This September, the weekend that I resigned from my PR agency job in downtown San Jose, I decided to splurge and participate in a weekend of camping indulgence: the CamelBak Pursuit weekend at Sanborn Park in Saratoga. Organized by The Outbound, the weekend promised to be an amazing adventure filled with activities, classes and like minded outdoorsy individuals – and it delivered. I packed up my most luxurious car camping gear and headed off alone in the hopes of meeting new friends, picking up new skills and losing myself to the experience.
The main stage at Pursuit Village surround by fire pits. Photo credit: Lisette
When I arrived, I found an amazing setup. The main camp had fantastic large white glamping tents filled with sponsors like Sunset, Camelbak, Icebreaker, Altra and more. CamelBak gave everyone daypacks and tumblers that their artists decorated personally for each camper on request. Beautiful little fire pits were scattered throughout the “Pursuit Village” which also featured ample shade, hammocks and a stage for nightly music. The Sunset/CamelBak tent offered nightly cocktails from Tito’s, round the clock Redbull and all the water you need to get through the day. Kuju Coffee offered fresh pour over every morning and amazing cold brew every afternoon. Camp Chef provided fantastic cooking classes, nightly appetizers and delicious food in addition to the farm to table meals provided in the main camp. Although there were a few hiccups with gluten free meals, for the most part the food was pretty fantastic.
Mountain Biking with Trek Cycles. Photo credit: Jennifer Howland
The classes and gear were unmatched. I took a kayaking course and finally got to try out an Oru Kayak – which I now need and will be saving for! I also took stand up paddleboarding and got to try a Jimmy Styks inflatable paddle board, plus took a great foundational mountain bike course with Trek bikes, photography classes, cooking classes and more. Sanborn was a great venue for the event, with plenty of shade amid the beautiful redwoods and close proximity to the Lexington Reservoir for water sports. The nightly music was the perfect low-key wind-down after a day of outdoor adventure and the s’mores were perfection (I brought my own GF graham cracker replacement). I met more like-minded outdoorsy people in one weekend than I’ve met all year at other events and classes.
Stand up paddleboarding at Lexington Reservoir
The weekend was hands-down the most amazing camping weekend of my life. I came away feeling inspired, refreshed and energized. I can’t wait to find out when the next Pursuit weekend will be so I can block it off my calendar and get excited about reliving this incredible event.
Learning photography in the woods. Photo credit: Rachel Heydemann
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