closer to the outing.

Camp Hancock Guidelines:

• if camping, Camp stoves only, no open fires
• NO smoking except at the fire pit
• NO PETS (this has been an issue in the past, please respect the Camp’s rules)
• No Bicycles in camp or on trails
• No camping or parking on the surrounding park service land

Here is a PDF file (175kb) with more information from OMSI about Camp Hancock (a teacher's guide).

Driving Directions

The camp is about 150 miles (as the crow flies) from Portland and you have two routes to choose from:

1) Take Hwy 26 east over Mount Hood. Turn left onto Hwy 216 (approximately milepost 72), and go through Pine Grove and Wapinitia and it will will take you to Hwy 197 just west of Maupin. Turn right on Hwy 197 and go through Maupin and take it south to it's junction with Hwy 97. Turn left onto Hwy 97 and take it to Shaniko.

(Note: there is an alternative from Maupin. At the bottom of the hill as you cross the river just at the end of the bridge over the river is Bakeoven Road. It's a 180 degree turn from the bridge to get onto it and it comes out 1 mile east of Shaniko.)

2) Take I-84 east from Portland to Biggs Junction (exit 104), exit and head south on Hwy 97 to Shaniko.

Then at Shaniko, turn south onto Hwy 218 (Shaniko-Fossil Hwy) and continue through Antelope and east towards Clarno near the John Day River. Look for the entrance to Camp Hancock EXACTLY two miles east of the John Day River.

Plan on a 3½ hour drive from Portland via Highway 26, and 4½ hours via Highway 84, plus any stops you may make. Don't forget to gas up, it can be 50 miles between gas stations out here.

A map with the layout of the bunkhouses, restrooms, etc. at Camp Hancock is here (81kb).

The center of camp is located at:

44 degrees, 55 minutes,
120 degrees, 25 minutes,
at an altitude of 1585 feet.

Camp Hancock is within the National Park Service Clarno Fossil beds. For NPS information look here.

Return to Top

Weather:

Weather is almost always better on the east side than the west side of the Cascades.

The expected temperatures are expected to be around 50-70 in the daytime and 30-40 at night. But then Venus runs about 800 degrees and Mars about -200 degrees, so in the astronomically immediate area, Camp Hancock is always balmy.

Bring warm clothing, it will be very cold at night no matter how nice the day is.

The clear sky clock for the next 48 hours predicts:

However, the weather is often better than predicted.

Because we have a contract with OMSI to use Camp Hancock we never cancel due to any weather related conditions.

Back to Top

Viewing:

Return to Top

Meals available by registering before the deadline:

Camp Hancock offers breakfast, sack lunch, and dinner for our event (no breakfast or lunch on Friday and no lunch or dinner on Sunday.) Meals are served family style and we all help with the setting up of the tables, serving, cleaning up and doing dishes. Prices are per person per meal.   9 am - Breakfast - $5 10 am - Sack Lunch - $4 - Lunch items are set out after breakfast, Make your own, Keep in refrigerator or take with you.   6 pm - Dinner - $6 Coffee Pot and Hot Water during the night, bring your own midnight snacks (microwave available). Meals are NOT available other than at designated meal times. There are NO soda or snack machines in the camp and snacks MUST be kept in critter-proof containers (or you will have visitors).. The closest food outside of camp is in Fossil (18 miles) or Antelope (17 miles)

Return to Top

Lodging: There is NO RESERVED lodging except for extraordinary circumstances.

Bunkhouse Lodging is $25 per night per person

We are in shared bunkhouses first-come, first served (generally we average about 2 people per cabin). When you show up, find a bunk in one of the large bunkhouses and please check off your name on the clipboard in the Messhall to indicate the nights you are in camp.  The Cabins are one room A-frame buildings that are set up as a bunkhouse with built-in bunks, mattresses, limited heat, and limited electricity and you will be sharing the bunkhouse with others. (The heaters are on a 60 minute timer to take the chill off in the morning).
Bring a warm sleeping bag (and extra blankets, if needed), and pillow. 1 Large bunkhouse with 16 bunks 5 Large bunkhouses with 14 bunks each 2 Medium bunkhouses with 8 bunks each 7 Small bunkhouses that each have only one bunk, and three mattresses on the floor
Camping is $20 per night per person Limited RV parking (Limited electrical hookups - so it's best to plan on being self contained) Tent camping area with two teepees. NO camping South of the Water Tower, that area is National Park Service land and is not part of Camp Hancock. There are Bathrooms with showers, flush toilets and hot water. The Ladies bathroom is at the west end of the Dining Hall. The men's bathrooms are near the office. There is both men's and ladies pit toilets near the viewing area. Bring your own towels, shampoo, etc.  Return to Top

Registration: - Please fill out the form, print it out and either mail it or bring it to an RCA meeting.

NOTE: If you wish to pay using Paypal, please fill out the form and email Larry for further instructions.

When you come to Hancock Please make sure you have the following with you.

So what do we do with these funds? We've bought solar telescopes, eyepieces, eyepiece cases, repaired telescopes and mounts, purchased mounts, graveled the road to Astro Hill and put gravel on the Hill, built The Ridge and other astro related equipment and enhancements.

Want to check and see if your registration has been received? Check the Registration Confirmation Page HERE.

If you have any further questions you can email Larry or call Larry at 503-675-5217 or you can email the Star Party Chairman.

Return to Top