Jeff Carter is the Director of Rockbrook Camp for Girls in Brevard, North Carolina. He attended Davidson College, earned a master's from Harvard University, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in the History of Religions. He has taught at Vanderbilt University, Davidson College, and the University of South Carolina. He received a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Nigeria, is an All-American college athlete, and a published author. Beginning in 1988, he worked for eight years as a camp hiking and rock climbing guide before becoming, with his wife Sarah, the owners and directors of Rockbrook.
OK! You may have been waiting for it, and we’re thrilled to share it… it’s the latest highlights video from Robbie Francis of FrancisFilmworks. You might remember his videos from past years, going all the way back to 2015!
Robbie has returned this summer, once again working his filming and editing magic to capture the sweet interactions, vast activity, and overall feeling of life at camp.
It can sometimes be hard to grasp all that goes on at Rockbrook. But now’s your chance! Take two minutes to watch this video, and you’ll get a pretty good idea.
Yesterday we took two groups of girls whitewater rafting on the Nantahala river, a group of Seniors in the morning and Middlers in the afternoon. Cool morning fog turned into absolutely perfect rafting weather with bright sunshine and warm temperatures, an ideal combination to buffer the 50-degree water. Both trips were equally lucky by avoiding the spotty thunderstorms that were forecast for the day.
Weather like this adds to fun, the playful, silly, often hilarious ride along the river. These rafting trips are a complete blast! The 2-hour trip, from put-in to take-out, alternates between calm floating sections and heart-pounding splashy rapids that send the girls screaming and laughing with delight. Along the way, each boat poses for the camera, waving, making a “high five” with their paddles, or “playing dead,” for example. Of course, falling out of the boat is part of the experience, sometimes accidentally when the boat hits a rock unexpectedly, and sometimes intentionally as a chance to cool off. Either way, those left in the boat work together to pull the swimmer back aboard, all while roaring with laughter. This kind of camaraderie can’t be beat.
The final rapid, a thrilling Class-III double-drop called the “Nantahala Falls,” is an awesome finale. It never fails to deliver high intensity, wide-eyed screams as the boats drop in and are briefly engulfed in whitewater. At the bottom, the girls look at each other in disbelief. “Yeah! We made it!” Like all great adventures, there’s a sense of celebration, a true feeling of success, afterwards. It’s just one type of fun we enjoy at camp.
You probably haven’t heard, but we rebuilt the Rockbrook Health Hut this year. What was once a staff cabin called “2×4” had been converted into the camp infirmary back in the 1990s. It was a small building that served us well, but recently as our team of nurses has grown (now 5 per session) to meet the increasing health care needs of our campers and staff, we decided more space would be helpful.
We worked with a local architect, and now have a wonderful, perfectly suited building. Most significantly, we now have a dozen air-conditioned overnight beds, quarantine rooms, efficient medication storage, additional bathrooms, treatment rooms, nurses’ office and accommodations. My favorite part is the covered porch on the front, with its stone approach, outdoor lighting and seating. We love how the building turned out and are really happy that the entire Rockbrook community can now enjoy the upgrade. Be sure to stop by and see it the next time you’re at camp!
As we launched into our first full day of activities at camp, it’s marvelous already. Literally, there are marvels everywhere. Girls are dancing and laughing, already singing as loud as they can, cheering with abandon. They’re stomping and skipping all over these Rockbrook hills making their way between shooting archery and rolling slabs of clay. They’re down at the barn tacking up horses and over at the Alpine tower climbing on belay. They’re swimming in the lake and playing in the sun. Looms are clicking and ukulele strings are being strummed. It’s astonishing how over there tennis balls zoom over the net, while over here girls zoom through the trees on the zipline.
With so many activities all happening simultaneously, it’s not surprising a typical day at Rockbrook is busy in this way. Everybody is involved. Everyone is switching gears between sports and the arts, between adventure and a surprise encounter with a friend. You might find it surprising, however, just how effortlessly your girls are taking to all this camp action.
It’s only the first day of camp, and they’re showing a natural openness to the challenges of new activities. It might be aiming her target rifle, or steering her tandem canoe, or cutting a piece of wood accurately. It might be mustering the nerve to join a square dancing line, or to “wet exit” after flipping upside down in a kayak. They’re not shrinking away from any of this, not giving in to perhaps little doubts or worries. No, instead they’re feeling the pull of supportive, caring friends, and giving everything a go. Along with simply being away from home, these girls are proving they’re strong.
I think that’s one of the best lessons kids learn while at camp. Around here success follows challenges, realizing “I did it!” follows “I’m not sure I can.” Let’s put it this way… Camp proves for kids, “You’re stronger than you think.” The result of realizing this strength is greater confidence and courage, both qualities we all hope kids can embody as they grow. Another way to say it is “camp is empowering.” It’s the perfect recipe for a young person, nowadays more than ever as uncertainties and worries seem all too common.
I’m sure you can tell from the photo gallery, but let me reassure you. Your girls are doing great. Truly marvelous.
We closed our first session as all Rockbrook Camp sessions have over the years: with a campfire we call our “Spirit Fire.” With the whole camp gathered around a blazing campfire, everyone dressed in their red and white uniforms, we paused to recognize our time together and consider what this means to us. This was a chance to sit shoulder to shoulder, even arm in arm, sing a few traditional songs and listen to campers and staff members alike speak about their camp experience this session. The warm glow of the campfire, the sounds of spring peepers and crickets all around, and the emotions of the moment combined to make a beautiful setting.
As campers and staff members stood to speak, we heard about camp being a “place like home.” One small Junior said it was so easy to make friends at camp, even with older girls. A new staff member said she’d never felt so loved by so many people at once. Every speaker provided a beautiful reminder of what we all cherish about Rockbrook.
This is camp with our very best friends, genuine support from a caring community, joyful silliness, singing and dancing, and more Nature than you can name. Just being here, together with each other, is what makes it special.
In a world that’s too often divided, racked by forces that isolate us from each other, this kind of community really is precious. Where else can we relax and be our true selves, fully knowing that we still belong no matter what? Where else can we celebrate each day, laugh with abandon, and feel this kind of positivity so deeply? Where else is there a carefree enthusiasm for just about everything? It’s true; camp is magical, and these campers have proven it.
Thank you everyone for being a part of this special place. Thank you parents for trusting us with your daughters, and for understanding the value of camp. Fortunately, even though we’re sad this session has come to an end, we’ll carry with us the Spirit of Rockbrook. Until we gather again next summer, may that spirit continue to warm us all.
Ask any Rockbrook camper to name something they look forward to at camp, and they’ll likely tell you about their session’s Banquet. Many will even tell you it’s their favorite event at camp, and therefore is something exciting just from the anticipation that builds throughout the session. The Banquet is held on the second to last night, so it’s a celebration of everything that’s grown while we’re here: the creativity, the enthusiasm, the joy, and of course the deep friendships that tie this community together. It’s a party unlike any other because it happens here at camp with all of these great people.
The CA campers (our 9th graders) take on the task of creating the magic of this event. From the very first day of their session when they select a secret theme for the Banquet, they are planning and preparing. They make all the decisions about the program, their costumes, the music, the decorations and the food to be served.
They take this planning quite seriously too, with every detail receiving attention. Using painted banners, carefully arranged lighting, streamers, table decorations, and various props, the CAs completely reimagine the dining hall, transforming it into a colorful new world.
They transform themselves too, becoming elaborately dressed characters. This is a big part of the fun for the CAs. They love taking on new personalities and dressing their parts, all adding to the theme of the night. These characters perform as well, both in short skits that can unfold a plot, and in choreographed dance numbers. With carefully chosen music, again based on the theme, the whole camp enjoys seeing all of this come together.
On banquet day, the CAs cover the dining hall windows with sheets while they hang their decorations, rearrange the dining hall and get ready in costume. Everyone knows they’re setting up for the big event, but anticipation builds as the theme is still a secret. Cheers go up when it’s finally time to enter and discover the theme. Let the party begin!
This session’s banquet theme featured music, decorations, costumes and dancing from different historical decades as the CAs went back in time for a “Blast from the Past.” They told a story of a few travelers who go back in time to retrieve the Spirit of Rockbrook, going way back to find cavemen (all the counselors), flappers from the ’20s (when Rockbrook was founded), bobby soxers from the 50s, disco dancers from the 70s, jazzercise neon from the 80s, and skaters from the 90s. Groups of CAs represented each decade and performed dance medleys for us.
Between dance performances everyone was encouraged to get up and dance, turning the whole event into a massive dance party. Eat something (chicken tenders, tater tots, salad), dance and sing, pause for photos, take in the extravagance (so much glittery confetti!) —that’s how it went.
The banquet ended, as it has for decades at camp, singing the song “Rockbrook Camp Forever.” The girls stood, arm-in-arm, singing “friends true and faithful” over and over again. Hugging each other tightly, you could sense the real meaning of the banquet. It’s about friends celebrating each other, knowing deep down that they are loved. For all of us, Rockbrook is a home like that.
Thank you CA girls for a wonderful banquet. We all loved it.
Robbie Francis of FrancisFilmworks spent another day this week filming at Rockbrook, and now has edited this wonderful highlights video for us. Once again it’s a window into the upbeat action that fills our days at camp. The video does a great job of depicting the mood of camp, the friendship, the laughter, and the huge variety of fun.
It’s easy these days to sense that something special is happening at camp. Now as the session has “matured” a bit, it’s even more apparent. By “matured” I mean there’s a greater sense of ease in the air, a feeling of relaxing into the rhythms of camp life, a normalizing of sorts. The girls have made more friends, opened up to the new experiences offered in the activities, and become more comfortable in our rustic outdoor environment. They’ve begun to feel included, treated with kindness and respect, brought closer by a community spirit that’s enthusiastic and supportive. As they become more familiar with camp, their confidence has grown tremendously. They’ve adopted a “camp mindset” of sorts, a way of being colored by all these wonderful qualities.
This maturing, however, takes some time. When they first arrive at camp, girls are generally more hesitant. They’re usually a little nervous about their place in the group and how they’ll do away from home. Even for seasoned campers, there’s a different mindset that takes a few days to fade.
I wonder if we can attribute this to school. Perhaps these campers are arriving with a “school mindset,” a way of thinking, or a collection of assumptions that’s clashing with what camp represents. As you know, for many kids, school can be a grind, something that requires careful steps, regular effort with competitive undertones, and often includes guarded engagement out of a fear of peer judgment. It requires a great deal of individual work, pressures to perform, and evaluations. While there may be certain legitimate educational goals this mindset serves (though that’s debatable), it’s also a burden.
With school occupying so much of their lives, it’s no wonder girls arrive at camp a little out of sorts. They’re being trained to approach the world in ways that don’t apply at camp. In a way, this is the project of camp— to unwind some of the habits and assumptions taught in school, to encourage a more genuine, playful and joyful approach. Camp is here as a form of relief.
We might be running around camp painted in colors searching for counselors. We might be dressed as Greek gods and goddesses. We might be sleeping in the forest in hammocks, or just floating in the lake in a tube. In all these activities and more— throughout our days— we’re building a “camp mindset,” a way of authentic connection, a freedom to explore, and a lightness everyone finds refreshing.
When you pick up your camper at the end of the session, I bet you’ll notice this change. In addition to the memories of camp being fun, and the many friendships they’ve made, my hope is that your girls will return home carrying their camp mindset with them. And while the pressures of school will inevitably creep back in, I hope they can move through the world with more camp confidence, camp values, and Rockbrook spirit.
A friend of mine asked the other day how camp was going, and I said, “Great! There’s so much good stuff going on.” On the one hand, it’s obvious if you take a look at the photo gallery. You’ll see girls engaged in a huge variety of activities. They’re outside riding horses, shooting archery, and rolling kayaks. They’re climbing rocks and playing tennis, weaving fabric into stuffed animals, tying and dyeing t-shirts into amazing colorful patterns. They’re swimming in the lake and doing back flips in gymnastics. They’re eating a fresh-baked muffin each morning and taking time for a brief rest after having lunch. They’re bathed in sunshine and sometimes pausing for the rain. They’re singing and dancing, and dressing up in a costume just for the fun of it.
Of course, there’s much more than that going on at camp, more good stuff that can’t be seen in the photo gallery. We could point to the friendships being formed and strengthened, the subtle strides toward greater self-confidence, and perhaps a refreshed appreciation for the natural world. I’m often amazed by the sense of freedom that the girls feel when they realize that kindness and caring are what matters at Rockbrook, that they can be more genuinely themselves when they’re not afraid of being judged. Life at camp just feels really good, so good, they can’t help but smile.
There is still something else happening that I think is a significant good for everyone here. It’s pretty simple, but also pretty constant, and that’s all the in-person conversation we enjoy. This is easy to imagine. Throughout the day, during certain activities, the girls are listening to each other, sharing stories, chatting about whatever is on their mind. They might be playing tetherball or gagaball, working on a needlepoint project, or even splashing through whitewater in a raft, but they’re also face-to-face with friends. During their free time, they might be just “hanging out,” or exploring the creek for example, but they’re usually engaged in easy conversation with whoever happens to be nearby. It’s one of the pleasures of camp: always having an opportunity for enthusiastic, interested conversation.
How different from ordinary life! And you know why? Ordinarily, I think most people don’t have this opportunity because our personal devices have taken over. Our smartphones have isolated us from others, making this kind of real-world conversation rare… at best, occasional. With a screen to look at, with the ding of notifications calling, how many of us are having meaningful conversations? Even in a room full of teenagers, if they all have their phones, are they connecting with each other? At the very least, we’re all distracted and interrupted by these devices, undermining whatever in-person communication we might be lucky to have.
I have to wonder how a smartphone in every young person’s hand is holding back their ability to communicate, hindering this critical skill. Like anything else, conversation takes practice. Sure, it might be “awkward” at first, but if we retreat to the safety of text messaging, or some other emotionally sanitized electronic communication (emojis!), something is definitely lost. If kids are too quick to shrink from in-person conversations, I think they’ll struggle to form meaningful relationships. It will be harder to connect with others and to discover how much another person truly cares for you. After all, it’s only through heartfelt conversation that we can grow closer to each other. If your smartphone is always first, if your main outlet is social media, what are you missing? I’d argue, it’s a lot.
This is yet another reason why camp is great. By ditching our screens and offering an endless parade of opportunities to have conversations with loads of other people, we’re training passionate communicators. Camp provides real world examples of the rewards that spring from genuine conversations— the rich connections, the array of emotions, and the lasting satisfaction of it all. It might not show up in the photo gallery, but there’s a joy here too.
You might know that there are a lot of camps in this part of western North Carolina. About 100 years ago (104 years for Rockbrook), camps started popping up as mountain retreats from the summer heat, but also places with great access to nature. Cleaner air, cooler temperatures, and spectacular natural features like lakes, waterfalls, rock cliffs and long range mountains views were a real draw. While parents established cottages and visited resorts, camps catered to their kids, offering a place more suited to their interests and needs. Camps have survived this long because kids love being here, and now I think there are 16 overnight camps in this county alone.
One big advantage for camps in this area is the incredible access we have to nearby forests and wilderness areas, which makes all kinds of outdoor adventure possible. A few miles south of Rockbrook is the Dupont State Forest, 10,000 acres of protected land known for its huge waterfalls, lakes and hiking trails. North of camp is the Pisgah National Forest which is over 500,000 acres and likewise is known for its rock faces, trails, scenic streams and waterfalls. Our very own camp property is a 200-acre mini example of these forests with Castle Rock, Rockbrook Falls, old growth trees, trails and hidden swimming holes. Rockbrook is uniquely fortunate in this way.
I mention all of this because in addition to the regular daily activities at camp, the four in-camp activities each camper has as part of their day, Rockbrook’s outdoor adventure staff plans special out-of-camp trips that are optional for the campers. These trips are announced during meals and girls can sign up to go. It means missing their regular activities, so the decision can be a dilemma… you can’t do everything! “Should I miss riflery and pottery to go hiking?” It can be a tough choice, but there’s always a big interest to try these adventures. Some trips are only half a day, like a day hike to an overlook. Others take a whole day, like whitewater rafting, kayaking or rock climbing in Pisgah. Despite this dilemma, these trips are quite popular among the girls.
This week, for example, there was an adventure trip everyday. There was a day hike in Dupont, and another in Pisgah, on Monday. Tuesday, which is generally our big rafting day, brought almost all of the Middlers over to the Nantahala for a day of whitewater and splashy fun. On Wednesday, we saw girls flying through the trees on the Zipline course and in the evening, all of the Seniors braving the chilly ride down Sliding Rock. The Kayakers took trips on both Thursday and Friday, to the French Broad River and the Tuckaseegee River. There was also an overnight backpacking trip for Middlers on Thursday night. Another group spent the night camping in Eno hammocks on the camp property… adventure glamping among the trees in hammocks… “Glammacking,” we might call it.
It might be easy to forget about these trips happening when there is so much regular in-camp action. Some girls, though, try to go out of camp for these adventures whenever they have the chance. There’s so much to see, new thrills and challenges to experience, on these trips. They are another way for the girls here to try new things, things that require a little nerve, a little extra effort, and a little real-world challenge. Our regular days provide moments like this, but trips turn it up even more.
Of course what makes these trips so fun is not just the novelty or rush of the experience. It’s also the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it… jumping off the rock that starts the zipline, staring down the rushing water of sliding rock, steering your kayak through the rapids, and so forth. Overcoming these sorts of challenges becomes almost natural for the girls here because they’re surrounded by supportive friends, bolstered by true camaraderie. It’s what we all do. Camp girls will tell you; they’re ready for adventure! And that’s pretty neat.
