Castle Rock Climbing

What’s that red dot in this photo? Amazingly, it’s a Rockbrook camper climbing Castle Rock! You may have heard that Rockbrook is lucky to have a great rock climbing area right on its property, and that this makes it incredibly easy to rock climb while at camp. It’s true, and here’s the proof! You may not, however, have a sense of just how BIG Castle Rock is. Well, it’s enormous… the exposed rock face being easily 250 feet tall.

Our friend Bob Twomey, who is a helicopter pilot and the owner of Wolf Tree Aviation, helped a photographer grab these shots last summer. Bob passed them along to us, and we just had to share.

Ready for some rock climbing? That red dot could be you!

Let’s Go Rock Climbing!

When kids come to Rockbrook for camp, they know there’s going to be outdoor adventure happening, things like backpacking, kayaking and whitewater rafting, but they are sometimes surprised about all the rock climbing available. That’s mostly because there is simply so much rock to climb right here on the camp property, not to mention some of the famous rock climbing areas nearby in the Pisgah National Forest. But it’s also because learning to climb is so popular! No matter how old you are —yes, even the youngest kids— you can climb a real rock just about every day at Rockbrook.

Here’s how it works. Usually at breakfast or at dinner the night before, the rock climbing staff will announce a trip they have planned. Like for all of our adventure trips, the campers can then decide if they want to go. They make their own decision weather to go.  It means giving up their regularly scheduled activities, and that can be a hard choice if you really love horseback riding or archery for example, but it also means enjoying the thrill of getting up on the rock. It helps to have experienced the fun of rock climbing to realize these trips are worth signing up for, but even after just one outing, campers learn how much of a treat they are. Some of these trips are short hikes up to a couple of the routes on Castle Rock, while others will be all-day adventures to one of the climbing areas on Looking Glass Rock.

The Rockbrook Camp rock climbing program is a big part of the adventure activities around here. Hey, let’s go climbing!

Looking Glass Rock Climbing

One of the best rock climbing areas in the Southeast is Looking Glass Rock. Rising almost 1000 feet from the forest floor, Looking Glass is a dome-shaped mass of granite near Brevard in the Pisgah National Forest. It can easily be seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway nearby. For rock climbers it offers a fantastic variety of sport, friction, face, crack and even aid climbing routes suitable for the beginning, intermediate and advanced climber. Circling the domed rock are well-known climbing areas: the Nose, South Side, Sun Wall and North Wall. On the southeastern side of the rock, there is a popular tourist trail for hiking to the summit.

Rockbrook Camp Girl Joanna on Looking Glass Rock

Here’s a photo of a Rockbrook camper on the Nose (5.8).  Rockbrook is located only about 15 miles from Looking Glass.  After topping out our own climbs on Castle Rock, our camp rock climbing program brings girls to Looking Glass, as well as other climbing areas in this region of North Carolina.  There’s a lot of rock to climb around here, and the girls love it!

Lindsey in St. John

Just heard from Lindsey’s Mom:

“Lindsey traveled to St. John USVI after leaving Rockbrook where she learned to snorkel, spent some time Geocaching on the island, explored old sugar plantations, practiced Kung Fu with her Dad, and spent time exploring for sea shells! I believe Lindsey was so adventurous for our family trip to St. John because of confidence she gained at Rockbrook! She can’t wait to return next year! We are all addicted to Rockbrook and she’s taught us many songs that we sing in the car!”

So cool to see how a first grader’s first camp experience can really make a difference! Thanks!

Fun and Formative

For quite a while now we’ve talked about how Rockbrook is “a place for girls to grow,” how a sleepaway camp experience can be so instrumental in the lives of young girls, helping them socially, personally, and even physically. Being at Rockbrook is plenty of fun, of course, but it’s also formative in really important ways. Here’s an article we published back in February about how camp helps children grow.

The adventure activities at Rockbrook provide a good example of this. They are ideally suited to providing the right balance of challenge and success, in an active, friendly and supportive context. They are just right for inspiring campers and fostering their self-confidence and social skills. Take today’s kayaking trip down the French Broad River. The girls handled the rapids, stuck together as a group encouraging each other, and conquered the technical aspects of catching eddies, ferrying, and reading the river. There were international campers on the trip too (Belgium and Russia), giving the girls even more chances to learn from each other. Getting out of camp for a river trip like this is often a highlight of a girl’s camp experience, perhaps because it’s a more focused moment where she can feel good about her abilities and relationships. Or, perhaps it’s just a good time!

Our traditional Rockbrook “camp song” includes this line— The rosy mist of the morning, Veil it anew at dawn, Like a fairyland of beauty, Where friendships so true are born. This line is inspired by the notion that Rockbrook is a “fairyland of beauty,” that all of its natural beauty, the mosses, rocks, creeks, ferns and wildflowers for example, are the work of fairies. All of us at Rockbrook, being in this “wonder-full” place, can easily imagine friendly spirits working their magic all around us. This photo shows a “fairy house” a few of the girls have built near hiker’s rock. Gathering leaves, sticks, moss and other found bits of nature, they’ve been building several of these houses. Some have bathtubs, beds and even a set of “monkey bars” and a swing! Others were made mostly of rocks and colorful pebbles.  What fun to search the woods with your friends for special, enchanted fairy house building materials!  And, what a nice surprise to turn the corner in camp and encounter one of these special creations.

For dinner tonight Rick made us a feast of baked tilapia, roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli (along with our salad bars of fresh fruits and veggies), along with Alison’s homemade brownies for dessert. After dinner, Jane (who by the way is majoring in fine art photography at The Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC) grabbed the camera and announced an impromptu twilight activity for the girls: a silly glamor photo shoot. She encouraged folks to just dress up and come out to the hill to get their picture taken. Dressed in true Rockbrook spirit (i.e. super silly) mostly the Juniors got excited about the idea, and Jane captured a bunch of really great shots.

Activities Galore at Rockbrook

Miriam tries out her Yoga skills

Monday was quite eventful around Rockbrook Camp as our Third Session campers tried their first set of daily activities. They will do these chosen activities for three days and then have the opportunity to try a whole other set for the second half of the week. We have seen over the years that this concept of choice while away from home is a wonderful way to encourage independence and growth for every camper.

Two extra morning highlights included muffin break and free swim. Our resident baker Allison had wonderful chocolate sprinkle muffins waiting for the girls between first and second period. Then after second period, most girls headed down to the lake for a dip after this warm morning. They had their first opportunity to go on the water slide and swim laps for our Mermaid Club. With all of these bust active girls, there were smiles everywhere down at the lake!

Two thumbs up for the slide

After rest hour this afternoon, activities continued and our first white water rafters left for an overnight camp out experience at our Nantahala Outpost. Another group will join them tomorrow on the river for a day trip. As the only camp with an outpost at the Nantahala River, we love being able to let each camper decide which length of trip she would like to participate in.

We did have a little rainstorm this afternoon, but we did not let it slow us down. One of our favorite songs here at camp is the “Dewcoat Song.” We just think of rain as a little dew and keep on going! As we all filed into dinner, campers were greeted with a camp favorite: hotdogs with all the sides and fixings followed by key lime pie for dessert.

Even our youngest campers have the opportunity to weave on our Appalachian looms

Great new friends who met yesterday!

We hope that every camper picked up a new skill today, whether it be making a friendship bracelet, walking a horse or talking with a new friend. Each of these qualities is what makes Rockbrook so special and the campers will continue to build upon during the rest of their session here.

70s Dance Fever

Part of the recipe that makes Rockbrook a “place of their own” for our campers is the free time they enjoy each day. There are three blocks of time, before lunch, and both before and after dinner (the two “free swims” and “twilight”), when there are no required, scheduled activities. Instead, the girls can decide for themselves how they might spend that time, perhaps hanging out with their friends, finishing a craft project, exploring the creek by “Curosty,” writing a letter home, playing tennis, chatting with a counselor, or just reading under the big walnut tree on the hill. This is important because the rest of the year is often so tightly scheduled for kids, with school, sports, and other commitments keeping them on the run from one thing to the next— at an almost “job-like” pace. Thank goodness for summer and for camp when our girls can pursue their own interests, at their own pace, and develop their own sense of fun.  Of course, it’s pretty easy to enjoy this free time when they are surrounded by the  natural beauty of Rockbrook, have tons of good friends to do things with, and can turn in almost any direction for an idea or option to try.  But getting in the habit of independently “finding something to do” is a great skill for kids to develop, and something that will certainly help them throughout the year.

The fantastic weather we’ve been having these last few days has kept the equestrian staff happily working hard with lessons every activity period. Some of the afternoon lessons were rained out earlier in the session, but no longer, and there are some great riding skills being shown in the rings. Likewise, we’ve been sending out a lot of adventure trips this week… kayakers to the Green River with Clyde, the Hi-Ups to Dupont Forest for waterfall hopping with Jeff, and shorter day hikes to Rockbrook Falls and Castle Rock with Michelle and the other outdoor adventure staff counselors. These warm and sunny afternoons have also made the lake a popular place to be, and it seems like there are a bunch of girls trying to set a record for trips down the water slide. Add to that all of the regular sports going on— tennis, archery, riflery, gymnastics, alpine tower climbing and gym games —and there are a lot of sweaty girls heading to the lake for the second free swim before dinner.

Tonight after dinner is was time for Disco Mania, a 70s dance party for the whole camp down in our gym.  When the word went out to dress up (naturally), the campers and counselors started showing up in their best 70s garb. A few bell-bottoms and platform shoes really set the tone, but we also saw plenty of tie dyes, bright colors and sun glasses.  Basically, wearing anything crazy seemed about right.  With pumping disco beats, everyone really danced.  Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, Blondie, Roxy Music, Diana Ross, and the Jackson Five all made an appearance on the playlist.  This was all Rockbrook, all girls (no boys), and definitely all fun.

Doubling Friends

One of the great things about coming to a sleepaway summer camp is the way the environment, the setting, and the culture of the place, all encourage kids to make friends. We’re really seeing this these days at Rockbrook, as obvious groups of laughing girls seem to always be together, to be signing up for activities together, and grabbing muffins together at “muffin break.” We’ve talked about the importance of camp friends before, but it’s so obvious to notice in action. These girls are sharing so many wonderful experiences, meeting so many nice people who are relaxed and open, and exploring the outdoors together, it’s just an ideal setting to forge meaningful relationships. Away from the more rigid expectations of school and their school peers, and immersed in a place like this where you can be your true self, camp is a magical place where girls easily make true friends.

This morning we were treated to amazing mountain weather with a little fog and low 60s when we woke up and then bright sunshine throughout the day. It made our morning activities in camp and our out of camp trips (a waterfall hike and a rock climb) just perfect. The girls were finishing up their first set of activities today, so it was great fun to dig deeper into camp. Shooting a real gun, making a cool new pottery mug, learning a few yoga poses, and climbing up a 100ft tall rock. Pause for muffin break… today “Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin.” Then, we’re off for more adventure, sports, arts and horseback riding, sprinkled with a good dose imagination.

The afternoon, it being Wednesday, brought “Cabin Day,” a time each week when we stick together as a cabin group for activities instead of breaking up and following our individual activity schedules. Groups of girls were playing games on the hill, taking hikes to Castle Rock, swimming at the lake, making baskets and others enjoying smoothies in the dining hall… all great ways to build cabin camaraderie. Later in the afternoon, the entire Senior line took a trip into Pisgah to visit Sliding Rock. We waited until later so the crowds would be gone and we could have the rock for ourselves, which turned out to be a good idea since we had 85 people in our group! Most of the girls slid down 4 or 5 times, until we all got hungry enough for a picnic supper (some of Rick’s homemade salads— potato, egg, chicken and pimento cheese —on croissants, fruit and Alison’s lemon bars.  It felt so good to be out in the forest together enjoying each others company and good food after the big (and chilly!) adventure of Sliding Rock.  And to top it all off, we just had to stop at Dolly’s for a cone of their fantastic ice cream, the Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion being a favorite flavor.  An awesome trip.