The Nantahala rafting camp trips are always exciting because they can also include staying overnight at Rockbrook's Wayah Forest outpost. Girls can raft, enjoy the whitewater, and having fun spending the night camping with their friends.
Nantahala Rafting Trips
Tuesday was a great day of rafting for the Middlers and Seniors at camp, including the mini session girls who arrived last weekend. We offered everyone either a day trip or an overnight trip that included staying at our Nantahala outpost. This meant sending one group down the river in the morning, and the second in the afternoon, with the afternoon group spending the night.
Rockbrook is fortunate to be one of only two summer camps that have a US Forest Service permit to raft the Nantahala River. This means we adhere to the same standards as professional rafting companies in the Gorge, and it allows us to hire our own guides, use our own top-notch equipment and schedule these trips when we need them.
A trip down the Nantahala is an excellent introduction to whitewater rafting. The guides first introduce paddling techniques, and explain what to do while going down the river. The entire trip is 8 miles long and takes a little more than 2 hours. There’s a nice rhythm of rapids (with names like Delbar’s Rock, the Bump, Patton’s Run, and the Ledges) and calm sections to keep everything exciting. The highlight is the final rapid, a class 3 drop called the “Nantahala Falls” or “Lesser Wesser.”
Check the photo gallery soon to see more pictures!
The Thrill of Rafting
All the Rockbrook campers who are 5th grade and older can go on an awesome whitewater rafting adventure while at camp. Throughout each session, we take trips over to the Nantahala river, where we are one of the few summer camps holding a permit for these trips (see the ‘RBC’ on the raft?). You have to love this photo and the big excitement on the girls’ faces! Is it the rapid or the cold water?
Summer Camp Rafting
Here’s a set of photos of our whitewater rafting trips on the Nantahala River. Each session we take girls over to the river for a fun-filled day rafting. The Nantahala is one of the best known whitewater rivers in the southeast and always offers an exciting ride. Check out the photos and you’ll see what we mean.
Camp Rafting
This week we had a marathon whitewater rafting event. Over three days, we took almost a hundred campers whitewater rafting down the Nantahala river. Rockbrook is one of only two summer camps that have a Forest Service permit to raft this river, so we are able to take full advantage of it using our own equipment and raft guides. We also have an outpost near the river where we can spend the night after (or sometimes before) rafting. What a great time we all had— excellent weather the whole time, plenty of whitewater excitement, and lots of fun with the other middlers and seniors.
That’s Valerie, one of our former Castle Rock Institute students, guiding the boat. Val now teaches at the Portland Waldorf School.
Pirates Rafting and Hiking !!
Hello, faithful readers! My name is Emily, and I am a middler counselor reporting to you the latest happenings at Rockbrook for the week. This past weekend included such festivities as Pirate Day, Carnival, and a four hour hike to Kilroy’s Cabin. Today was the final day for all of our mini-session campers. Last night we celebrated by having a mini-banquet (which I believe was Luau-themed), followed by the traditional Spirit Fire. We will miss our mini-session campers dearly, but eagerly await the arrival of the campers for second mini-session!
There are two rafting trips going on today, a day trip and an overnight, both on the Nantahala River. Mandy and Nurse Jenny braved the white water rapids with the overnight group, complete with campfire and s’mores. Tomorrow they shall return – with a lot of interesting stories, I’m sure. Tomorrow, Lindsay Firestone and I will lead a different group of girls down the river for another day trip. I can’t wait!
All in all, today was a pretty quiet day at Rockbrook, due to the absence of mini-session campers and the two groups of rafters. However, I know later in the week things are sure to get extremely busy around Rockbrook!
It's raining, we're rafting, it's pouring!
Last night was the overnight rafting trip for the middlers and seniors, and I had the opportunity of tagging along! It turned out nothing like I expected!
The beginning of the trip was fairly normal. We ate breakfast, hopped on the road, and were way excited for a great time! When we arrived, we lathered on sunscreen, got settled in the rafts and away we went. Yay! The first few rapids were great fun, and when it started to rain we just ignored it, figuring that it would go away in a minute… but it didn’t. Ten minutes later it was still raining, and we were soaked. Not long after that, it began to hail. So we found a place to get out of the river. Our guides lifted the rafts up into a parking lot and leaned them against the fence. They made really great shelter to keep us dry. Then Jeff showed up with the bus!! Yay Jeff!
We made it to the outpost without any further exciting events. The night was spent eating pizza and s’mores and was a great ending for the trip! The next morning we hopped in the bus and arrived back at Rockbrook. What an awesome trip!
Outdoors Adventure Rafting
Perhaps the most popular outdoor adventure trip at Rockbrook camp is whitewater rafting. We take every girl who is old enough (5th graders and older), and who wants to go 
, rafting down the Nantahala River, which is located a little west of camp. It’s just a regular part of camp, and everybody looks forward to it. Rockbrook has an overnight outpost near the river, so many campers choose to turn the trip into an overnight camping adventure as well.
Summer Kids Whitewater Rafting
