Painted Fun

Girl climbing alpine tower
Girl climbing high ropes course at summer camp

Out in the woods behind our gym, a 50ft tall, high ropes climbing tower, our “Alpine Tower,” sees daily action. Campers can sign up to climb it (or the climbing wall in the gym if it’s rainy) as one of their 4 activity periods. It provides the perfect introduction to rock climbing because it introduces girls to the same equipment (helmets, harnesses, locking carabiners, and kernmantle ropes) and techniques like belay commands, knots, footwork and balancing principles. The tower is triangular with three sides each with different obstacles and climbing challenges, so three girls can climb on it simultaneously. Also, each side presents dozens of different routes to the top making it easy to find a find challenge each time you climb.  The are swinging logs, cargo nets, overhanging walls, dangling ropes, parallel posts, and of course all different sized handholds, all requiring a different move to reach the top platform. Once they make it up, the girls enjoy a tree-top view before being gently lowered down on their belay rope.

Teens sitting in waterfall

Transylvania County, where we are located, dubs itself the “Land of Waterfalls” because there are hundreds nearby created by the many creeks and streams tumbling off the mountains over enormous rocks. Over the centuries, many of these waterfalls have created beautiful pools of water below that provide a fantastic experience for a brave swimmer. It takes a little courage to swim at the bottom of a waterfall. The churning foam looks intriguing, reminiscent of a hot tub, but the crashing sound and slapping force of the falling water conveys a special power that must be approached carefully.  The water pushes you around. Also, it’s no secret that the water around here is brisk… or let’s call it “refreshingly nippy,” and nothing like a hot tub. The exhilaration of the water temperature and the intensity of it pounding all around you, is a huge thrill. The Hi-Ups (our 10th grade campers) experienced this today when they spent the afternoon at one of our favorite swimming holes. Did they scream? Oh, yes. Was it awesome fun? Definitely.

Camp color run

Our evening program tonight was a special all-camp event that was surely a unique experience for the girls. It began with a “color run.” For those interested (it was fine to opt out), they put on an old t-shirt and ran through a gauntlet of counselors armed with brightly colored, powdered paint (non-toxic of course). After a little spray of water at the start, the paint stuck to the girls giving them an colorful, tie-dyed look. This led them down to the gym of a color paint dance party put on by our favorite local DJ Marcus. We passed around glow sticks and used even more colorful glow paint and face paint to magnify the colorful dance lighting Marcus included in his show. This was all so much fun! The girls laughed and played for 2 solid hours, pausing for photos, showing off silly dance moves, and signing along to their favorite pop songs.  With no boys around and everyone, counselors and campers, so fully engaged, they felt even more at ease and willing to be painted. Be sure to check out the photo gallery of this event to see how much we all enjoyed it.

girls colorful dancing
Children dancing with face paint

Proud of These Girls

Horseback riding camp girl

Horseback riding was back in full swing today under bright blue skies and without a drop of rain to speak of. Kelly and her team of dedicated instructors were excited to move their classes from the porch of the equestrian office and inside the barns, where they’ve been meeting during that spell of soggy weather, to back outside for mounted lessons. The riders in every lesson were itching to ride too, the beginners ready show what they’ve been learning about the horses’ tack (saddles, reins and bits) and the more advanced riders thrilled to be meeting a new horse. A big part of riding is creating a level of trust, friendship really, between a horse and rider. The best riders “click” with their horses, communicating clearly, respecting and sympathizing, so it’s always a great thing to see Rockbrook girls out riding and demonstrating this kind of intimacy with their horses. Almost 100 girls rode today, so it was a big day of horseback riding down at the barn!

High Ropes Course Climbing child
Child with big gun

The Alpine Tower came alive with all kinds of high ropes course adventure today as well. Driving up the north driveway of camp, you may have spotted in the woods this giant, 50-foot climbing tower made of massive telephone poles, cables, bolts and rope. Up close, and particularly when there are (up to six at a time) girls climbing all over it, it’s even more impressive because there is such a variety of climbing challenges to try. There are swinging logs, tall cargo nets, climbing ropes, inclined poles, wiggly planks, and a strenuous overhanging climbing wall to choose from. At the top of the Tower, there’s a triangular shaped deck where the staff have placed a poster for girls to write their name as having successfully made the climb. Coming down from the platform is simple. Every climber is on belay when climbing, so when ready, the belayer lowers her slowly down on the belay rope. Like being on a big rope swing, it’s a fun ride.

At the rifle range, which is also set back in the woods away from camp, the girls are focused on the upcoming riflery tournament against the Camp Carolina boys. The instructors are hoping to match last session’s win, so they are really working, shooting hundreds of rounds everyday. Cliff, who is a retired law enforcement trainer and our marksman coach this summer, is helping the girls with their shooting technique as well as keeping the rifles perfectly sighted and maintained. And his coaching is paying off! Some girls are consistently scoring in the mid 30s (out of a possible 50 points- 5 shots, with a bullseye scoring 10 points) and a couple are clustering shots and scoring in the 40s. Very impressive accuracy and precision!

Campers making tie dye t-shirts

Get ready for tie dyes! The craft activity we call “Hodge Podge” has been cranking through tie-dye t-shirts giving everyone a chance to twist, fold and squirt colorful dyes. The process begins with soaking a plain white t-shirt (though a few other cotton items have found their way) in a solution of urea. The girls then use rubber bands to bind folds of the still wet fabric tight enough that when they apply different colors of dye, some parts absorb less dye than others. The shirts then sit overnight. It’s always fun to see what cool patterns are revealed when the they are finally unfolded and rinsed.

Tonight was a camp dance night as we hosted the young boys from Camp Carolina in our gym, and our oldest girls rode over to dance in their dining hall. For years we have done it this way, holding two simultaneous dances to manage better so many children and to play more age appropriate music at each venue. The senior girls seemed most excited about the event, but in a great lighthearted, Rockbrook, way. Instead of fancy outfits, most of them wore campy clothes, t-shirts, even crazy costumes. Most brushed their hair, I suspect, but face paint and glitter were more prevalent than make up. When came to dancing, it was just as silly, with small clusters of girls laughing and jumping together to the beat, almost oblivious to the (much more shy) boys. These are strong young ladies who know how to have good fun. You should be proud!

teenage campers dancing at camp dance

Camp Mastery

Girls yoga class pair pose

Many of the girls at Rockbrook are becoming yoga masters thanks to MK and her extraordinary yoga class. Set in the beautiful, stone hillside lodge (which by the way would be a nice place for a wedding ceremony), there’s plenty of room on the hardwood floor for purple yoga mats. MK plays calm music and begins each class with stretching and relaxation exercises, before introducing 2 or three new Yoga poses. There seems to be an endless variety: tree, half and full pigeon, lotus, warrior, eagle, plank, child, frog and bridge poses. Some poses require two people to balance and harmonize together, adding even more challenge and interest.

Camp girls climbing tower wearing polka dot pants

The alpine tower climbing activity is likewise producing master climbers. Many girls have by now had multiple chances to climb, to work their way up, over and around the different obstacles of the tower. They’ve leaped across the Swinging Logs, scrambled along the Cargo Nets, and carefully balanced up the Corporate Ladder. They’ve done pullups over the Squirrel’s Nest, and enjoyed the ride down from the 50-foot-tall platform at the top. Some girls fearlessly flip upside down for a moment while being lowered (something they call doing a “spiderman”), while others simple hold on anxiously ready to reach the ground.

The afternoon brought the return of the “Redbird Olympics,” an all-camp event of games and relay races we hold down on our lower sports field. We first divided everyone into three teams (Red, White and Blue) making sure to include campers from all three age groups on each team. Each team then built their team spirit by dressing in their color, adding some face and body paint, and creating a team chant. While members of each team competed in different races, the others cheered them on. Pairs of girls tied a leg together for a 3-legged race. Other pairs squared off for a water balloon toss. Groups of 8 raced to thaw a frozen t-shirt by pulling and squeezing it, but also putting it under arms, on bellys and other warm body parts. Oddly, these were races, but we didn’t keep score as the groups rotated through the different activities, making it irrelevant which team “won” in the end. Funny how things can be more fun if you don’t keep score.

three-legged race kids
frozen t-shirt relay race
camp girls enjoying slip n slide

The highlight of the afternoon, however, was the slip ‘n slide and shaving cream battle that followed the relays. With bright, warm and sunny weather, getting wet and flying down a long, slightly soapy, piece of plastic is just great fun. Some girls launched themselves on their stomachs and others on their knees, but it didn’t take long for many of them to be sliding the entire 100 feet of the plastic slide. When the bottles of shaving cream came out next, it was nothing but squeals of delight as the girls raced around trying to slap white foam on each other. Soon arms and backs were slippery and white, but faces and hair quickly followed, with some girls ending up completely covered in shaving cream. Mastery again! Nobody was safe from getting at least a little of the white stuff on them, staff members and directors alike! The girls absolutely loved this whole scene. You can tell by that mischievous gleam in their eyes and the huge grin on their faces. Be sure to scroll through the photo gallery; you’ll see what I mean.

Camp shaving cream fight
Camp girls and shaving cream

With everyone smelling so good after a quick shower, we announced during dinner that (surprise!) tonight we would have a square dance with High Rocks Camp for Boys. Our Senior girls would go there and they would bring their younger boys to Rockbrook so we could hold two dances simultaneously. Everyone was a bit shy at first, but with the help of the caller, soon gained confidence and learned the moves of the Virgina Reel, and basic square dancing. After a quick breaks for cookies and pink lemonade, the last few dances were even more lively and fun. A the end of the night on the bus ride home, I could tell that what began initially as skepticism about this being a “square” dance, had changed into chatter about how much fun they had meeting the boys and laughing at the mistakes everyone was making while dancing. These Rockbrook girls are so friendly and always quick to smile, they know how to enjoy themselves.

Wow, what a great day in the Heart of this Wooded Mountain!

Learning LNT

Leave No Trace Mark and Tara

Today Rockbrook welcomed Mark Ardagna and Tara McCarthy from the Leave No Trace organization. They are currently traveling around the country on an e-tour, providing educational programs for young people that use the Leave No Trace principles to promote responsible enjoyment of the outdoors. Rockbrook was very fortunate to have Mark and Tara spend the day with us and present several workshops to our campers. Leave No Trace (LNT) is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to “responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all people.”  It advocates seven principles (not so much rules) to minimize negative impact on the environment from outdoor activity weather it be a camping trip in the woods or simply walking your dog in a city park.

The seven Leave No Trace Principles

Addressing these principles, Mark and Tara discussed with the campers what it means to plan and prepare for outdoor activity, the importance of traveling and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly, preserving what we find outdoors, safely minimizing campfire impacts, how to respect wildlife, and being considerate to other people when out.  They led an observation activity where the girls broke into small groups and studied a small area of the forest enclosed by a circle of string.  The girls were surprised just how many different organisms were in such a small area of the forest, and how the more they looked, the more they noticed.  Imagining the entire forest, something many, many times larger than their small circle of string, the girls really understood how following the LNT principles can have such a huge impact. Everyone really enjoyed meeting Mark and Tara and we all appreciated learning so much from them.

Tower climber blindfolded
Camper upside down climbing the alpine tower

Hidden in the woods along a short trail behind our gym is Rockbrook’s Alpine Climbing Tower. This is a 50ft-tall high ropes course with almost 100 different climbing challenges available for the girls. They receive their first introduction to rock climbing here by learning about the safety equipment (helmet, harness, shoes, carabiners, etc.), the belay commands to make sure their belayer (the person holding the belay rope) is ready and working, and the important climbing techniques needed to make progress up the tower or rock. Girls of every age group can sign up for climbing and try the tower, from the littlest Juniors to the tallest Seniors. In addition to climbing one of the routes up the Alpine Tower or tackling one of the challenge elements like the “Cargo Net,” the girls can try and climb blindfolded.  This of course adds a degree of difficulty to the climbing, but it also tends to calm you down and slow you down, thereby allowing you to concentrate on the climbing instead of how high in the air you are.  It’s a strange wonderful feeling and a great climbing exercise.  There’s also a trick the girls often do after they climb and as their belayer lowers them on their belay rope.  They pause mid-air and flip upside down, “Spiderman” style… in true Rockbrook fashion, “just for the fun of it.”

Girls dancing at middler camp dance
Senior campers enjoy camp dance

The highlight of the evening, as you may be able to guess from these two photos, was our dance with Camp Carolina for Boys, our two dances I should say because we held two simultaneously: one here at Rockbrook for the younger set, and one over there for our older girls. We’ve found over the years that splitting the girls and boys up by age allows us to adjust the music and the feel of the dance to match the different interests of 13-year-old and an 8-year-old, for example. Some girls are happy to opt out of the dances altogether, so we always provide an easy way for them to do that, to team up for a “dance alternative” activity of some sort involving an art project and snack.

These dances are a lot of fun for the girls, even if they sometimes start out with a few jittery nerves as well. Fortunately, the counselors are there to help with this, to dress a little silly, not making a big deal about their looks, to be carefree about their dance moves (again, goofy is good!), and to encourage group dances. No pressure, just the fun of being together.

Wonder, Creativity and Adventure

Whitewater Rafting Fun for Kids

Camp was full of wonder, creativity and adventure today, with so much going on. A big group of seniors and middlers headed over to the Nantahala River for a whitewater rafting trip. We packed up our gear, a great picnic lunch, and pulled the buses out of camp after breakfast. It was about a 2 hour drive, but with a quick bathroom/stretch/snack break, we arrived at the edge of the river in time for lunch. We really lathered on the sunscreen because it was a bright sunny day— perfectly warm to balance the cold river water. Clyde, the Rockbrook Adventure Director, and his crew met us at the top of the river with the RBC rafts blown up and ready to go. Every girl is outfitted with a life jacket (PFD), helmet and paddle before dividing up into groups of 5 for each raft. Then it’s 9 miles of rapids going down the river with the finale being the class III Nantahala Falls. True adventure!

Child glazing camp pottery mug
child horseback riding
girl climbing summer camp

Meanwhile in camp, the girls taking pottery were hard at work on their face mugs.  These are fun creative projects that start with slabs of clay they shape into a cylinder.  Then after attaching a handle, each mug gains character with an individualized face… eyes, nose, mouth, even teeth and eyebrows sometimes.  The final step for the girls is to paint on several colors of glaze before the pottery instructors fire the pieces in the kilns.

Down at the equestrian center, Cara and Audry along with the other horseback riding instructors are keeping the campers happy with the Rockbrook horses.  If you haven’t seen them in the photo gallery, they are a great looking bunch, from our smallest Welsh Ponies up to our 17.1 hand thoroughbred gelding Gordon.  There are lessons going on all day down there, from first time riders to girls learning to jump.  It’s always amazing to see the look of wonder on the girls faces as they learn to ride comfortably these great horses.

On the other side of camp, the alpine tower was crawling with campers, quite literally!  Every age group, from the youngest Juniors to the oldest Seniors, can sign up to climb this 50ft high ropes course tower.  It provides all levels of climbing challenges, and the staff members are great at starting girls out with the best route to match their ability.  There are easier ways to get to the top, and really tough obstacles for the more experienced climber.

Dressed up little girls at camp


Dinner tonight was a big surprise for the campers; it was “Restaurant Night,” but also with a dress up theme, the game of “Clue.” All the girls dressed up as players of the game in some “mysterious costume” they created, and the counselors dressed up as characters from “Clue” like Mrs. White, Professor Plum, and Ms. Peacock. The staff served the campers a wonderful meal of roasted chicken, pasta, salad and fresh fruit, but afterwords the game began. Each cabin was given an initial clue that when solved sent them to another part of the camp to meet one of the game’s characters and to receive a new clue. Each station/character also required the whole cabin group to perform some kind of challenge before receiving their next clue, challenges like singing a particular song, untying a human knot, or everyone telling a joke. Ultimately, once a cabin solved all the clues/riddles they were led back to the dining hall for prizes and treats. Wow, what a game! Everyone loved the action, the costumes, the imagination and cabin group cooperation it required, not to mention how much fun it was.

So Much Fun at Camp

playing a game of tennis at summer camp

When writing these blog posts, and mentioning special events for the most part, it’s easy to forget all of the “regular” activities that are going on at camp.  Everyone selects four different activities for their daily schedule, so throughout the day you can find all kinds of arts and crafts, horseback riding, sports, and outdoor adventure going on.  Kathleen our main photographer spends part of her day wandering around camp taking pictures of these activities, but it’s impossible for her to capture it all.  She might spend time at the tennis courts, for example, but she’ll be missing the action at the Alpine Tower and the riding down at the barn.

Teen camp girls at waterfall

Jeff took the Hi-Ups, our oldest campers (10th graders), on a fun outing Thursday afternoon. Dressed in bathing suits and with towels in hand, we made our way to High Falls in the Dupont State Forest. It was one of those perfect summer days. The unstable, moist air of the last few days had cleared to leave wonderful blue skies, sunshine and a few white clouds. High Falls is a spectacular waterfall formed as the Little River drops about 150 feet over exposed granite. Depending on the water level, there are different sections varying in strength from a gentle sloping flow to a raging drop. We found it just right today to swim in the pool at the bottom of one section. There’s also a part forming a “sliding rock” of sorts. It was a little bumpy going down, but very fun nonetheless. On the way home, there was just enough time to swing by Dolly’s. Yum.

Camp counselor dressed as draco malfoy

For dinner, we held another special meal, Restaurant Night, but to mix things up a bit, we turned it into “Harry Potter and the Night of the Restaurant.”  A group of the counselors decorated the dining hall like the great hall of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter novels, and everyone was invited to dress up as a character from the books or in simply “magical” attire.  The tables were rearranged and the counselors served the campers… roast beef, peas, potatoes and toffee bars for desert. We saw Draco Malfoy, several Harry Potters (complete with lightning bolt scar) and even Sarah dressed up as Bellatrix Lestrange to do the announcements after the meal. Music, food, costumes and skits: all just a regular part of the fun at camp.

Adventure Trip Staff Member: Cherie Haseltine

Cherie to the Rescue!
Cherie to the Rescue!

Cherie was part of our Adventure trip staff this past summer. She is currently a student at Brevard College. She heard about Rockbrook through Clyde Carter, who is the Chair of the Outdoor Department throughout the school year and also Rockbrook’s Outdoor Director during the summer. Before coming to camp, Cherie did a 21-day paddling and backpacking trip with school. She also received a certificate in Wilderness First Response and Water Safety. Cherie lived at camp, in the cabin known as “Dilly”, that is built right next to a creek.

Blast Off!
Blast Off!

Throughout the summer, campers and staff often serenaded Cherie by singing, “Cherie, Cherie Baby”, usually when she was coming up to announce a rafting, climbing or backpacking trip after a meal. Her main duties included packing the food, raft guiding, belaying and making sure campers stayed safe. When she wasn’t out on a trip, she helped at the Alpine Tower, and occasionally offered roll clinics in the lake. And of course, in the evening she’d dress up for that night event!

Camp Ropes Course Climbing

Girl climbing high ropes courses

We’ve described Rockbrook’s high ropes courses before, and discussed some of the benefits that follow learning how to climb, but what does it really take to do it? What are the “tricks?” Four things are important: flexibility (to stretch and reach different holds), balance (to steady yourself standing on one foot for example), strength (to pull up, or more frequently, stand up), and lastly, concentration. Bring all these together, and you’ll be a good rock climber.

Here’s a picture of a girl climbing our alpine tower high ropes course. She’s standing up and over her right foot, balancing on it and leaving plenty of space between the climbing poles and her body. This makes it easier to move her left foot up and provides more stability than leaning in and hugging the poles. Step by step, little by little, slow, deliberate, concentrated moves— add them up and you’ll be at the top before you even know it!