On Our Way

The world can teach us so much. During our last Alumnae reunion, Phyllis Shaw, former hiking guide and “CT”, lead a hike to Quinton Falls. The ladies trekked into lush landscape and toward cascading mountain water. Nature reveals to us a parallel between the wonders of the natural world  and who we are as Rockbrook girls.  Just as water grooves its own path in the earth, year after year, Rockbrook sends girls into the world, confident and inspired to forge their own way in the world.

Camping in the Mountains

Check out this great page from a 1941 Rockbrook Catalog.  Campers had the opportunity to go on lots of different adventures including overnight camping trips.  Camping trips now follow the principles of Leave No Trace, but back in the 1940′s you can see that the camp outs were quite elaborate.  Don’t you know those S’mores tasted delicious?!

Rockbrook Catalog Excerpt, 1941

The Land of Waterfalls

Rockbrook waterfall hike, 1940's

Did you know that Rockbrook’s home Transylvania County is also known as The Land of Waterfalls?  Transylvania County contains over 250 waterfalls thus earning it’s nickname.  Whitewater Falls is one of the highest waterfalls on the east coast and is only a few miles from Rockbrook.  We even have two waterfalls on Rockbrook’s property- Stick Biscuit Falls and Rockbrook Falls.

Click here for an interactive local waterfall map.  Have fun on your adventure!

Rockbrook Falls, Brevard NC

Rockbrook Campers at Triple Falls

Rockbrook Campers, 1923, Triple Falls

While doing some research on camp history at the Transylvania County Library, we came across this photograph of some Rockbrook Campers from 1923.  The label on the back of the photograph indicates it was taken at a local waterfall, (believed to be Triple Falls ) which is located in today’s Dupont State Forest.    Dupont State Forest was founded between 1995-2000 and is a 10,300 acre state forest featuring over 9 spectacular waterfalls.  In the early days of Rockbrook campers got to visit these waterfalls.  At some point the property fell into private ownership and was not reopeend for visitors until 1995.    We now offer our campers trips to Dupont, just like we did in 1923!

Let us know if you remember any waterfall trips from when you were a camper.  In our next blog post we will feature more about our local waterfalls.

Camp Alumnae Hike to Kilroy’s Cabin

During our camp reunion in 2009 one of the most popular events was the hike to Kilroy’s Cabin which is up past Castle Rock.   Jerry took a large group of hikers on one of his wild adventures to find Kilroy’s. The group returned with wild stories, dirty clothes and big smiles on their faces!

The legend of Kilroy is famous in Rockbrook history and everyone has their own version of the story.  What is your favorite Kilroy story?   Just watch out if you have red hair and green eyes… You may not want to go up there!

We are all looking forward to our next reunion which will happen during the end of August 2011!  We will gather again to celebrate 90 years of summer fun, friendships, and wonderful adventures (and a crazy hike to Kilroy’s of course).  We hope you will be able to join us!  Stay tuned for more information…

Fall Colors Have Arrived at RBC

What a gorgeous time of year it is in Brevard !  The beautiful fall colors have arrived at Rockbrook and boy are they amazing.  Even though it is quiet without the sounds of summer, it is a wonderful time to see the splendor of the changing leaves.  The smells of woodsmoke and the crunching of the leaves are magical!

Here’s to the changing of the seasons!  Happy Fall everyone.

“Old Counselors Never Die……”

Several attendees at our Alumnae Reunion this summer requested to go on a hike with the legendary counselor, Phyllis S. She worked at camp from ’59 to ’67.

Campers (that could keep up with her) still remember her spunkiness, funny stories – including one about the “rattlecat” – and her zest for the woods.

She’s an example of how much of an impact counselors can have on their campers. Counselors get to be that person who show campers new worlds and horizons – and if you’re lucky, the campers just might remember your name!

Today, Phyllis is a retired English professor. She loves William Wordsworth’s work, her cat and exploring every peak to be had.

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p.s. The title of this blog comes from the song sung when it’s a counselor’s birthday:

“Old counselors never die, never die,
Old counselors never die, they just look that way!”

At Yosemite this year

On the Trail