by Scott Moody, Alumni Brother of Xi Chapter at Lyndon State, Kappa Delta Phi, for KappaTalk.com

Kappa Kamping was started on the KappaTalk Forums as a “what if” thread, sometime in 2002-2003. The idea was to put together a mellow event that all chapters could attend if they wanted. A few of us got excited about it, started brainstorming, and decided could be done.

The location, in the Central Vermont town of Granville, in the Green Mountain National Forest, was chosen due to it’s out of the way, private nature. The next campsite is quite a distance away, allowing for some privacy and in our case…the freedom to be a tad loud and not bother other campers. Unlike state campgrounds, the camping facilities in the forest are “primitive”, meaning it only has a fire pit, and a privy…pack in, pack out.

Nighttime has brought us a few surprise visitors. On year one, Beth Peavey, Sister of Kappa Nu Chapter at Thomas College, Kappa Delta Phi National Affiliated Sorority, found us at around 10pm in the pitch black…2 miles up a mountain road in Vermont….not bad navigating! There was also my fireworks incident….that’s for another time. The following year, the neighbors from a deer camp up the road came down, shared a beverage or two and played their guitar with us. Year three saw the gay firedancer from the Rainbow Family of Living Light who lost his way; give us a really cool firedancing show. Last year…oh last year…it was Scott Noble (Brother of Tau Chapter at Castle State College) who showed up with salmon steaks, ribs, and chicken breasts!!! Not to mention the quarter barrel that Karen Hall (Sister of Kappa Gamma Chapter at Keene State College, Kappa Delta Phi National Affiliated Sorority) bought for the weekend.

This year marks the 5th Annual Kappa Kamping. Each year, the event attracts at least one or two new folks with a few of us like Jeffery Willette (Brother of Mu Chapter at UMaine Pesque Isle), Beth Peavey and myself having been to all of them. There are usually around 10-15 campers in the tent city. Kappa Delta Phi Fraternity Chapters represented Alpha, Gamma, Xi, Mu, Rho, Tau, and Eta have been represented at one point or another and sisters of Kappa Nu and Kappa Gamma have represented Kappa Delta Phi National Affiliated Sorority.

It is a weekend of good food, (we usually hold a pot luck supper on Friday night, and Beth Peavey and I have put on a traditional breakfast on Saturday morning) and good times….the bonfire is always going, there is usually people swimming in the arctic brook nearby, or hiking along the Clark Brook Trail, or just sitting at camp and playing a game of cribbage.

Kappa Kamping is held annually, on Father’s Day weekend, in the Green Mountain National Forest in Granville Vermont, just off Route 100. It’s a weekend of tent camping, smores, radio baseball, and relaxed socializing with fellow KDP folks under the stars… and no better way I can think of to start the summer off right!