Summer Living

Breakfast this morning made everyone happy. Rick served us his signature french toast, bacon, syrup, and cut fruit (cantaloupe, blueberries and blackberries). Like all the food he prepares for us at camp, this wasn’t something pre-made and frozen in a factory. He hand dipped each piece of bread, and grilled them all with a little sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon. No wonder everyone was so stuffed during morning assembly! But then after the first period of activities was done, there were plenty of girls interested in the chocolate chip muffins Liz baked for us. Not too surprising!

The rest of the morning was packed with our regular camp activities. With their new schedules, the girls were eager to climb the alpine tower, meet and ride a new horse, and learn the proper techniques of archery. Crafts are just about everywhere at camp, as well. Walk around and you are sure to spot all manner of media in the mix—fibers, string, clay, dyes, papers, paint, leather, fabrics, thread, yarns, markers, and all kinds of natural products. There’s creativity percolating in just about every corner.

While camp is definitely action packed, we also make sure to provide plenty of time when the girls can do what they want— time before lunch, right before dinner and right after dinner —freedom for swimming, hanging out in their cabin with friends, playing games on the hill, exploring the creek by “Curosty,” chatting with their counselor, preparing a skit for evening program, or just reading a book. It’s long been part of Rockbrook’s philosophy to make camp a welcome relief from the overly scheduled routine of life back at home and school. We believe kids need a special place, a haven, where they can set their own pace, follow their own interests and thereby allow their own sense of fun to flourish. It’s really what summer vacation was meant to be.

Lunch was an impromptu picnic on the hill with hot dogs, all the fixins’, chips, and watermelon. It was a wonderfully sunny afternoon, with a light breeze now and then. We sat in our crazy creek chairs, listened to music and just soaked up the scene on the grassy hill.

Jeff took the Hi-Ups on a really cool waterfall hike in Dupont Forest after lunch. They went straight to High Falls so they could enjoy a little swimming in the pool at the bottom of the huge waterfall. There’s even a short sloping section of the falls that can be a “sliding rock” of sorts. We did spot a couple of northern watersnakes hiding amid the rocks, and while quick to get out the way, still got our hearts pumping a bit! One was very small, a baby snake, and did get at least one comment about being “cute.”

Dinner tonight was also a special event: Harry Pottery Restaurant Night! The girls were encouraged to dress up like their favorite Harry Potter character, adopt a European accent of some sort, or just come prepared to “add to the magic.” Ellen became Professor Trelawney, the divination professor. Several campers became students at Hogwarts, complete with capes and brooms, and even Sarah dressed up as Narcissa Malfoy. After dinner, keeping the theme, we had a wand making workshop for the girls. With ribbons, glitter, and colorful tape, they decorated wooden sticks to make really cool looking magic wands.

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Hiking, Climbing, Rafting and Yoga!

Almost everyday, various special activities are offered in addition to the regular activities. Several campers climbed up and enjoyed the view from the top of Castle Rock, the big rock looking down from the east side of camp. Then, others stretched, toned, and relaxed in a yoga class, which finished with head massages.

Brevard is known as the “Land of Waterfalls” for a reason! Several campers opted to go waterfall exploring in Dupont State Forest, which boasts over a dozen.

If that wasn’t enough, an overnight rafting trip went out as well. Girls went to our Nantahala Outpost, ate s’mores and enjoyed time by the fire. Then, they’ll raft first thing in the morning!

A Full Day of Camp Activities

It’s the Hi-Ups who started the first full day of camp today by ringing the rising bell at 8am sharp. This gives all the campers 30 minutes to get dressed, clean their cabin a bit, and make it to the dining hall for breakfast, which today was oatmeal with all the fixings (e.g., toppings of brown sugar, walnuts, blueberries, and dried cranberries), sliced South Carolina peaches, and orange juice, along with our usual fruit, yogurt and cereal bar. After a few brief announcements and a quick stop at the Infirmary if they take daily morning medicine or vitamins, the girls were off and running to their first period activities. This is quite a sight with small groups of girls heading out in different directions, some dressed for horseback riding in long pants and boots, others in bathing suits ready to work on kayaking at the lake, and others with water bottles preparing to go on a hike out to Rockbrook Falls. There was a group of Middlers meeting at Hiker’s Rock to go rock climbing on Castle Rock with Katherine and Tara, a group of Seniors learning how to knit, and a group of Juniors headed down to riflery for their first experience shooting a real gun.

Between first and second period we have our “muffin break,” a time when everyone (literally at times!) runs to the dining hall porch to have one of Liz’s freshly baked muffins. It’s the talk of the camp to find out what flavor muffin Liz (the camp baker) has made that day. Today’s? Sugar Spice, and they were awesome! We all look forward to the surprise of muffin break each day.

Also this morning, the CA girls and their counselors went hiking with Jeff to John Rock in the Pisgah Forest. In addition to reaching the summit of the rock, there was a second goal to achieve— picking the secret theme for this session’s banquet, the big party the CA girls plan for the whole camp. It’s a big deal to pick the theme because it affects the food served, the music, decorations, costumes, skits, and dance numbers that might be included. The CAs work all session preparing for the banquet, so having everyone excited and invested in the theme is crucial. When we reached the top of the rock, and were enjoying the amazing view of Looking Glass Rock from up there, the theme was set. You’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to find out what it is!

The weather helped this afternoon by providing a nice cooling rain shower just at the start of rest hour. Rest hour is just that, an hour after lunch when everyone heads back to their cabins to rest. This might mean just reading in your bunk, or writing letters home, but for a surprising number of campers (and counselors!) it’s a chance to take a real nap. It’s really wonderful, and you might think that there would be complaining about having to take this time out, but the girls really do look forward to it… maybe because we stay so active at camp.

More dancing, swimming and making things (really cool pottery vases, for example) completed the afternoon camp activities, and cabin skits got everyone laughing down each Line’s evening program. It really was a full day at camp today. Be sure to check the photo gallery. We’ve got new stuff up there everyday.

Jump, Flip and Weave

We’re seeing great horseback riding down at the barn this session. Cara, our Equestrian Director, has been keeping everyone busy with three and sometimes four simultaneous riding classes going on each activity period of the day. The beginners have been riding our smaller ponies (e.g., Annie and Cool Beans) and learning to walk, start and stop them on command. Intermediate riders are working on their posting and canter technique. It seems everyone wants to learn how to jump too, so when the riding staff thinks they’re ready (being able to canter securely, for example), campers can begin learning jump techniques as well. There are several new skills involved in jumping, and the girls really work at it a long time before they actually jump an obstacle. What a thrill when a girl clears her first jump!

Everyday down at the Alpine Tower, groups of girls are tying into a belay rope and balancing their way to the top. Starting behind the gym, the walk leading to the tower is a magical, winding path through the woods with ferns, mosses and wonderful big trees. The tower is hidden in the woods and is such a surprise when you first see it along the trail— an impressive 50-foot structure of thick telephone poles bolted together in a complex triangular pattern of two inverted pyramids. There are ropes, cables and climbing holds arranged on each pole creating different routes to the top. Altogether, there are almost 100 different ways to climb up! The view from the top platform provides a nice birds-eye view of the treetops and of the “tiny people” on the ground. Coming down is also part of the fun. The belayers slowly lower the climbers on their belay ropes (which are rated to hold 7620 pounds, by the way!), stopping part way to let the girls do a “spiderman” flip if they want.

Over in the fiber arts cabin, “Curosty,” the girls are hard at work weaving. Our arts guru Kimberly has set up the looms to make belts at the moment, yarns and string woven into different colorful patterns. These table-top looms have 4 levers to press that change the warp and allow the shuttle to alternate through the “shed” (the space between the warp layers). It’s a little challenging to maintain an even amount of tension on the weft, but with practice that becomes easier. It’s fun to make a narrow project like a belt because it doesn’t take long to see progress as the woven pattern emerges. Seeing them at work, it’s easy to predict that weaving will become a lifelong hobby for some of the girls. That’s so great.

Dinner tonight was a special themed restaurant night called “A Night at the Oscars.” We sent out word for everyone to arrive at dinner dressed in their best red carpet attire, so we saw all manner of glamor, camp style. Outrageous wigs, audacious make up, sparkly dresses, and very fancy shoes emerged to transform the girls into parodies of Hollywood stars. The counselors, of course, were also dressed up, and as they served their cabin (a Restaurant Night camp tradition), they would impersonate certain famous actresses or movie characters. The food was also special: eggrolls, bacon-wrapped scallops, and Danish Havarti, bread, and Spanikopita. Liz had lemon bars for dessert too. Yum! The whole meal was a sea of energetic creativity, and very big fun.

Adventure and Ceramics

Early this morning, Clyde, Mallory and Lexie took a rock climbing trip over to the south side of Looking Glass Rock. This is probably the most famous rock climbing area in the southeast, a beautiful dome of gray and white granite popping out of the forest. There are several hundred climbing routes to choose from, including face climbs, crack climbs and even overhangs of varying difficulty. Some of the routes were first climbed back in the early 1970s, and now are considered “classic” by most climbers. Having all this variety is fortunate given the popularity of this area. Still, if there is a particular climb you have in mind, it pays to get out to the rock early. Our group pulled out of camp around 7:30am and since Clyde has more than 20 years experience climbing on Looking Glass, he was able to set up six different climbs. Some were a little more difficult than others, but all the girls were able to try all six. What a day of climbing!

Ah, lunch was another great surprise. This time it was shrimp Po-Boy sandwiches, homemade coleslaw, kettle chips and cut melon. With the regular salad bar stocked, we could add a little green to the plates as well. Rick’s homemade meals make it so easy to eat well at camp.

Over in the ceramics studios, we’re starting to see lots of colorful creations coming out of the kilns. This is exciting for the girls because there are so many steps leading up to their projects being completed… building the piece (hand or wheel-thrown), drying, bisque firing, glazing and then the high-temperature final kiln firing. Plus, it’s only at this last step that the glaze colors shine through. As you can see from this photo, the girls have been working on sculpting things— flowers, trees, bugs and so forth. I’ve also seen plenty of soap dishes, vases and bowls coming out of the kiln. Really cool stuff, for sure.

Rock Climbing Grannies

Mallory, our head climbing instructor, is doing a fabulous job inspiring the girls to sign up for the rock climbing trips she’s planned all week long. Everyday girls are climbing at Rockbrook. They’re on the climbing wall in the gym, all over the Alpine Tower (something super popular, even with the littlest Juniors), and up on Castle Rock. If you’ve studied the map of Rockbrook, you’d have spotted the two huge outcroppings of granite on the camp property, Castle Rock and Dunn’s Rock. While Dunn’s is larger and a known Peregrine Falcon nesting area, Castle Rock is perfectly suited for rock climbing. We’ve developed six excellent climbing routes ranging from a beginning grade through a cool, more challenging (and really high!) route up the face of the rock. The shortest route is about 25 feet, but the longest is over 100 feet long! Rockbrook is very fortunate to have this caliber of rock climbing right in camp, literally in our own backyard. It makes it very easy for us to go rock climbing a lot.

Another activity that remains one of the most popular at camp is horseback riding. That’s probably not too surprising, but it seems like we’re seeing lots of excitement down at the barn these days. The equestrian instructors are teaching between 8 and 12 mounted lessons a day, and the stable club is meeting twice daily. The stable club is an extra activity time when girls can stay and help take care of the horses—bathing, brushing and even trimming them. With all that attention and so many girls working closely with the horses, petting them and talking to them, it’s no surprise that we have very attractive horses at Rockbrook, sometimes with braids in their manes or tails, but always clean and shiny. Certain favorite horses are so pampered!

What’s more fun the playing bingo with your friends? Playing bingo for fabulous prizes? Yes. But even more so, playing bingo dressed up as a granny or a grandpa! That was our evening program tonight: a classic event we call “Granny Bingo.” Dressing up for this event involves wigs, glasses, strategically placed pillows in clothes, bathrobes, walking sticks and powder in your hair. Add to that a scratchy, thin voice and you can have a pretty convincing character. The counselors dress up as well and perform while calling the numbers. “B29… oh deary, how I’d like to be 29 again!” “Turn up your hearing aid girlies, and let’s play bingo!” It’s really funny stuff to look around and see the dining hall filled with old ladies and men carefully matching their numbers. It didn’t take long to hear “BINGO” and excited cheers when someone from a cabin filled a row.

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Rockbrook Girls Climb

Did you know that all of the girls at camp can climb our Alpine Tower, even the youngest Juniors? You might think a 1st grader would be too little, but if she wants to sign up and give it a try, she can. When campers first take Climbing for one of their activity periods, they meet at the gym steps so a counselor an escort them through the woods to the tower (like all climbing trips, there’s some hiking to start off.). Next, they receive an orientation to the basic safety equipment: the harness, helmet, and rope. After the staff members in charge demonstrate the belay commands and a few climbing tips, it’s time to get climbing! The Alpine Tower, if you didn’t see it, is a 50-foot tall pyramid shaped tower constructed of wide telephone poles, bolts, aircraft cables, and ropes. The company that built ours still builds them all over the world. What’s neat is that there are over 90 different ways to climb the Alpine Tower, different obstacles (“Elements”) and maneuvers to get you to the top… ropes, ladders, walls and poles with holds bolted on. Also we can have up to 6 girls climbing at the same time, each belayed separately and climbing up a different way. Some routes up are easy and great for the littlest girls, and others are more difficult and challenging for the experienced climbers. The Alpine Tower is super fun, and as you might guess, very popular as well.

At dinner tonight the Hi-Ups inspired everyone to dress up for “Pop Star Appreciation” night. We got to see some crazy, and creative costumes. I think I saw Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, 3 or 4 Lady Gaga girls, and several more generic Pop Stars. All through the meal, the tables took turns signing pop songs too. It was amazing how well the girls new the lyrics to so many songs! The food tonight was amazing also. Rick and crew served homemade pizza. I saw him mixing the dough in the afternoon (a giant batch of flour, yeast, butter and water) and touching up the marinara sauce. We had bowls of fresh blueberries and blackberries, and our regular salad bar offerings as well. For dessert, Liz made us chocolate tart bars which were a huge hit. There might have been one crumb left in the dining hall at the end!

That’s all for now. Of course, lots more is going on than what I highlight in these blog posts, so be sure to scan through the photo gallery as well. We’re posting photos everyday.

Balancing on the Rock

You’ve probably heard that “balance” is one of the most important skills to have for rock climbing. It’s true; a lot of the technique involves balancing on your feet, and usually one foot, as you move up the rock. But it’s not only that simple. It’s also important to learn how to hold yourself still, to use your muscles to shift your weight from one foot to the other slowly and smoothly. Generally, as you climb, you’ll keep your torso stationary and move a hand or foot up to the next hold. This is sometimes called the rule of “3-point contact” and refers to the practice of only moving one foot or hand at a time while your other limbs stay on the rock. For example, you might keep both feet on the rock, hold on with one hand, and shift your weight to the left or right to reach a new handhold.  Likewise, you might hold on with both hands, keep one foot set, and lift your other foot up to a new hold. The trick is to stay smooth, keep your body still, and shift your center of gravity from left to right and up. It’s this deliberate and precise moving that we meaning by “balancing.”

Are you rock climbing this summer?