Benton Corners in Gardiner, where Bruynswick Road (County Route 7) crosses Route 44/55, is known for two things: its frequent automobile collisions, which locals hope will be ameliorated soon by the installation of long-overdue traffic lights; and Lombardi’s, a popular family-style Italian restaurant that has been there just about forever. But now something new is happening, on the southwest corner of the intersection. A fieldstone structure that was once a gas station/garage, abandoned for decades and expanded by its most recent owner, is morphing once again – into an outdoor outfitter and recreation hub to be called BaseCamp.
On his business cards, Deyano Manco, a New Paltz native who bought the 7 ½-acre property this past May with the help of several backers, identifies himself as “Owner – Founder – Gunks Sherpa.” Another title he likes is “hands-on founder,” and indeed he can be found on the site nearly any day, doing a lot of the renovation work himself. In the months since he began transforming the site, he has had days where he stopped working to watch a huge bald eagle perched in a nearby tree and days where he counted the cyclists who whizzed by on 44/55 – more than 70 in one two-hour period, he says. But still the work goes on, and BaseCamp is just beginning to look like the Mecca for hikers, cyclists, runners, skiers and climbers that Manco and his partner, Norwegian-born Kristin Hjeltnes, first envisioned about four years ago.
Growing up in New Paltz and relishing the area’s manifold opportunities for outdoor activity, Manco says that he always found it “strange” that the towns at the foot of the Shawangunk Ridge have never evolved into the sort of recreation-based launching pads that can be found in, say, Vermont or Colorado or Norway. He felt that something was missing: places where visitors and locals alike can meet up, grab a coffee, rent or buy outdoor gear, fix a flat bike tire, get advice on where to hike today, sit around a fire afterwards to relax with a beer or a bowl of hot soup.
“It’s really an outdoor concept,” Manco explains as he gives Hudson Valley One a tour of the site. “BaseCamp is where you start your day and get outfitted…We’re not a café or restaurant; we’re not a bike shop. We’re something new.”
When COVID-19 came along, Manco and Hjeltnes had to retool their business plan somewhat, and he believes that the days of people feeling comfortable being “packed in” indoors may be over for good. The interior spaces at BaseCamp will include a welcoming area with trail maps on the walls, a gear and supplies shop, a fix-your-own coffee bar offering a special house blend, counters and coolers for grab-and-go snacks, a storage room just big enough to accommodate an educational event such as a birding workshop or ski-waxing clinic.
Eventually Manco hopes to be able to be able to offer bicycle and ski rentals, although the idea is not to compete with existing businesses in Gardiner and New Paltz. In fact, he envisions BaseCamp as providing concierge services, helping outdoorsy visitors plan their stay, referring them to overnight accommodations, restaurants, hiking guides and so on. Gear for sale in the shop will be “specific to the Gunks” rather than for technical mountaineering or overnight backpacking: day packs, hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, bike repair kits and the like.
The ambience is warm and pleasant, with tongue-and-groove wood paneling covering floors, walls and ceiling, counters cut from slabs of black locust and many other locally sourced materials; but the point here is not to stay indoors any longer than necessary. Want a refill on that local wine, cider or microbrew? Someone will pass it to you through a service window so you can enjoy it at a table on the “Biergarten” patio or in an Adirondack chair by one of the firepits.
The landscaping around the main structure is shaping up to encourage customers to hang out with friends, with plenty of places to sit in the sun or shade and plan an excursion or share photos afterwards. A wooded lot on the north side has been mostly cleared of underbrush and dead trees, and you can see the beginnings of pathways. A concrete pad adjoining the parking lot is meant to become the site of a pavilion with tables and restrooms next year, Manco says.
The gravel lot itself can accommodate a food truck as well as about 25 cars. “We could add another 15 spaces in the spring. Luckily, our driveway isn’t on 44/55,” says Manco. He’s looking forward to seeing the corner’s notorious road hazards mitigated so that he can complete his landscaping plan, with more screening along the road frontage to simulate “a little place in the forest.”
An avid cyclist himself, Manco is one of the founders of the Shawangunk Biking Association and a member of the Ulster Trails Alliance. He takes a strong interest in regional and municipal planning to deal with “how tourism transforms communities,” noting that it’s too late for mountain towns to try to keep the onslaught of visitors away – especially since the pandemic. “It’s here,” he says. “We’re not trying to create an amusement park; we want to help people be happy.”
To this end, he has been conferring with Minnewaska State Park officials to try to figure out ways in which BaseCamp can help ease some of the pressures of park overuse. While not imminent, the notion of the facility serving as a stop on a shuttle loop dropping people off at popular trailheads, where the parking lots fill up very early on weekend mornings, has not been ruled out. He says that he is “very protective of the Ridge,” committed to a “communal approach” with other small businesses, as well as local parks and preserves, to find ways to keep outdoor activities in the Gunks sustainable.
“I’m just a local guy who has been looking to do something local, to give back,” Manco says. “The more that we support responsible recreation, the more everyone can thrive.”
BaseCamp is projected to begin offering services to the public “after the holidays, in early 2022. We will definitely open in winter,” says Manco. “If it’s snowing, we’ll have the firepits going. We’re not going to be deterred by the weather.”
For updates about BaseCamp’s progress, visit www.basecampgunks.com and follow @BaseCampGunks on Facebook and Instagram.
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