Who is behind Camp 9?
When you think bold and daring, who comes to mind? Neil Armstrong? Nick Cage when he stole the Declaration of Independence in the 2004 hit movie National Treasure? What do those people have to do with Colton? Absolutely nothing. I design, make and test and do everything here at Camp 9. Being raised along the Stanislaus river impacted me greatly. I learned from the river and its surrounding canyon both drowned and free flowing so much about the dynamic and fluid being that is our existence and experience. My love for nature has only grown deeper and my passions only more diverse. I hope you reach for one of these bags when you are preparing to launch your next adventure!
Meet the team!
Well as you guessed it's not just a one person show here. Sometimes I bring in top fashion designer Bolton to help me design new gear and pick the color ways. Other times I enlist top adventurer Dolton to help push my bags to the limit and see how much they can handle. We have our materials expert Molton too, they can really work some magic with these fancy fabrics. Overall this endeavor of mine couldn't be done alone. The support of my friends and family has made this all possible and they continue to support me in my silly little adventures.
What's the origin story?
What's the origin story?
At the end of the 2019 rafting season I ordered a few items on this new fancy thing called the world wide web. More specifically a custom sewing piece of rafting equipment. Eventually a global pandemic started and we all found ourselves inside. After months of waiting Colton never received his gear. They asked a friend if they could borrow their sewing machine and attempt to make some things. After a few calls to friends' parents and reading lots on the internet about making gear. Colton produced his first bag. That bag is still out in the world, last I heard it had picked up a full time job working a horse ranch in Ojai, California. From there I only focused more on my bag making and eventually found myself here. Sewing outdoor goods out of a van down by the river.
So what about the name? What is Camp 9?
Camp 9 is a county maintained road that winds along the Stanislaus river canyon in California. Camp 9 was the launching point for one of the most exquisite whitewater rafting runs in all of North America. The drowning of the Stanislaus river represented a historic loss of untold magnitudes. Cultural, geologic, ecological and natural wonders were flooded by the New Melones reservoir. Each bag I make bares the name of a river feature that has been drowned. The Stanislaus river was like a parent to me. I spent much of my childhood learning from it and flowing with it. It only felt right to start this journey the same way many folks would have started theirs on the Stanislaus river at Camp 9.
Pictured in the old timey photo is my father facing away from the camera on the old Parrots Ferry Bridge before it was drowned. Also a young Colton on one of his first whitewater trips holding that beverage like a champ through a rapid. Pretty EXTREME if you ask me!
