Author Archives: Jeff Carter

Today, we woke up to a cool misty fog dulling the greens of the forest. It was only about 58 degrees, so as the girls made their way to the dining hall for breakfast bundled up in all sorts of fleecy long-sleeved things, they were clearly not at home. No climate controlled room, but instead the moist smell of crisp mountain air. No clatter or buzz from an alarm clock, but rather the ringing of Rockbrook’s 100-year-old bell. Conversation in the cabin, friendly calls of “good morning!” between cabin mates, spurred everyone along. No school, or swim practice, or carpool to reach on time, but instead a day with friends filled with different activities to look forward to. Today was when we would really dig in to camp life.

The first thing to notice about what we might call a “regular day” at camp is that it is packed with action, completely filled with girls busy doing things in the many activities. Out in nature, together with other girls of varying ages, they’re deeply involved being challenged in sports, being creative in the arts, and being thrilled by adventure. And the variety of these experiences is incredible. They’re riding horses, shooting arrows, and climbing our Alpine Tower. They’re weaving on looms, sawing through wood, and zipping along high among the trees. They’re hitting tennis balls, and rolling out balls of cool, moist clay. They’re learning too! Learning about some of the local birds, about how to aim a target rifle, about the parts of a whitewater kayak, and about how to do a cartwheel, for example.

But they’re also learning something else that could be even more important. They’re learning to relax into whatever they’re doing, even when they aren’t in a group activity (a “class” with a “teacher’). Our “regular days” have three dedicated blocks of free time for the girls when they are not in a scheduled activity: a “free swim” before lunch and dinner, and a chunk after dinner we call “Twilight.” These are true free times when they can be with friends, visit the lake, play a game like tennis or gagaball, or just relax on the hill. Different from the regimen of school where each minute is “on task” for the most part, camp life provides time (and space!) to explore, discover, connect and meander no matter what a camper’s inclination. Combine that with an almost endless supply of friendly companions and we’ve got something really special. It’s both relaxing and compelling at the same time. Hmmm… is that a definition of fun? Maybe. No matter what, I’d say it’s the perfect combination to help kids grow.

Camp is great like that. It fosters so many positive personal developments, from making friends to the kind of self-confidence that sprouts from new experiences in a supportive environment. There lots more to be said about that!

For now, I hope you’re enjoying the online photo gallery we update everyday. The photos provide just a glimpse into our days at Rockbrook, but they do convey some of the action, the delight, and the spirit we all enjoy. They’re fun to see, but I bet you’re jealous you can’t enjoy it too!

Welcome! Welcome, summer 2025! Welcome to everyone arriving at Rockbrook today for the start of their camp session. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We’ve been planning for camp, packing for camp, setting up for camp, and dreaming about camp for weeks, some of us for months. As the opening day approached, you could feel the excitement building, the beautiful energy of it all. Something special was about to begin.

We all felt this too, not just the campers. Our staff had just finished their week long training and orientation, and they were ready to get started. Our maintenance and housekeeping staff were finishing their preparations all around the camp. Our nurses were reviewing the health histories of everyone arriving, as our kitchen staff was finalizing menus and restocking our pantry. Our office staff had been communicating and organizing stacks of paperwork, and our Directors were pleased that everything in this intentional community was coming together. We have all been looking forward to this day.

Of course, the campers were the most excited. For the girls returning to Rockbrook, today was a day to reunite with their camp friends. Hug after smiling hug, coming back together after a year of school was marvelous. New campers too: while perhaps mixed with some nervous energy, they also were excited to find their counselors waiting for them eager to introduce cabin mates and help everyone get oriented to camp life.

Our staggered arrival system again worked well. It allowed the queue to move along smoothly and the girls in the same cabin to arrive approximately at the same time. This is great because the girls can immediately get busy together: making beds, arranging trunks in the cabin, learning names, decorating name tags, and touring around the camp.

Once everyone arrived, the first event was to gather on the hill for a quick all-camp assembly before lunch. The morning misty weather had cleared completely by then making the view of the mountains fantastic. Sarah introduced the campers to the Hi-Ups and the other Directors, explained a few safety things (e.g., the camp boundaries, and the lightning warning system), and led the whole group in a couple of camp songs. Felix’s cameo appearance was another highlight.

It’s somehow become a tradition of sorts at Rockbrook for the opening day lunch to be Rick’s homemade baked Mac-n-Cheese and watermelon. With a crisp salad and steamed broccoli on the side, it’s a warm plate of comfort. It’s so melty and savory inside with crunchy breadcrumbs on top, it really is a hit. He also prepared today a gluten-free, vegan version, that was also delicious.

After a short rest hour, it was time for an introduction to the Rockbrook lake, our “refreshingly cool” mountain stream-fed swimming hole. At the beginning of every session we invite all of the campers to learn about the lake protocols, for example our “tag system,” and to demonstrate their swimming ability to the lifeguards. These “swim demos” involve jumping into the water from the dock, swimming out and back a short distance, and treading water for a minute. The guards classify swimming abilities into three levels with some being restricted to the shallow part of the lake and others requiring a lifejacket. No matter their level, though, every camper gets to enjoy cooling off in the lake in some way. Today’s warm and sunny afternoon weather made the lake quite inviting, encouraging the girls to jump right in and enjoy this classic camp experience.

Another assembly, this time in the gym, was devoted to the activity options available to the girls. The counselors and specialist instructors performed skits to introduce what each activity offered. Combining costumes and songs, and of course plenty of props (think kayaks, ropes, helmets, tennis rackets, and craft supplies), these skits were often pretty silly… entertaining too. Later in the evening, the campers would be selecting their first set of four activities, so these skits were a great way to spur ideas about what to try. The new music activity, “The Rockbrook Songbirds,” where the girls will learn to play the ukulele and dive deeper into the Rockbrook songbook, seemed to turn a few heads with interest. Since each camper chooses her own activity schedule, the activities are a great way for the girls to meet other friends at camp who are not necessarily in their cabin. Rockbrook is just the right size, not super small or too large, to meet almost everyone and feel a part of the whole community.

Tomorrow we’ll all scatter and launch into our first full day of camp activities. We’re ready!

Now that we’ve finished up our last session of camp, and we find ourselves reflecting on the summer, it’s again a challenge to describe it all. Friends will ask, “How was the summer?” And, I’ll stumble through an attempt to describe it by saying “Great! So many happy people, wonderful!” That’s all true, but it barely scratches what it was really like at Rockbrook this summer. There’s so much more.

Camp was beautiful, beautiful to see children laughing and playing. Beautiful to witness girls relaxing into the rhythms of camp life, being free to explore, play, create, and discover. It was beautiful to see kindness, budding confidence, and willing enthusiasm color whatever we were doing. It was beautiful to hear easy silliness and laughter everywhere at camp. It was beautiful to feel so close to so many people.

The summer was magical too. It was full of delightful surprises, moments when we embraced the wonders of Nature. It was magical how the simplest things were fun, often hilarious, and ended up being a source of deep comfort. It was magical how everyday was both exciting and worry free, filled with new experiences.

Camp this summer was also refreshing. Our drier and cooler weather was refreshing, but so was the feeling of being a part of the Rockbrook community. It was refreshing to connect with the people so easily, to make almost instant friends with everyone, and to be embraced for our authentic selves. For many, it was refreshing to simply be away from the allure of their electronic devices.

Camp was emotional, packed with experiences that we felt deeply. We cheered for each other almost everyday. We were thrilled by all the novelty and adventure of the activities and trips. There were so many hugs, smiles, and sweet moments of affection. Sharing this much, being this open and genuine, made even the challenges we faced both manageable and meaningful.

The third session Spirit Fire brought all of this into focus. Dressed in our red and white uniforms and gathered around the blazing campfire, we couldn’t help but realize that the friendships we’d formed at camp, the experience of it all, were in a way miraculous. The speeches reflected this too. The girls talked about felling lucky to have been at camp, to have found Rockbrook. They expressed such heartfelt gratitude, and marveled at how they’d grown and “become who they are” at camp.

Yes, camp was beautiful, magical, refreshing and emotional —altogether miraculous. It was for everyone, campers, staff and directors alike, an experience that’s hard to describe, but one that we’ll cherish. We’ll remember it fondly, seek its spirit throughout our days, and yearn for its return sometime soon.

So thank you! Thank you for helping make this special experience possible, for your support, and for sending your girls. We miss everyone already. We look forward to seeing you next summer when we can come together at Rockbrook and rekindle the camp spirit we love.

One of the lovely things about life at Rockbrook is how much time we get to spend with people of all different ages. The girls who attend camp as campers can be as young as 6 years old, and they go all the way up to 16. And then there are the 17-year-old CITs, the college-aged cabin counselors, and the adventure staff, activity specialists, nurses and directors — all ranging from their 20s to their 60s! It really is true; we’re a community of 6 to 60.

The campers are sorted by grade in their cabins, and they sign up for activities by line assuring their instructors can tailor challenges to their age. Beyond the activity time and life in the cabins, however, everyday connects us with friends who are not our age. It might be when we’re grabbing a muffin on the dining hall porch during muffin break, or tossing our towel on the rock by the lake for free swim, or jumping into the gagaball pit for a game during twilight. Zipping with the awesome adventure staff, talking with the pottery specialists, and stopping by the health hut for our morning medications are other examples where we’re all mingling. It seems like we’re saying hello everyone we see: to the Hi-Ups when they’re setting the tables before lunch, to the Directors up on the porch of the office, and to the mob of counselors and campers in the “Rockbrook Runners” club as they jog by. Older girls talking with younger girls is the most natural thing here at camp.

Our all-camp special events are an excellent example of this too, like the shaving cream fight we held at twilight yesterday. This was such a fun event, literally for all ages.

We rang a bell to alert everyone to come down to the landsports field dressed in swimsuits. With some fun music pumping, the girls each grabbed a can of shaving cream and had a blast zooming around the grassy field spraying each other. The goal was simple; squirt and splatter the white slippery foam on everyone. Chase and be chased. Plunk blobs of shaving cream on anyone’s head. Rub it on their backs, pile globs into their hair, and help them create the wildest hairstyles possible.

Before long, everyone was covered in shaving cream, white and slippery, and looking utterly ridiculous. Of course, everyone was screaming and laughing the whole time too. The feeling of being covered in shaving cream, seeing everyone’s reactions, and watching the messy chaos unfold is simply hilarious. It’s the kind of silly fun we love at Rockbrook.

We also pulled out a sheet of plastic that, with a little water sprayed on it from a hose, made an excellent slip-n-slide. The girls were already plenty slippery, so they just launched themselves down the plastic and shrieked with delight on every ride. Tumbling and rolling, they had a blast.

An evening like this proved once again that these Rockbrook girls know how to have fun together. From the youngest junior to the counselors and directors, we all shared this experience of foamy glee. Where else can you laugh this hard, yet feel so relaxed around friends? Where else does age matter this little? Where else can something as simple as a shaving cream fight bring so much joy? Only at camp, of course!