Spreading Your Wings at Camp

One of the great benefits of a session at Rockbrook is the chance for girls to spread their wings and try so many new things.  As I walked around camp today I happened to see a group of Juniors (our youngest campers) at several of their activities.  It was amazing to see their faces as they explored new skills.  After speaking with one of the campers, she told me that today was the first time she had shot a bow and arrow, climbed a real rock and even learned a new pattern for weaving a friendship bracelet.  Her face beamed as she described her accomplishments.  At the young age of 9, she was exhilarated by her experience and could not believe that it was only day one!  It’s these kind of experiences that help campers build so much confidence and belief in themselves.

With the arrival of all of our mini session campers yesterday, camp was a flurry of activity today with all of our new friends in attendance.  The excitement was running high!  One activity that was really a buzz was horseback riding.  As we visited the barn this morning we saw four lessons in action with girls being divided up into different classes based on their skill level.  One class was learning the basics of steering the horse, while another class was already cantering.  There are so many great horses and fabulous teachers at the barn, that there is the right horse and teacher for every girl.

The craft activities were also quite busy with beautiful projects.  We really enjoyed our visit to needlecraft where the campers were learning to knit and have been making the most amazing hats.  Even though it is a little hot outside, it does not stop the campers from wearing their creative attire.  The tie-dye t shirts have been really bright and beautiful this summer as well.  The Hodge Podge teachers have been instructing the girls in some amazing new patterns.  One favorite is the pattern that looks like mountains, water and the sun after the shirt is unwrapped.

All in all it was a great day with more fun on the horizon.  With a special twilight activity offered at our garden, followed by skits at evening program, the campers will all have the chance to learn something new, act silly and spread their wings once more!

Horses, Muffins and Rafting at Camp

Our mini session campers have brought a bright new energy to our activities. Their first day included lots of firsts for many: first time climbing Castle Rock, first time shooting a bow and arrow, first friendship bracelet, and so much more! Director Jessi also offered one of her ever-popular yoga workshops. The barn seems to be the biggest hit with our newest campers. Every horse got a great workout yesterday, and every camper seemed to have a blast meeting some new friends of the large four-legged variety. The names we heard the most out of the barn were Cool Beans and Watson. These two horses are quite popular this year.

Rave reviews were heard mid-morning at muffin break. Our wonderfully creative baker Liz went all out on some banana chocolate chip muffins. Mixing two delicious recipes seems to be her specialty. We also enjoyed a little comfort at dinner by way of some chicken pot pie and chocolate chip bars.

This afternoon our first rafting trip of the week headed out to the Nantahala outpost with Jeff and counselors Allie and Sally. It’s sure to be an evening of campfire stories and s’mores. Tuesday about 50 more campers will join them for an exhilarating ride down the Nantahala with all of our specially trained raft guides. The team is headed up by our Outdoor Adventure Director, Clyde Carter. We are so lucky to have him work with us during the summer while he can get away from his college job as the Head of the Wilderness Leadership Department at Brevard College. He is a veteran on our local area rivers. We cannot believe that this will be our final trip over for summer 2010. Where does the time go? We will be sure to report back with a lot fun information from the trip.

Overnight Rafting Trips

Tuesday began with a surprise announcement that it was “Talk with an Accent” day at Rockbrook. Of course Mandy and a couple of counselors had fun making the announcement in the thickest, sweetest, overly southern accent they could muster… “Naow, Y’aaaaall….” All day long this was really funny. Campers would arrive at their activity and be welcomed by an English lady, or a New York City cab driver! It was so easy to switch accents, you would never know what you might hear.

Today was also a huge whitewater rafting day for us over at the Nantahala river. These rafting trips are very popular with the Middler and Senior girls (almost everyone chooses to go), so we’ve scheduled several trips throughout the session. The first group left camp Monday afternoon and drove straight to our Nantahala outpost in Macon County to spend the night. With pasta, bread and salad for dinner, we enjoyed a campfire (and s’mores!) afterwords. The outpost is really remote and tends to be an excellent place to see and hear wildlife. For example, we easily heard an owl when sitting around the campfire.

The next morning the overnight group met another busload of campers arriving for a day rafting trip. Together, they suited up with helmets and life jackets, ready to brave the chilly water. Much of the Nantahala river is controlled by Duke Energy and is released to generate hydroelectric power from the bottom of the Nantahala lake. Cold, cold water comes out of the bottom of that lake! Fortunately, the weather was nice and hot, so the water felt great. Some of the girls even jumped in the river to cool off during some of the calmer sections of the river.

When this first group finished rafting, a second group arrived from camp. They brought us an awesome lunch of sandwiches, wraps, fruit and chips, and we all enjoyed a picnic by the river together. Soon it was time for the second group to raft, so as the first group headed back to camp, everyone else drove back to the put in to start the afternoon trip. Here too, the weather was excellent and the girls had a great time splashing each other in between the main rapids on the river. This second group, too, decided to spend the night at the outpost.  More s’mores, stories round the campfire, and talking into the night.

Altogether, 56 people (not counting our guides) were able to raft today. Rockbrook girls love some rafting!

Camp Trips and Programs

As we begin the final week of our first session, our regular camp activities are still going full speed.  Everyone has at least one more they want to try or sign up for again, so the girls are excited to have a new set of activities.  Word gets around how fun it is at archery or swimming, and when a cool weavings or knitted hats start showing up around camp, Curosty and needlecraft become even more popular.

This is also the week when all kinds of special events happen that are perpetual favorites among the campers. One of these is an evening program simply called “Counselor Impersonations.” Each age group gathers in their stone lodge after dinner for a hilarious program of skits produced by the cabin groups. After living together throughout the session, you can imagine that everyone gets to know each other really well, and little personalty quirks become apparent. This is a chance for the campers to reveal what they noticed about their counselors, and to dress and act like them for comic effect. For the campers, this is about the funniest thing on earth! For the counselors, it’s sometimes more embarrassing than funny, but it’s all very good-natured stuff. Rockbrook campers have been enjoying this evening program for generations.

Also on Monday the Hi-Ups were away from camp with Jeff on their 3-day adventure trip. They left Sunday and headed down to Lake Keowee for some water skiing, knee boarding and wake boarding. They spent the night out under the stars and woke to an excellent breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and grapes prepared by their counselors Catherine and Sarah. Next we loaded up our gear onto pontoon boats over at Lake Jocassee and motored over to our remote (boat access only) campsite. This is a great, mostly undeveloped lake, surrounded by State Forest. The water is cool and clear, so in the SC heat, we spent a great deal of time swimming, but also jumping off of rocks and exploring waterfalls. One waterfall has a cave under it, which allowed us to crawl through the crashing water and see from the inside out. It’s an unbelievable sound in there, a true roar! We enjoyed perfect weather throughout the trip, excellent food, and the girls had a wonderful time.

It’s Your Adventure Girls

Are you ready for some adventure girls? Are you ready to put yourself out there, or up there as the case may be? Camp is the perfect place for girls to try out outdoor adventure sports. There’s rock climbing, high ropes course climbing, wilderness backpacking, camping, hiking, whitewater kayaking and rafting, to name just a few.

But what makes these adventure activities? They all are a little intense, a little uncertain, and a little scary. They often test girls’ mental resolve and determination, and sometimes require physical effort beyond the ordinary. Adventure activities usually require special safety equipment and techniques as well (think ropes, paddles, helmets, tents, etc.).

When girls first try adventure sports, they are usually surprised how well they can do. With quality instruction, encouragement, and some practice, most of the girls at camp can climb a real rock, paddle a kayak, and camp overnight in the woods— and this in just their first year at camp! Everywhere you look there are adventure girls at camp.

Adventure for Girls

Girls of all ages get at least a taste of adventure while at camp. Even the youngest girls (who, having finished kindergarten, can be as young as 5 years old!) are able to gear up and climb our 50ft Alpine Tower. Even before leaving the ground it’s an adventure— fitting the helmet, tightening the harness, clipping the rope to everything, and learning the belay commands. This kind of outdoor adventure camp activity introduces girls to a few technical details of climbing while at the same time providing a nice balance of physical and personal challenges. It’s balancing up little holds and remaining calm and focused despite a fear of heights.  All good things!

Kids Kayaking Adventure

Gearing up for another adventure at camp! This time it’s kids whitewater kayaking on the lower Green River over near Saluda, NC.  Learning to paddle a kayak is another outdoor adventure activity that’s incredibly satisfying for kids.  Camps provide everything they need to get excited about the sport— the right equipment, step-by-step instruction, qualified supervision, and a perfect whitewater river.

It’s really fun to strap on all the gear and settle into one of the cool kayaks, even if it is a little scary at first.  But after kids practice getting out of the kayak when they flip over (a “wet exit”) and eventually rolling back upright (a “roll”), they become more confident in the boat and can use their paddle to maneuver around obstacles in the river.  It really gets fun when the camp kids can play on the river, surfing waves, running rapids, ferrying, and catching eddies.

Kayaking adventure for kids at camp.  Very fun stuff.

Ya Gotta Go Hiking at Camp

Let’s not forget hiking! and camping! It’s such a central part of going to an overnight summer camp in the mountains of North Carolina. There are so many amazing forests and woods around you, and there are so many trails to explore, long-range mountain views to discover, and streams to tramp— you just gotta do it.  When you go hiking out of camp, you can also look forward to sitting around a campfire, eating a yummy dinner (yes, everything does taste better when it’s cooked outdoors!), and everyone’s favorite, making s’mores. Don’t be surprised if after your first hiking trip, you want to turn right around and go out again.