Shared Enthusiasm for Camp
We wanted to pass along just a sample of the feedback we have been receiving through the end-of-camp survey recently sent out to parents. So many wonderful comments, happy campers and thrilled parents, it’s enough to make all of us at camp blush! But also, it means a lot to know that the deep feelings we have for Rockbrook are shared with so many of our camp families. We can hear the appreciation and enthusiasm in your voices! Here’s one parent’s comments.
I would sacrifice just about anything to allow Emma to attend Rockbrook every year, and RBC is not an insignificant expense for us. I love so many things about Rockbrook: the activities that are only available to my daughter at camp, the confidence that she is developing over the years as she participates in different activities that push her comfort level, and the camp friendships that she is building from year to year. I truly believe that Rockbrook Camp is helping shape my daughter into a stronger, more confident person. I am so glad that we found it!
Wow, thanks so much!
To Build a Fire and Stack Apples
Do you know how to build a fire? Well if your camper signed up for the activity we call “WHOA,” which stands for “Wilderness Hiking Outdoor Adventure,” there’s a good chance she’ll have learned to here at camp. The counselors talk about the importance of heat, fuel and oxygen. They demonstrate the importance of dry wood (having it pass the “snap test”), and they give plenty of examples of how to stack the wood to insure the smallest twigs light first and the heat generated will rise up and ignite the larger sticks. The girls pick up on it pretty quickly, and when there’s the prospect of roasting a marshmallow, they are surprisingly motivated. 
It has been such amazing weather these past few days! Cool in the mornings with a little fog early, and then warm but not too hot in the afternoon. We had one of those welcome afternoon thunder showers today, making everything moist and cool. With the creeks up again, Jessi decided to take a group of girls on a hike to Rockbrook Falls before lunch. This is the largest waterfall on the Rockbrook property, and is formed as Dunn’s Creek cascades down below Dunn’s Rock. You can see it on the camp map. The girls first hike the trail to the creek, but then make their way upstream by hopping from rock to rock, back and forth across the falling water. The falls are a good ways up and really beautiful to see.
OK, if not fire building, what about stacking 4 apples in a column? Juggling feathers? Eating an oreo cookie without using your hands, and that happens to be placed on your forehead (!)? These are just some of the games we all played after lunch in our all-camp “Minute to Win It” game. Starting with each age group in their lodge, each cabin dressed as a team and competed in several different crazy relay races. Ordinary items like golf balls and boxes of tissues became props for physical challenges. It was wonderful to see how much fun we could have, how hard we could laugh, trying to do these tasks. Even those of us watching, get a kick, for example, out of seeing someone being wrapped up in toilet paper! It was good camp fun, being with friends and enjoying silly games you wouldn’t likely do at home.
After dinner was a highlight of the session for many of the girls, for the senior girls in particular— the dance with Camp Carolina. We held two simultaneous dances with our Seniors going to Camp Carolina and their Middler and Junior boys coming to Rockbrook. Splitting like this made the dances less crowded and allowed us to tailor the music for each age group. The showers at camp got a real workout before the dance, and all 200 hair brushes got used as well. It’s quite a phenomenon! Overall, the whole affair was lighthearted and fun. Tonight the counselors dressed up like traffic crossing guards, and we saw more camp tie dye t-shirts than anything else. Group dancing is mostly the name of the game so everyone can be included. As you might guess, the girls stick together— safety in numbers!
It was a little late for us, but what a night to wrap up another great day in the “heart of a wooded mountain.”
Kayakers, Potters & Sharp Shooters
The riflery instructor Paige has been announcing a lot of names lately of girls joining the “Bullseye Club.” Being able to shoot a bullseye in riflery is not easy. It really does take a great deal of practice to learn how to sight the rifles and remain steady while shooting. Each rifle can have its own quirks to consider as well. That’s why the girls will tell you about their favorite gun, all of which, by the way, have names like Othello, Captain Jack, and the Fresh Prince.
In pottery, Katie and Will, our dynamic lead ceramics instructors, are inspiring the campers to create some really cool pieces. In addition to simple tiles pressed with nature patterns, they’ve been making mugs from clay slabs, adding complex designs, a handle, and colorful glazes. We’ve also seen amazing sculptures of animals and trees, and plenty of pots being thrown on the wheel. We’re beginning to fire all of this session’s pieces in the kilns, so it won’t be long before we can see how all the pottery turns out.
Today was also a day of tie dyeing in “Hodge Podge.” This happens about once a week around here. We bring out the gloves, rubber bands, and squirt bottles of dye, and pre-soak the shirts in a mild solution of urea (which helps dissolve more dye in water and keep the shirts wet longer). Armed with multiple colors of dye, the girls love twisting, tying, and folding the shirts. You’ll be amazed when you see how they turn out.
The kitchen treated us to “International Day” today, with each meal inspired by a different ethnic cuisine. Breakfast was probably the most unusual— a traditional Tico (Costa Rican) breakfast of scrambled eggs, black beans and rice, sliced avocado, slabs of mild white cheese, salsa and fresh berries. For lunch, we switched to Mediterranean food and had homemade hummus, falafel, pita bread, olives, feta cheese, tomato and cucumber salad. And at dinner, out came steak fajitas (with grilled onions and peppers), beans, tortillas, fresh guacamole, chips, cheese and salsa. This was a great day to eat at camp!
Clyde, Kelsey and Tara took an advanced kayaking trip to the Nantahala river today as well. They packed a lunch and headed to the river for the whole day with a small group of seniors. The Nantahala has a few technical rapids but also a several gentler sections making the trip a nice mix of action and time to talk. Clyde is great about telling girls about the river and coaching them as they approach each rapid. Back at camp, the girls were excited to report clean runs through the last big rapid, the Nantahala Falls, with only one swimmer at the very end. That’s a great accomplishment!
To Hike, Ride and Dress Like a Granny
The weather was just perfect this morning, and around here that’s reason enough to find some altitude because we know the views will be spectacular. Clyde, our Adventure Director, and Catherine decided to take advantage of all this and signed up a group of Junior campers to go hiking along a section of the Art Loeb trail as it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a wondrous place with beautiful weathered rock exposed along the grassy trail. The trail begins winding through a dense grove of balsam fir trees, but then breaks into the open where you can see for miles in several directions. The elevation is more than 6000 feet up, making these mountains some of the highest east of the Mississippi river! The group made it all the way to the top of Black Balsam Knob (6214 ft). Along the way, surprisingly, they ran into a team of folks filming a music video up there, though we didn’t catch the name of the band.
We had one of those classic camp lunches today that everyone loves— grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup. The super stocked salad bar helped us add a little green to our plates, and to make the whole lunch just excellent. After lunch the big excitement for everyone is checking their mailbox for new mail. Finding something in your box is always a treat, so keep sending those cards and letters!
Horseback riding continues to be one of the most popular activities this session. Cara and her staff are really doing great stuff with the girls, strengthening their enthusiasm for riding (despite the bugs!) and seeing them make good progress. This is Cara’s 5th year as the Equestrian Director at Rockbrook, so it’s not too surprising she runs a top-notch program. When you see all the action down at the barn, though, it’s pretty impressive.
Tonight’s evening program was a giant all-camp game of bingo, but not just sitting around calling out numbers. Oh no, at Rockbrook that’s a perfect opportunity to dress up! Like a granny! That’s right: it was Granny Bingo night. All manner of grannies and grandpas came out to play— gray hair, glasses, nightgowns, hats, pillows stuffed strategically in clothes, walking sticks, and wrinkles drawn with eyeliner. The counselors get into it just as much, calling the numbers in their best scratchy voice, hunched over the table. Exciting RBC prizes for the winners, snacks for everyone to enjoy while playing the game, it was a grand, silly time.
Did you know it’s a long Rockbrook tradition for the girls to have a snack of milk and cookies before going off to bed? Everyday the kitchen makes a batch of homemade cookies for this, and like with our “muffin break,” it’s great fun to be surprised by what kind of cookie we have each night. Afterwards, teeth brushing, ready pajamas, and each cabin sharing their “pows and wows” (highs and lows from the day) settle everyone down for the night. Such a nice way to finish up another fun-filled day of camp.
Climbing, Kayaking and Cabin Day
First let’s mention the muffins. They were another Rockbrook original today, this time invented and baked by veteran baker Annabel: Tootsie Roll Muffins. Yes, after some experimenting, she figured out how to include a piece of the chewy chocolate candy in each muffin before baking, and man were they awesome.
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The morning kept us all involved in our regular camp activities. Since it was the third day of the sequence, we were finishing up lots of craft projects, improving our shooting skills at archery and riflery, and tackling more advanced outdoor adventure challenges. For example, down at the lake, Kelsey held a kayaking roll clinic with the kayakers. This is learning to roll your kayak back upright after it turns upside down. If you’ve never done it before, it’s a challenging sequence of hip, head, shoulder and paddle moves, all coordinated to roll the boat up. It’s not easy, and ordinarily takes lots of practice, but several of the girls made good progress and now can almost do it unassisted.
Tara, Katherine and Kiersten took a group of girls rock climbing on Castle Rock for the morning. This is the big outcropping of granite on the camp property that you can see from the hill. It’s just a short walk up behind the dining hall, and since it’s on our property, access is really easy and always guaranteed. We have 6 different routes established on Castle Rock, and for this trip they set up the 3 called “Whim,” “Wham” and “Bam.” Bam is the longest and most difficult of these three— about 90 feet beginning with a gentle dihedral that turns into an exposed face climb at the top. The view of the French Broad River valley is incredible from the ledge at the finish. Don’t worry; getting down is a simple matter of the belayer lowering the climber down on the rope. There were several really good climbers in that group!
After lunch, we had our Wednesday “cabin day.” This is a time when we do special activities together in our cabin groups instead of following each camper’s individual activity schedule. This allows each cabin to decide what they’d like to do and to enjoy a little extra time together.
Some cabins just hang out and play games in their cabin, while others choose to go on a hike to Rockbrook Falls, or Stick Biscuit Falls on the camp property. Some head to the gym for a game there and others make some kind of snack in the dining hall… cookies or “Puppy chow,” for example. Occasionally, we’ll take an entire age group out of camp for a special trip, like today when we gathered up all the Seniors and headed to Sliding Rock. A brief thunderstorm moved out just in time for us to enjoy a few trips down the rock, and to stop at Dolly’s Dairy Bar for an ice cream cone before heading back to camp for dinner.
Oh, and speaking of dinner, it featured some of Rick’s homemade pizza. You should see the gigantic blob of dough he makes for the crust! Pepperoni, Veggie, Cheese, even Pesto; they were all great. With a big green salad and Annabel’s puff-pastries for dessert, the girls loved it! They even busted out the “Cook’s Song,” something they sing when inspired by an especially yummy meal. Good stuff.
All in all another great day in “the heart of a wooded mountain.” Feel free to leave comments on these blog posts. We always appreciate hearing from you!
A Rafting and Riding Fiesta
For a bunch of Middlers and Seniors, today was a big day of whitewater rafting on the Nantahala. Right after breakfast we loaded up three buses of them, and with a picnic lunch packed and ready to go, we set out to meet our regular team of rafting guides at the head of the river. Rockbrook is fortunate to be the only girls camp to have a US Forest service permit to run trips on the Nantahala River. This allows us to hire excellent guides (people we know are great with kids), have our own equipment (top of line Avon rafts for example), and schedule trips when we want. It also allows us to take every camper rafting who is old enough (5th grade and older) for no additional fees. The weather today was absolutely perfect for rafting. Warm and sunny is ideal when it comes to the chilly water of the Nantahala, and also for inspiring splash fights between rafts. The girls had a great time paddling the river, singing camp songs during the calm sections, and screaming their heads off when heading down the rapids.
Down at the equestrian center, the riding lessons are going well. The beginners already have their favorite ponies to ride— “I love Annie, and I love Cool Beans!” And the intermediate riders are working on posting, while the advanced lessons the girls are practicing their canter and jumping. It seems the barn is always a popular place to hang out.
Lunch today in camp was a delightful picnic on the hill. Rick served up hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixins. He made a giant batch of macaroni salad, had coleslaw, potato chips and pickles to round off the plate. Same weather here: sunny and warm, but cooler than the past few days. The girls brought out their Crazy Creek chairs and spread out across the hill to soak up the mountain view and chat over lunch. It was one of those great, classic summertime feelings we always enjoy at camp.
“Happy Birthday Everyone!” was the theme for dinner. It was a special event called “Birthday Night” where we rearranged the dining hall tables so everyone with the same birth month can sit together. It’s really fun to find out who shares your month and maybe even the same birthday as you, and even more so, to share the special cake for each month. You can imagine it’s a busy day in the kitchen for Liz as she bakes 12 cakes! Fortunately, the Hi-Ups help decorate all of them. To make the event even more festive, we served Mexican food (tortillas, quesadillas, beans, steak fajitas, rice, salsa, sour cream and homemade guacamole), decorated the dining hall with brightly colored piñatas, posters and balloons, and had the girls dress up for a “Fiesta.” Latin music played over the sound system, and we all wished each other happy birthday (and other celebrities we could think of… “Happy Birthday Justin Bieber!”). Yummy good fun.
We spotted this article in USA Today about the art of letter writing, and how camps are a place where kids, and parents, can practice that skill, reconnecting to an important form of communication. We’re always encouraging letter writing at camp, both from parents to campers and vice versa. Go check out the article, and you’ll see why!
Camp as Community
Spending time at Rockbrook, it becomes clear just how strong the sense of community is for the girls at camp. It’s remarkable really how quickly and easily girls from so many different home towns and different schools can grow so close and care about each other in personal and meaningful ways. After this most recent long session, and probably because these girls have spent 4 weeks together, it was even more apparent that camp is a community in the best sense of the word.
It begins with a group of well-trained, caring adult role models who exhibit the kind of personal character that fosters community. From the directors to the cabin counselors and staff members, we know the importance of compassion, generosity, contribution and patient understanding. Quite naturally, but also intentionally, we set the tone at camp so everyone can feel loved, capable and included. Through encouragement and enthusiasm, the leaders at camp nurture positive relationships.
And the results? Well, the benefits of camp are clear. Kids feel good about themselves (improved self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence), are better communicators (both expressing themselves and listening to others), and are more aware and responsible. Becoming a member of this kind of community is the secret here. It has a powerful, wonderful effect on the girls at Rockbrook. Sure, the activities, special events, the food, and the sheer fun of it all go into it, but a girl knowing wholeheartedly she is a member of the camp community, knowing Rockbrook is “my camp,” helps explain why she loves it so much. Pretty cool.
We Swim, Dress Up and Slide
It’s hard to say which flavor of muffin is most popular at camp. With Liz, our baker, creating so many new varieties from scratch— not to mention the traditional kinds— there are too many to choose from. There’s blueberry, but also key lime muffins, cranberry walnut, but also chocolate chip, and sprinkles, and white chocolate almond! Liz arrives at 6:30am each morning and gets to work right away to have the muffins baked and cooled by the mid-morning muffin break. Since there are more than 300 people (campers and staff members), that’s a lot of muffin trays, papers and individual dollops of batter to prepare! The muffins are always so good the girls literally run to the dining hall when they hear the bell announcing “Muffin Break.” For everyone at camp, Liz is a hero!
In fact, the entire kitchen crew are heroes at camp. Rick and his crew are really working hard to create great balanced meals for us, and this isn’t “camp food,” pre-processed, frozen, nuggets of whatnot fried and served with ketchup. Nope. All the main dishes are homemade, from the pizza dough, to the pancakes, to the chicken and dumplings. Rick puts together every meal’s menu, so for dinner yesterday we had baked tilapia, wild rice and a spinach salad. Each tilapia fillet was spiced individually, and the salad included a homemade sesame salad dressing. It’s also amazing how Rick takes time to make special vegetarian options. So for example, he made vegetarian dumplings combining green tomatoes, goat cheese and a light sauce with the dumpling dough. It was a pleasantly surprising combination, and with a big green salad, made a great meal. Sorry to talk so much about the food at camp, but after being away for a couple of nights camping, it’s hard not to!
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Wednesday we took cabin photos before lunch and during rest hour. Gathering everyone in each cabin, dressed in their camp uniforms, and taking their photograph is a long tradition at Rockbrook. Part of the fun is that each cabin gets to select where it would like the photo taken and how to arrange each person. There are so many different places at camp to pose— on one of the many huge rocks, down by the lake, standing in a creek, or on a porch or set of steps. It’s fun for campers to keep their copy of their cabin photo and to collect them over the years in a scrapbook or camp photo album.
For Wednesday afternoon’s cabin day activities, the three lines split up. A few junior cabins went on short hikes to Castle Rock and Rockbrook Falls, but one stayed to put on a dress up fashion show in the Junior Lodge. Silly, silly stuff. Meanwhile, several cabins of seniors took a quick trip into the Pisgah Forest to take a dip in a swimming hole. The water was pretty chilly (like all the creeks and streams in these mountains), so it took a while for most of the girls to get wet. After dinner, all of the mini session Middlers took a trip up to Sliding Rock. Many of the girls had never been to Sliding Rock before, so it was particularly fun to see them zip down the rock and funny to hear them scream when they plunged into the cold water below. There are lots of photos of this in the RBC gallery. Naturally, on the way home, we had to stop at Dolly’s for a cone, a yummy sweet treat of some kind. Being all things chocolate, the Rockbrook camp flavor is still one of the most popular. It was a little bit of a late night for these Middlers by the time we got back to camp settled down, but we all enjoyed ourselves in true RBC fashion.
