Claire grew up in Springboro and said she had a “traditional upbringing.” She graduated from Springboro High School and was active in her church youth group. She met Brycen there when she was 11 and he 12.
“We became friends right away,” Claire said. “We started dating when we were 17.”
Claire left home to attend a small college in Michigan, but found herself homesick and returned to her hometown to attend the former Ohio Institute of Photography.
“I was the last graduate in 2009,” Claire said.
Brycen, on the other hand, grew up in Fairborn in a military family. He has always loved the outdoors, from biking to camping with the Boy Scouts. He also loved music and played in the marching band.
Due to the distance, the couple only met a few times a year.
“It's really hard when you're 15 and can't drive and you still like this girl on the other side of town,” Brycen said.
After graduating from Fairborn High School in 2004, Brycen attended Wright State University and majored in business. He began working as a teller at Wright-Patt Credit Union while in college and eventually moved into mortgage lending.
The couple married in 2010 and wanted to buy a home in Dayton. They purchased their first home in the Walnut Hills area.
Claire set up her own photography business after the birth of her first son, Andrew, now 10 years old. The couple also had two boys, Alby, 8, and Ali, 5. Brycen continued to advance his career and Claire stayed home with his sons.
“Then Brycen's brother was killed by a drunk driver in 2012 at the age of 27,” Claire said. “And in 2021, we lost her sister-in-law Ali to cancer. When you lose someone you love so much, her life changes forever.”
In 2021, Brycen worked remotely and tried to balance family life and work demands. That's when he realized that one of his biggest outlets was spending more time outside.
“We started making more time and space in our lives to hike and explore Metroparks as a family,” Brycen said. “It really helped our physical and mental health.”
As the pandemic dragged on, the economy took a hit. Mortgage rates began to rise and Wright-Patt Credit Union began discussing making the difficult decision to cut staff.
“I didn't think I was passionate about this job anymore,” Brycen said. “I have always wanted to contribute more to society.”
In 2022, the couple's favorite outdoor retailer, Great Miami Outfitters, has announced it will be closing its doors.
“What were we going to do if this city didn’t have a mom-and-pop outdoor retail store?” Claire said. “Brycen knew right away.”
Between July 2022 and September, when Brycen announced she was leaving the credit union after 17 years, the couple hatched a plan.
“It was a chaotic situation,” Brycen said. “When we had three young children, we had to think about how to move on from this career. Was it a wise move?”
They began turning their ideas into a brand, Base Camp Outdoors Co., with a mission to encourage and equip people in their communities to more consciously engage with nature.
“Being in Dayton and downtown is important,” Brycen said. “It's important to us to be a resource for the community. The name Basecamp means it's where we begin our adventures.”
After Brycen retired in 2022, they launched an online presence. We knew our goal was to open a brick-and-mortar store as soon as possible.
“We went downtown to Moller Brew Barn and found an empty space to sit on the patio,” Claire said. “It's located in the old Mendelsohn building, so we're not only bringing it back, but we're able to retell Dayton's story in a very iconic neighborhood.”
The couple's first brick-and-mortar store is scheduled to open this summer and will offer unique and locally-based products. They partnered with Wolf Bomb's Alexander Scaglia to create all branded merchandise and Valerie Smith to create the “Very Dayton Bandana.”
“One of our big taglines is ‘The outdoors is for everyone,’” Claire says. “We know that it can be difficult for larger people to feel accepted, and we want to change that.”
The Cross family spent last summer working at the Second Street Market downtown, promoting their business and meeting with neighbors and other business owners.
“We not only choose the brands we work with, but we also want to look at sustainability,” Brycen said. “Our goal is to partner with companies that are making strides in their efforts to better manage our factories. We want to walk alongside them, and we invite others to join us as well.” I want to go there.”
For more information, log on to Basecampoutdoors.com.