Author Archives: Jeff Carter

The father of a camper recently sent me a nice note thanking me for his daughter’s camp experience. He was the dad of a first-time camper, so he wasn’t sure if his daughter would like camp. He was very pleased, and described the experience for her as “pure joy.” He explained, “I kept thinking ‘pure joy’ every time I saw a photo of her at camp.”

This wasn’t too surprising to hear. Girls are generally really happy at Rockbrook, and parents can tell by scrolling through the photo gallery. But describing that feeling as “pure joy” stood out to me. I think a lot of parents can relate to this too because they also have a sense that camp is a deeply joyful experience for their daughters.

In earlier posts, I’ve tried to explain why girls are so happy at camp, why they love camp and feel so good being here. And I’m sure there are plenty of reasons. This notion of “pure joy,” however, got me thinking in a different direction.

The poet David Whyte stirred this thinking with his writing on joy. “Joy” is one of the words he considers in his book, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. He uses beautifully luminous language to reveal deeper meanings, unexpected connections, and nuanced intuition into several core aspects of who we are as human beings— courage, honesty, longing, and rest, for example. Poets like Whyte think deeply about words, and this book is filled with many wise insights.

When contemplating the word “joy” he writes:

To feel a full and untrammeled joy is to have become fully generous; to allow ourselves to be joyful is to have walked through the doorway of fear, the dropping away of the anxious worried self felt like a thankful death itself, a disappearance, a giving away, overheard in the laughter of friendship, the vulnerability of happiness and the magnified vulnerability of its imminent loss, felt suddenly as a strength, a solace and a source, the claiming of our place in the living conversation, the sheer privilege of being in the presence of the ocean, the sky or a daughter’s face framed by the mountains – I was here and you were here and together we made a world.

David Whyte — Consolations

There is so much to this, but I think it reveals something about the joy your girls feel at camp.

Camp life, strengthened and sustained by the positive relationships of this community, provides a haven where our “anxious worried self” can fade away revealing “who we really are.” The genuine support and true enthusiasm shown all around us inspires degrees of courage to drop social pretensions, to shed our most polished masks. This wonderful community of caring and kind people empowers girls to step “through the doorway of fear” and find that they are accepted, valued and loved, despite whatever they think of as an imperfection. It gives them confidence to claim their “place in the living conversation” as energized participants in life. David Whyte is reminding us that just like “laughter and friendship,” joy arises from these conditions, from this authenticity of self.

There’s also a point about generosity, that becoming “fully generous” is aligned with feeling a “full and untrammeled” joy. There is a link between being generous and joyful. Thinking then about generosity, I believe Whyte is pointing out that joy requires a recognition of another person (group, organization, etc.), a relationship, a connection beyond merely the self. Joy resides beyond what’s self-absorbed.

Here too, I’d say the camp community has a real power to inspire generosity. Every day at camp gifts are made and given. Food is shared. Help is offered. …all beyond our own needs. Generosity is just a natural expression of paying attention to others, to the crucial role they play in your life, and at camp this is our daily nourishment. Perhaps then as camp inspires this attention to others and this generosity, it likewise inspires joy.

Again, we’re not talking about kayaking, backpacking, pottery or archery, though we had groups of girls en-joying all those today. We’re not talking about the delicious strawberry and white chocolate muffins we ate around 11am. We’re not talking about shooting a bullseye or winning a tennis point. We’re talking about who we are and our relationships with others. The joy experienced at camp is rooted in that.

Quite often, I use the word “joy” to describe the feeling of camp. Now I think I know why.

Sometimes what it takes to have fun is simple. That’s especially true at camp where you’re surrounded by dozens of people you consider friends, some super close friends. Mix in a feeling of adventure and suddenly we have exciting fun, scream-inducing excitement.

A good example of this happened tonight when we took all the remaining Middlers and Seniors to Sliding Rock. If you haven’t heard of it, Sliding Rock is a natural water slide formed by Looking Glass Creek as it tumbles about 60 feet over a slope of granite. Over millennia the water has worn the rock smooth so that it’s possible to sit in the water at the top and slide along until plunging into a pool at the bottom.

Not only possible, it’s practical too. Hundreds of people, in fact, make the slide everyday. We arrived tonight past when it had officially closed to the public. This is our routine, and our preference. We can provide our own lifeguards, counselors to help the campers settle into the water at the top of the rock, and set a good “Rockbrook Vibe” when we have the place to ourselves.

That means lots of cheering and the occasional RBC line song sung. As girls wait for their turn to slide, they have a perfect view of others sliding, so there’s plenty of laughing and shouts of encouragement too. You can imagine, the whole scene is loud: crashing waterfall, screaming sliders, and cheering spectators.

The feeling of adventure is clear as soon as the girls sit down in the water at the top of the rock and feel it splashing on their backs. It looks tall from up there! Of course, the temperature of the water is “refreshing” too. That’s when eyes widen and mouths open to let out wild screams. The water pushes, and soon they are accelerating down the rock heading to the splash landing below. We encourage the girls to slide in pairs, adding to the fun. As they twist, spin and sometimes topple down the rock for several seconds, they scream even more, squint, and hold their noses at the last second. It’s so thrilling, and so much fun, they are quick to zip around and slide again. Most girls want to slide more than one time, with 2 or 3 being about right.

This is good simple fun. It’s classic camp fun too. We take a bunch of girls who know each other really well— they’re friends in the best sense of the word —and let them experience a little daring adventure together. The encouragement and the support of the group kicks in and soon we have girls feeling thrilled. The natural features of Sliding Rock, and a positive group is all it takes to create a memorable fun experience. Pretty cool!

On the drive out of the Forest, we took it one step further and stopped at Dolly’s Dairy bar so everyone could enjoy a cup or cone of their favorite flavor of ice cream. Having a Dolly’s treat is a big deal at camp, so we make sure every camper has a chance to experience it. They have “the best ice cream in the world,” many girls have assured to me. Long ago Dolly’s created special “camp flavors” by contracting special blends and naming them after many of the local camps. “Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion” is a unique chocolate flavor with fudge and small peanut butter cups. There’s a flavor based on s’mores, one reminiscent of key lime pie, and another that tastes like strawberry cheesecake. All of them are delicious. This is why part of the fun of going to Dolly’s is deciding which flavor to try. It’s also why so many families plan a trip to Dolly’s on closing day. You should plan on it too!

It happened again today. A counselor told me she was surprised how easy it was to make friends at Rockbrook. She said it took “one day” for her to feel real friendship from people she never knew before. This was astounding to her, and a little puzzling as to how it was possible, because ordinarily, making good friends was more difficult and definitely took a lot longer. I’ve heard it many times before; camp is where we make our best “forever” friends, and for some reason it’s easier to make friends at camp than anywhere else.

Talking about it further, and thinking about what is different about camp, we hit upon an idea. We thought, “True friendship requires authenticity. When we are most authentically our true selves, we are most capable of making friends.” This works at Rockbrook because our camp culture, with all its practiced ideals, makes it easier for girls to trust themselves and forget the worries that accompany ordinary personal interactions. This place is free of social judgment, and beautifully empowering for girls to strip away the assumptions they may have about themselves and to reveal who they really are. At camp, they discover a freedom to be “the real me,” and realize that the people in this community still value and care about them. They realize that it’s OK to be quirky (we all are in some way or another!), and OK to not be perfect.

I think camp friendships are so strong because each is formed between people being genuine like this. With no superficial posing, nervous performing, or strategic posturing, we can really get to know each other. With no competition or social jockeying, we can be more caring and truly interested in each other. That combination leads quickly to friendship… not superficial friends formed between socially constructed identities we think will be attractive, but a mutual affection born from a deep understanding of each other. Please pardon me for repeating myself, but it’s this special camp community that makes all of this possible. The lesson to be learned, we concluded, was that being a “friendly person” means being brave enough to be your true self and to be kind and caring toward others. We practice this lesson everyday at camp, inspiring us to become more and more friendly.

Shooting a bullseye in archery, and especially in riflery, is not easy. Just aiming, shooting, and getting lucky isn’t enough to hit the center of a target 50 feet away. It takes careful, patient techniques, a certain amount of strength to remain still as you aim, and a great deal of practice to become more accurate and precise. Even hitting the target within the scoring rings is an accomplishment, and a good first step. So when a girl hits the center of her target, it is exciting. It’s achieving a long sought-after goal. At Rockbrook, we celebrate this success in a couple of ways. If a camper hits a single bullseye in riflery or three bullseyes in archery, they join what’s called the “bullseye club,” which earns her name being announced in the dining hall during a meal. Everyone cheers when the names are read. Hitting ten bullseyes in archery earns the “golden arrow” award, and achieving one hundred bullseyes is recognized with the “golden bow” award. Yes, it’s hard to believe, but a handful of girls in the past have reached the golden bow award level by the end of their session. That’s dedication, and great skill!

There seems to be a lot of readers at camp this session. During points of free time throughout the day, there are several spots around camp where you can find girls tucked in with a book. Being left to decide for themselves how they’d like to spend their free time, these girls are choosing to read. But they’re also selecting some really cool outdoor spots to kick back in their crazy creek chairs. Reading on the hill under the huge walnut tree is a popular spot because it has one of the best long range mountain views in camp. It’s common as well to see girls relaxing and reading in the many red rocking chairs situated on the lodge and dining hall porches. There’s always reading happening near the lake too. Like being on vacation, there’s something nice about reading near a body of water, especially with a friend or two sitting right nearby.

It’s been really fun to see the girls enjoy our new outdoor dining areas at camp. As places to eat, they’re a big hit. Knowing that we needed to keep our cabin group cohorts separated at meals, and that having better air flow was preferable to reduce the chance of spreading anything between cabin groups, we decided to add on to the dining hall porch and the hillside lodge porch this spring. Both porches are elevated off the ground and, like most of the buildings at Rockbrook, are surrounded by trees. This creates a gorgeous forest view from the porches. The hillside lodge porch has gained the nickname “Treetops” as a result. The porches are cool and breezy, perfect places for a pleasant al fresco dining experience, like tonight when we ate Rick’s homemade lasagna, salad, bread and fresh watermelon. Lemon bars topped with powdered sugar were for dessert. People say they love the food at camp. Perhaps eating in these new outdoor spaces is part of the reason. It certainly doesn’t hurt!

Let me tell you about the “Cove.” That’s our name for a lovely little swimming hole located on the Rockbrook property, hidden deep in the woods about half a mile from the center of camp. It’s formed by Dunn’s Creek as it cascades down from the mountain above. This is a very rocky part of the forest which makes the stream form a long string of waterfalls and pools. One of these pools is the Cove. Hiking there first follows the spillway that carries water toward the Rockbrook lake as it winds gently through thick Rhododendron and past an amazing variety of trees. As you approach the Cove, you first hear the crashing of the waterfalls and begin to notice varieties of moss covering almost every exposed rock.

The Cove itself is beautiful. You first notice the 20-foot rock cliff on one side and the small waterfall dropping into an inviting pool of water beneath. The pool is only about 4 feet deep at its deepest point and has a nice barefoot-friendly sandy bottom. It feels like an opening to something special, a secret part of the forest preserved for those lucky enough to stumble upon it. There’s something about it that’s immediately attractive. You can’t help but think, “Wow, this is really cool.” Today, as the weather warmed up, a small group of Seniors spent their rest hour enjoying a dip in the Cove. They played in the waterfall, and soaked in the natural pool of cool, refreshing water. They loved it!

Visiting the Cove, like so many of the experiences at Rockbrook, is delightfully sensorial. It quite literally bathes these girls in sensations, rich experiences that stimulate all their senses. The examples at camp are endless— the firm muscle of the horse they’re riding, the soft feathers of the chickens down at the garden, the refreshing chill of the mountain water around here. At camp you hear amazing things too: nighttime forest animals, the 100-year-old camp bell, and the occasional intense thunderstorm, for example. And taste! —the fresh organic corn we ate on the hill for dinner tonight, a different muffin flavor everyday, and the explosion of cool watermelon in your mouth when you take that first bite. At camp we get to smell the earthiness of the forest all around us, encounter the sharp smoke from a campfire, and breathe in full lungs of the freshest air. And of course, what we see everyday is the beauty of Rockbrook, this historic camp nestled in the “heart of a wooded mountain.”

You have to love this for your kids! When so much of their ordinary lives is spent staring at screens, passively receiving a filtered, curated version of the world— and even more so during the recent pandemic restrictions —they really need all their senses exercised. I suspect their longterm cognitive and emotional health depend on it! They need rich real world experiences like taking the plunge down Sliding Rock or a bite out of a freshly roasted s’more. Camp teaches them that feeling these things is normal and good, that the diversity of sensations offered by the world can be experienced by simply reaching out. I think children naturally do this. They’re curious and eager to explore. They instinctively revel in the sensorial character of camp life (no A/C needed!). I hope you can see the tragedy of those childhood instincts being hindered by the all too common allure of technological entertainment.

Thankfully, life at Rockbrook is a relief from all that. We know how to break the spell of those screens and return to more genuine experiences, more rewarding inter-actions, to a more colorful world. Your girls love it because I think they need it. And at camp, they enjoy it everyday.

What’s an activity where your feet are numb and there’s sweat under your helmet? What activity alternates between moments of calm scenic beauty and wide-eyed, scream-inducing thrills? When does a team of girls work together and rescue someone on the team when needed? What’s delightful and a little bit scary at the same time? When can you sing and dance with your friends while accomplishing important goals? When can you do a high five simultaneously with six other people? What activity brings you face to face with a powerful force of nature but ends up being hilariously fun? When is “riding the bull” the best seat in the house, and falling “in” often a highlight of the experience? When is there talk of “all forward” and “all back,” bracing and balance, surprise bumps and spins. There’s really nothing else quite like it.

If you guessed whitewater rafting, you are correct because all of these things are true for the Rockbrook girls who took a rafting trip on the Nantahala today. We took about a third of the entire camp over there in Macon county for two different trips down the river. More will go next week as well, giving every Middler and Senior a chance to go. We’ve been taking these Nantahala rafting trips at Rockbrook since the early 1980s, and since we have a US Forest service permit to do so, we can use our own guides and equipment to raft a lot, thereby allowing every girl old enough to go if they like.

Looking at these photos, and from the description above, you can tell that the girls absolutely love these trips. I’d say when the weather is good, like today’s hot and sunny conditions, whitewater rafting is easily their favorite outdoor adventure experience offered at camp. Being in the boat with your friends for the two-hour trip is both a fun social experience, and a uniquely funny one. Almost like slapstick comedy, rafting tosses the girls about, sometimes sending them into the bottom of the boat, arms and legs hilariously sprawling, and other times out into the cold river water— exciting and hilarious at the same time.

This is another example of Rockbrook girls taking something that’s already a good time and making it fantastic. They have this remarkable ability to turn up the fun. When people see our boats floating by on the river, they’re surprised and impressed by the singing, the laughing and the camaraderie. It’s not just rafting for these Rockbrook kids; it’s playful, silly, and enthusiastic rafting. It’s a group of positive friendly girls, already primed to enjoy each others company, diving deep into this experience. It’s part of that camp magic we all appreciate around here— a kind of collective exuberance for whatever we’re doing. With everyone’s bright attitude (and honestly plenty of snacks too!), at camp there’s fun to be found in everything.

One last example… Back at camp, during the block of free time we call “Twilight,” I saw a group of Juniors playing on the hill. Head counselor Ellie pulled out a pile of hula hoops and yelled, “Who wants to do some hooping?” Soon there were hoops spinning in all directions. Some spun around girls’ waists as they found the right speed to wiggle back and forth. Others spun hoops around their arms. Some rolled them along the ground and down the grassy hill. The counselors were helping and encouraging this creativity. One hoop swung like a jump rope. They had music playing from a small speaker, as well, inspiring what we might call “interpretive dance” with the hoops.

Here too, we soon had girls laughing and cheering, jumping and twirling, releasing a mysterious power to have fun. It was so simple and genuine. Just hula hoops and a little music, plus just the right amount of encouragement from some great staff members, made it possible for these young girls to exercise that power and be extraordinarily happy. It’s phenomenal to see that Rockbrook just works like that— girls getting together, relaxing into their most authentic child spirit, and creating unique experiences for each other. It’s so refreshing and very fun to see!

This morning I was reminded of a really think soup— maybe pea —because the fog that settled above camp overnight was so thick, I felt like we could swim through it. I could barely make out a distant hill through the grey. We’ve been having extraordinary humid weather the last couple days. That means dense fog in the mornings as the temperature drops with the dew point, sunny mornings, and rainy afternoons with thunderstorms passing through. Today we saw that exact pattern. By the way, you can always check the Rockbrook weather station if you are curious about what’s going on at camp weather wise. Today I see our temperatures were between 66 and 81, the humidity close to 100% most of the day, and 1.5 inches of rain fell between 3 and 6pm. Should we call it cool tropics?

All of the regular camp activities fired into action today giving the girls their first taste of 4 different new things to try. Our counselors and instructors fanned out across the camp ready with supplies and equipment to teach the girls about ropes, racquets and reins. While some girls slid down the water slide, others climbed up the alpine tower. Arrows hit targets and cartwheels spun across the blue gymnastics mats. Girls twisted and tied t-shirts prepping them for colorful dyes. They rolled and pinched clay, cut and glued paper, and wove reeds after soaking them in the creek. Groups of girls soared high through the trees on our zipline course, and others slapped a ball around the gaga ball court. There was time to swim and time to dance. There were snacks to eat: chocolate chip muffins complete with a dollop of edible cookie dough on top (famously decadent around here) in the morning, and goldfish crackers in the afternoon.

This year, as you may recall from our pre-camp announcements, we are scheduling these activities so each cabin group sticks together. Ordinarily at Rockbrook, the girls select their activity schedule individually, deciding for themselves if they want to focus, for example, on more craft oriented activities instead of adventure-based options. This year, to help maintain distance between cohorts (our cabin groups) we are selecting a range of activities for each cabin, giving them a taste of sports (like archery and riflery), adventure (for example, ziplining and hiking), and crafts (needlecraft and pottery, for example). There are still optional off-camp trips where girls can sign up individually to go, and there are still three blocks of free time where campers can decide on their own what they’d like to do. Horseback riding is still individually scheduled.

If an important part of camp is trying new things, this new system is great. I’ve heard from several campers that they were surprised how much they like it. One told me, “I would have never signed up for climbing, but I’m actually pretty good at it!” Sometimes if left to their own preferences girls will default to what’s safe and comfortable rather than attempting something that looks difficult. Being pulled along as part of an encouraging, supportive group, girls can surprise themselves and discover they can do things that would otherwise seem unpleasant or impossible. Camp life is full of moments like that when what’s initially challenging is overcome in the end.

This last photo deserves a quick comment. Can’t you just sense the unbridled joy, the silly enthusiasm of this dance class? Dance happens down in the Lakeview Lodge, the stone activity lodge used by the lower line for evening programs. It has mirrors all along one wall and with its smooth hardwood floor, it’s an active dance studio throughout the day. You can tell, these young girls are having a grand time zooming around, trying out different dance moves, and posing to see themselves in the mirrors. There’s exuberant fun simply in the freedom of it all, knowing a few things and then trying whatever feels right. I think that’s why you see so many different dance positions in this scene. These girls are doing their own thing, and loving it! Together and silly, laughing and smiling, they had a great time.

Finally, let me make my appeal for mail. Send it! Send a lot of it! Even just a quick note, having something in your mailbox is a big deal at camp. Your girls would love to hear how proud you are of them at camp.