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It's no picnic for campers in Steens Prep Notebook By GREG STILES There are football camps and then there is something called the Steens Mountain Football Conditioning Camp. A typical football camp is held on a college campus and is a nice way for coaches to scope potential recruits and earn a little extra income. The Steens Mountain camp is far from any kind of campus, football field or, for that matter, grassy field. A quarter of a century ago, Harlan Yriarte launched what has become one of the Northwest's premier -- and most rugged -- running camps. It draws 300 athletes annually to Oregon's deserted southeastern corner. In 1996, Yriarte and his sons, Javan, Kael and Jenner, begat a football conditioning camp capable of making Marine recruits wince. Yriarte's premise is that people are like chameleons and they blend in with their environment. "We want these kids to take on the attitude of their surroundings," says Yriarte, a former high school and college track coach and presently Lane Community College's athletic director. "It's rough and rugged. If there's a boulder to move, isn't that the attitude you want when you're blocking. If there's a juniper tree to tackle, you want to think that nothing's going to move you. Isn't that the attitude you want every down and every play of every game?" The terrain is steep -- canyons and cliffs; the lifestyle spartan -- no running water, no modern conveniences, no soap for a week. You prepare meals and clean up after them. The week is spent in four, 12-man tents. The 12-man units compete in football-specific exercises against the other units. At nearly every turn there are surprises, testing your stamina and will. A running back might run for 15 yards on a play, zigging, zagging, stopping and going over someone. "Why isn't sagebrush a perfect thing to run through with a ball?" reasons Yriarte. "In order to get from point A to point B, you have to stop, juke left and go right in order to go through that stuff." Or, if you're considering weight training, why not bench press logs or strap on a harness and pull a log up a hill through rocks and boulders? "The country is raw and rugged; you have to adapt to survive," Yriarte says. The first day begins with a long march to the end zone, with backs and linemen alike gaining about 24,000 yards during a hike of nearly 14 miles to the Blitzen Gorge or the Big Indian Gorge. The key is, the unit has to stick together. "No matter if you're a tailback or big lineman, you're all in this big game together," Yriarte says. After 3 miles, players reach a trail along Blitzen River. For the next eight miles, the groups do three- to four-second explosive exercises with short rests in between. "They might crawl, side slide or backpedal," Yriarte says. All this takes place at an elevation of 6,500 feet. Players wear the camp's standard helmets, mouthpieces, backpacks and water bottles. They get water breaks every 10 minutes. At the end of eight miles, the real fun begins as the campers climb 2,000 feet out of the canyon. "Brad Eaton (a former Southern Oregon University lineman and tent leader) says it was twice as tough as daily doubles, but without the wear and tear on the body," Yriarte says. Eaton was among several current or former SOU players to have worked the camp. Brandon McClain, J.J. Jedrykowski, J.D. Callicoatt, Randy Glaze and James Gravelle all have lent a hand. Among the Day 2 highlights is a 300-meter obstacle course that includes bear crawls under trees, form tackling or pass blocking color-coded trees and giving other trees a shiver. "When people get a little tired, they start to lose focus," Yriarte says. "So we put them on a log a little above the ground so they have to concentrate on their balance." The fourth-quarter march comes on Day 3, starting at the 7,500-foot level of Steens Mountain Loop Road and climbing to 9,500. A series of drills in short bursts is followed by a one-minute walk. "You're doing all this on an uphill incline," Yriarte says. "It's pretty brutal. Linemen might be in their stance, firing out, or defensive backs backpedaling. We do it again and again. "The only thing here is there isn't a halftime. When they get to halftime in a game, they'll appreciate it. We overemphasize the activity to trivialize it. Other things will be a lot easier." The march is followed by a two- to three-mile race back to the bus. But campers aren't quite sure where the bus is, requiring them to follow their leader's direction. You've got to learn to trust the coach to know where you're at, just like you have to trust the coach's game plan. Teammates have to stay together, taking turns carrying the football as they negotiate McCoy Creek Canyon. There's one more twist. Just before taking off on the hike, one camper from each tent is given a motivational quote that he must teach his teammates by the time he gets back to the bus. "One team may make it back in 30 minutes, another 40, and a third may have taken a wrong turn and taken 50," Yriarte says. "The equalizer is when you pick one person (at random) and put him in front of everyone in camp. He's got to give the quote. One missed word adds 30 seconds to the team's time." The Steens Mountain Olympics come on Day 4. Here's where the players get to bench press logs -- with the help of a spotter. "A lot of time, the weight is not the problem," Yriarte says. "Each log is different. Not only is strength and endurance important, but so is knowing what the log will do as you lift. It's just like knowing the person across from them on the field and how to work them to your advantage." One of the carry-overs from Yriarte's running camp is the tug-of-war. Participants dig a 5-by-8-foot pit that's filled with mud. Given a football players' nature, Yriarte adds dried horse manure to the pit. "The losing team in a normal tug-of-war is when the first person crosses the mud line," Yriarte says. "Here, it's when the last person goes through the middle of the pit. We've had some pretty amazing comebacks." On the final day of camp, the players return to civilization -- going to Crane or Burns to play a flag scrimmage on a real field. After that come showers with soap. The rewards for enduring the camp are medals -- dog tags -- and shirts for the deserving. "Those kids want those dog tags," Yriarte says. In essence, they're both badges of courage and medals of honor. For information on the Steens football camp call Harlan Yriarte at (541) 349-1900 or at (541) 747-4501m ext. 2548. (Greg Stiles is a Mail Tribune sports writer. He can be reached at 776-4483.) Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.