A beginner-friendly, guided outdoor adventure tailored for people who usually do their adventuring at the table with pen, and paper. We are a small team of people just like you who want to take these adventures from the table to the campsite. We are transforming traditional primitive camping into a gaming experience unlike any other, played deep within the heart of Pennsylvania’s Allegeny National Forest.
Why You’ll Love It #
- Beginner Friendly: No skills or experience required. Bring your own pack or use one of ours!
- Nerd Centric Community: Bond over D&D, sci-fi, video games, and more while spending time with your people.
- Real Adventure, Low Stakes: Safe, guided hikes and camping in a beautiful, accessible forest.
- Gamified Skill Building: Learn essential camping skills like knot-tying, navigation, and campfire-building through our game-based challenges.
- Minister Creek Madness: Play a custom designed 3-hour one-shot campside RPG adventure by an award winning game designer.
What You’ll Learn #
Survival Skills, Gamer Style
- Navigation: Speedrun a map-and-compass course to decode secret clues.
- Knot Tying: Master 6 essential knots (Bowline, Prusik, etc.) for gear and camping.
- Wilderness Safety: Learn how to stay safe on the trails and how to avoid dangerous wildlife.
- Tent Setup: We’ll show you the best way to pitch a tent.
- Campfire Mastery: Learn to start a fire safely, reliably and ethically.
- Food Storage: Hang your snacks in a tree using the Pacific Northwest method – keep critters out!
Ready to Level Up Your Skills? #
Join the First Adventure: Minister Creek Madness
- Dates: June 6th, 7th, and 8th 2025
- Price: $[495.00] (all inclusive). $[395.00] (bring your own pack)
- Capacity: Limited to 8 nerds for a personalized experience.
Register Now → Bring your curiosity, leave with a new story.
Itinerary #
Friday: #
Friday is split into two halfs. First we’re going to learn some campground basics like safety, knots, toggles, and bears before embarking on a speedrunning navigation course where you and a partner will use a map and compass to navigate between different places and record down a secret code. You’ll compete against the other groups, and whoever completes the course the fastest will win a small prize. The second half of the day will be a short drive from the Hearts Content Recreation Area to Minister Creek, followed by a short hike into the woods before we setup camp for the night.
Itinerary: #
- Arrive at the Hearts Content Recreation Area in the Allgeny National Forest around 10:30am. Warren, PA 16365.
- Rendevous, Meet & Greet from 10:30am to 11:00am
- Adventure orientation from 11:00am to 12:00pm
- Adventure Plans Overview
- Safety Briefing
- Knot Lingo: Bight, Loop, Tuck/Insert
- 6 Basic Knots: Figure Eight, Slipnot, Bowline, Prusik Knot, Clove Hitch, Truckers Hitch
- The Toggle: How a simple stick on a rope, makes life easy.
- Lunch from 12:00pm to 12:45pm
- Introductory Orienteering Briefing from 12:45pm to 1:00pm
- Mastering the Map & Compass
- What is Orienteering? How to play?
- Introductory Orienteering from 1:00pm to 2:45pm.
- Scoring the winner and packout from 2:45pm to 3:00pm.
- Packup by 3:00pm at leave the Hearts Content Recreation Area by car. Drive to the Minister Creek Campgrounds at PA-666 Shreffield, PA 16347.
- Arrive at the Minister Creek Campgrounds around 3:30pm.
- Begin the group hike along the Western edge of the South Loop of the Minister Creek trail around 3:45pm.
- Setup camp within the area of the South Loop indicated on your map around 5:45pm and within fullview of all other campers.
- Tutorial: How to pitch a footprint, tarp, and tent. at 6:15pm.
- Pitch footprint, tarp, and tent. at 6:15pm.
- Tutorial: Dealing with bears, and other opportunistic critters. Food in tent = A bad time.
- Tutorial: Hanging foodstuffs in a tree. The PNW method using a dry bag, a throw bag, a carbiner and a toggle.
- Setup sleeping pad, and bedding.
- Setup campfire and gather firewood.
- Dinner. Hotdogs & S’mores. Stories. Social deduction games.
- Turn in by 10pm. All foodstuffs must be hung away from camp.
Saturday: #
Trophy Dark is a collaborative storytelling game about a group of treasure-hunters on a doomed expedition into a forest that doesn’t want them there. We will be playing a specially designed 3-hour one-shot adventure that takes place right here in Minister Creek, along Pennsylvania Route 666. No prior knowledge or experience in this kind of game is required to play. All are welcome!
Have you ever wondered how the village of Minister got it’s name? How did these rocky outcroppings get here? What were they used for, and who used them? Why did they name the road that way, and why won’t anyone steal the signs and take them home? The answer lies just beyond there, deep within the forest. They say that if you have the gift of insight, you can the hear the forest sing and it will call you to answer.
Do you hear it? Would you follow it? Where do you think it will take you?
Itinerary: #
- Wake up around 8am. Survey campground. Eat breakfast and tear down camp.
- Pack up and leave camp around 10am.
- Hike with the group north along the western side of the North loop until you pass the third bridge.
- Continue past the rocks and turn left to venture north along the North Country National Scenic Trail on the north eastern side of the North Loop.
- Seek out the campsite marked on your map with your group and setup camp around 5:45pm.
- Pitch footprint, tarp, and tent. at 6:15pm.
- Setup sleeping pad, and bedding.
- Tutorial: How to gather firewood, kindling, and tinder, and how to start a campfire, safely and ethically.
- Setup campfire and gather firewood. 7:00pm
- Dinner. Marshmallows and Stories. 7:30pm.
- Hang foodstuffs in a tree at least 100 feet from camp, and at least 15 feet off the ground, and 6 feet away from the tree using the PNW method taught on Friday.
- Play Minister Creek Madness - A One-shot RPG Adventure designed by Raymond Chandler III based on the Trophy Dark RPG. 7:30pm until 12:00pm midnight.
- Turn in by 1pm. All foodstuffs must be hung away from camp. Do not leave food in your tents.
Sunday: #
Sunday will consist of a short, casual hike along the eastern side of the North Loop of the trail. There is nothing specific planned for the day other than to enjoy nature on our walk back out of Narnia.
Itinerary: #
- Wake up around 8am. Survey campground. Eat breakfast and tear down camp.
- Pack up and leave camp around 10am.
- Hike South along the North Country National Scenic Trail until you intersect with the Minister Creek North Loop.
- Turn left at the intersection, to face east and slightly south. Begin hiking south east and then south along the eastern side of the North Loop.
- Hike south approximately 2 miles. You will pass over a bridge. Continue walking until you reach an intersection.
- Turn South and walk towards the parking lot and main campgrounds.
- Arrive at your car at approximately 1pm.
- Drive Home.