Phenomenal First-Day Vibe

girls campers

Sometimes writing these blog posts about Rockbrook, I feel like I’m preaching to the choir, like most of the folks reading already believe. They already know there’s something special that happens at camp, that girls love it for all kinds of reasons, and that the social-emotional learning embedded in camp life is priceless for growing children.  But still, for the sake of those unfamiliar, let me preach a minute.

Today, as we opened our second session of camp, it was clear that this group of girls was already on their way to having a great time. There was certainly plenty of excitement and bubbling anticipation for their camp session to finally begin, but there was also a surprisingly immediate comfort, even contentment apparent when the cabin groups found each other. Maybe the amazing weather had something to do with it— sunny, breezy and warm —or perhaps the easy, relaxed pace of the opening day process, but right away everyone seemed to have a set of friends to run off with.  They were off for a quick tetherball game, the scavenger hunt around camp, adding beads to their name tags, and exploring the creek by Curosty. The cabin groupings, which are carefully assigned by Sarah, encourage that too, making sure new and returning campers alike felt included and welcomed by the grouping. Everyone will tell you that camp is mostly about the people, the friendships and positive relationships fostered between everyone here, so it was very gratifying to see how quickly the campers were bonding.

girl camp kids

The first all-camp event provided more opportunities for this. Just before lunch, we gathered under the big walnut tree on the hill (which provides a beautiful, long-distance view of the Blue Ridge Mountains) to meet some of the key people at camp, to learn and sing a few camp songs, and to be welcomed to Rockbrook by Sarah. The girls sat in their Crazy Creek chairs, sometimes laying them flat to share the seat, while the Hi-Ups led songs. One celebrity made his first appearance too, Felix the camp dog. You’re bound to see photos of him in the online gallery now and then, but he’s an abstract caramel/cream colored, one-year-old Australian Labradoodle with a very sweet disposition. He’s always happy to have a quick scratch on the back, even by six or eight hands at the same time!

The swimming demonstrations where the lifeguards assigned swim tags to everyone, the camp tours where the girls found the location of each activity (for example, the Alpine Climbing Tower and the Nature Nook, which are both hidden in the woods on opposite sides of camp), the activity skits where the instructors staged silly “commercials” about their plans for the session, the cabin meetings where the girls learned a few important safety rules for camp, and the evening program of name games and signing up for activities —filled the remainder of our day, all contributing to that phenomenal first-day vibe.

Tomorrow we’ll launch into all the activities, get out of camp for some adventure trips, clap and sing over some fantastic scratch-made meals, and continue banking experiences that define this unique community.  It really is true; “There’s no place like camp.”  We’re all excited to dig in, and show what that means!

teen campers

A Camp of Goddesses

Leaves in nature goddess hair

Everyone knows that Rockbrook is a “fairyland of beauty” home to countless forest spirits who work tirelessly to enliven our experience of nature and make the camp magical. Just glance to the side anywhere around here, and you’re bound to see something beautiful.  Today Rockbrook was also a land of Greek goddesses.  With a little help from the Hi-Ups, each cabin was given a particular goddess to follow— dress according to her characteristics, use her symbols and icons, and playfully emulate her personality. For example, Selene, goddess of the moon, Gaia, goddess of the earth, and Hecate, goddess of magic all came alive at camp today. Keeping it kid friendly, we selected about a dozen goddesses in all. The costumes ranged from elaborate dresses with crowns and golden jewelry, to delightfully homemade adornments. Ate, the goddess of folly used lots of feathers, while Gaia had leaves, moss, and twigs woven into clothing and hair. Antheia, the goddess of flowers was definitely the most colorful. When all of our various goddesses arrived at their activities, the counselors played along asking them to demonstrate their qualities and special personality. It turns out that goddesses are right at home here at Rockbrook, easily enjoying all the action and inter-action that defines our days.  The girls happily bestowed more magic, folly, nature, flowers and success on all of us.

rocking chair camp crafts

So how is it possible that these girls were so terrifically excited to become goddesses for a day, to dress and behave in costume for everyone to see? Isn’t that just weird, or embarrassing? Honestly, it is, and outside of camp, most of these girls wouldn’t dare walk around with leaves in their hair, or a necklace of clover flowers, or wearing a full-length cloak. At the same time though, there was no awkwardness in this for the campers. They seemed instead to revel in the opportunity to express themselves so freely, to laugh with each other, and to explore untapped aspects of their personality and who they are deep down.

This makes sense when you realize that Rockbrook is a haven for girls, a special place where they feel safe, supported, and valued. It’s an intentional community built upon positive relationships— cooperation, communication, encouragement, generosity, respect and care. Led by a fantastic staff of adult role models, this girls camp community listens and accepts and has an amazing power to bring people closer, foster confidence and grit.

In this special environment where it’s easy to relax and be our true selves, it’s also natural to find friends, enjoy the tiniest adventure, and have the time and encouragement to try new things. It’s a recipe for what the girls simply call “fun.”

It’s also worth recognizing that all too often girls experience the opposite in their daily lives the rest of the year. Life at home and school comes with social ideals and standards, and often kids thereby feel pressure (even anxiety) to perform and even look a certain way.  In the face of competition and lacking genuine community support, our kids ordinary experience can inspire insecurities, self-doubt and unhappiness.

That’s why we were a camp of goddesses today. And thank goodness! These days more than ever, your girls need time and a special place like Rockbrook for them to feel good about being their true selves, to put aside social pressures, to play and to grow.

It’s a daily joy for us to see it all unfold so beautifully.

girl camp buddies

Simple Pleasures

camp teens on mountain

It was a full day of high altitude adventure for a group of 13 seniors who signed up for a special trip today. Lukas and Gabby, two of our outdoor staff members, planned and led the trip. Leaving after breakfast with muffins for a snack break, and a pack of sandwiches for lunch, they drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, making it all the way to the edge of the Shining Rock Wilderness area where they parked and set out on the Art Loeb Trail. This trail leaves the parking lot and follows the ridge line over several of the highest mountains in North Carolina, Black Balsam and Tennent Mountain being the most prominent. You can see from this photo that these peaks, which are over 6000ft high, are grassy, treeless knobs that provide amazing distant views when the weather is good, like it was today. Perfect places to enjoy the pleasure of a homemade muffin baked at camp!

Spending the whole day out allowed the girls next to make a fun stop at a popular swimming hole known as “Skinny-dip Falls.” They had come prepared with swimsuits and towels, and with their packed lunch, the sunny afternoon swimming and sunbathing on the boulders below the falls was wonderful.  They took turns leaping from the “jump rock” and posing for photos.   The leisurely pace, plenty of time to soak in the surrounding forest (big trees now!), and the delightfully cold mountain water created a special experience.

female camp counselor and girl

Back at camp, we deemed today “Red and White Day.” Essentially, we created a simple theme for creative costumes or dressing up. In some cases it was a simple as wearing a red t-shirt or a headband, and since Rockbrook’s colors are red and white, just about everybody had something they could wear. Sarah went all out, though. She has Rockbrook gear going back to the corduroy RBC hat, Rockbrook socks, hair ties, t-shirt, shorts, and fleece tied around here waist.  Rockbrook red and white in all ways. It’s neat how the pleasure of a simple dress up theme adds to the fun of a zany community like Rockbrook.

After dinner during our “Twilight” time, Chase organized an all-camp game of “Counselor Hunt.” As you can imagine this involves the counselors hiding and the campers, as cabin groups, scouring the camp looking for them.  We randomly assign point values to the counselors so that when found points can be added up to award prizes in the end.  A few counselors successfully hid throughout the search period (I suspect covered in leaves), while others were found almost immediately. The whole event is really fast paced as the cabin groups race around trying to be the first to find any particular counselor. Here too, something simple— in this case “hide and seek” —made for exciting all-camp fun.

Don’t you just love this last photo? It’s a gorgeous example of another simple pleasure of life at Rockbrook. Different than the fast-paced, competitive, technology-fueled, pressure (even anxiety) of our kids’ ordinarily lives, camp opens up space for girls to explore, play freely, imagine and create. …like right here in this photo where all of that is happening spontaneously beneath a hydrangea bush.  The best word for it might be “joy.”  There’s a contentment, something additional and deeper, that makes camp “fun” more affecting. Sometimes it takes a while for girls to realize they can be themselves like this at camp, but once they experience it, everyone will tell you they love it.  They know “There’s no place like camp.”

camp child playing in garden

First Session Video Snapshot – 2

Robbie Francis, our amazing videographer, returned to camp this week to film another of his wonderful highlights videos. In just under two minutes, the video beautifully captures the feel of our days at camp. Each time you watch it, you’ll see something new— a new caring interaction, a genuinely happy and peaceful smile, or the simplest expression of friendship. It’s fascinating!

Take a look, and let us know what you think. …or use that share button! 🙂

Limbo at the Lake

girls at rockbrook camp

It was a joy today to welcome our June Mini session campers to Rockbrook. As the girls arrived throughout the morning, it seemed like everyone was excited: the wide-eyed anticipation of the new campers, the enthusiasm of returning campers to see their friends, and the welcoming spirit of the full-session girls already here. With the jumping mob of counselors dressing in their red staff uniform shirts and the bright sunshine of the morning, the whole scene was festive and fun. We jumped right into our swim demonstrations for the arriving girls while the current campers rotated through a few choice activities.

During the all-camp assembly on the hill, it became clear how welcoming and community-minded these Rockbrook girls are. In minutes, the whole camp was singing the line songs, laughing at the counselor skits, and cheering for cabins that won the “mop awards.” New and returning, full- and mini-session, young and old, everyone was happily contributing to the Rockbrook Spirit. These are really great girls, friendly and encouraging. They’re definitely going to have a lot of fun together this session.

water bucket dunking machine
girl holding watermelon near the lake
camp girl doing limbo

The big event of the day brought everyone together for a Polynesian Luau, a dress-up lake party, for games, snacks, crafts, music and dancing.

Chase, our Program Director, planned more than a dozen different activities for the girls, and enlisted the Hi-Ups and senior girls to help with each station. This was a brilliant way for the older girls to have fun at the event, take on a little responsibility, and interact with the younger campers. They all had on great costumes too— grass hula skirts, Hawaiian shirts, lei necklaces, face painting and hats.

The games included a version of bowling were the girls rolled real coconuts toward a set of empty tin cans. There was a beanbag tossing game akin to skee-ball that won a prize for anyone who racked up enough points. The youngest girls could “fish” for prizes using a clothespin on the end of string and pole. The prizes for these games were small lollypops, and some RBC sunglasses, stickers, and jump ropes.

The funniest event was the “bucket dunk” set up at the edge of the lake.  Combined with a corn hole game, the girls took turns tossing a beanbag toward the corn hole for a chance to pull the dunking string. If they made it, they got to soak someone sitting below the bucket of water. There was no shortage of volunteers to sit in the chair, and plenty of girls to play the game as bucket after bucket was dumped to the cheers of everyone watching.

In the lake, teams of four girls challenged other teams to swim a greased watermelon back and forth between two points. There was cheering from all sides as each swimmer pushed their fruit along, briefly losing it under water until it floated up for another slippery nudge. Nearby, a long line of girls looped around under a horizontal bar doing the limbo. As the bar was lowered and it became more difficult to slide under with their backs toward the ground, only a few girls remained.

The more crafty girls gravitated to the “grass” skirts being made from colorful ribbons, and the table where they were decorating headbands with flowers they made from tissue paper and string.

Meanwhile, everyone enjoyed playing with the many beach balls and hula hoops, as they snacked on fresh fruit kabobs (pineapple, grapes, watermelon, and cantaloupe) and unlimited snow cones. The Luau and beach-themed music kept everyone dancing in the warm afternoon sun.

Our camp photographs Karin, Abby and Hannah captured most of the event, so be sure to visit the online photo gallery too see more.  You’ll get a sense of how much the girls really had a blast with each other.

campers first day at rockbrook

Fighting that Familiar Flicker

Backwards Day Campers

It’s Backwards Day! After dinner last night, during the regular time of announcements in the dining hall, Chase our program director surprised the girls by describing the creative challenge of being “backwards” the next day. Right away at breakfast this morning we saw the silly confusion of girls dressing backwards— t-shirts, shorts and hats worn in reverse… hairstyles too —braids running down foreheads, pony tails covering girls’ faces. The kitchen meals were reversed with burritos for the morning meal and breakfast foods (hash browns, bacon, eggs and fruit) for dinner. All around the camp, campers would suddenly walk backwards. Down at the rifle range, the instructor commanded, “Line the on ready,” and so forth. Back strokes at free swim, left-handed tetherball, and down-climbing at the Alpine Tower— there were small, inventive examples of being backwards all day long.

Meanwhile, the Hodge Podge craft activity was focusing on making tie-dye t-shirts in its classes. With squeeze bottles of brightly colored dye ready, the girls first folded and tied a white t-shirt into a chevron, bullseye, spiral or other pattern using rubber bands. Red, blue and yellow dyes, making shades of purple, orange and green, came next, the girls making decisions about how (which colors, where and how much) to apply them. In a few days, after the dye has time to set, it will be fun to unfurl the shirts, rinse them, and admire the colorful patterns created.

Archery pull girl

At the archery range, the girls were concerned with accuracy and precision rather than creativity. Like the target shooting at Riflery, the goal here is to remove variation and shoot the center of the target with each arrow. Practice, repetition, steady technique, and adherence to recognized protocols help focus the outcome (bullseye!). The most skilled archers are not creative when shooting; they are consistent.

Naomi, the head of our fiber arts program, tells me she has observed this contrast between creativity and consistency in the way campers approach craft projects. Some children want clearly defined steps, a recipe of sorts, to guide them through a project, while others want more open access to the materials and techniques, eager to play with options, make unexpected combinations, and literally venture outside the lines. She seemed to observe some campers being more immediately creative, while others more concerned with “getting it right.” At the same time, we both thought that everyone inherently has the ability to create. But like some muscles, some us are stronger at first and have developed that ability more effectively. There’s the notion that creativity is a force within all of us that we need only set free. And it’s a personal skill worth developing because it can serve us well when faced with new problems or other obstacles in the future.

There’s lots to say about the benefits of developing one’s creativity, and likewise how we might encourage our children to exercise their “creativity muscle,” but it’s worth noting that camp is the perfect place to do that. Everyday there are opportunities to create at camp. “What would you like to do?” is the question. All manner of practical and aesthetic decisions are made throughout the day. There’s time for exploring, and friends to accompany every new journey. Crucially, at Rockbrook there’s constant support and encouragement for trying new things, dressing up, and bold expressions, always without judgment or embarrassment. From acting in the play to evening cabin skits, and for so many more examples, there’s a freedom here to create, to give it a go “just for the fun of it.”

Also though, and this might be the most important factor, at camp there’s no electronic, passive entertainment. We put aside our screens, and thereby open up time to create. Without the seduction of that familiar flicker, camp provides kids the time, space and culture to encourage their creativity to burst out. In this screen-free environment, they can face a blank canvas and dive right in with paint, choose their own colors, and go boldly forward. They can feel more confident to explore what’s unfamiliar, and learn from the process no matter what the outcome.

Celebrating creativity… It’s a pretty fun habit! And good for us too!

Yoga pose kids

First Session Highlights Video

We’re thrilled to have Robbie Francis of Go Swan Filmworks visiting camp again throughout the summer to film and present a series of highlights videos.

For three years now, we’ve had great feedback from parents about Robbie’s videos.  After filming for one day, it’s incredible how he captures all the action at camp, what life here sounds like, and a sense of how happy the girls are.  And all boiled down to just two minutes!

Robbie filmed on Wednesday and now we have his first video. As usual, it’s great fun and I think you’ll really enjoy it.

Wonders Everywhere

Sometimes when you go hiking, the aim is not to cover a great distance, or to reach a particular destination. Instead of a goal, it’s a stroll. Instead of striving forward, some hikes are deliberately slow because what’s on the side of the trail is more interesting. Rockbrook is well known (among those who have looked) to be brimming with subtle points of beauty, magical areas of the forest that stand out as special… a clump of moss with the smallest fern poking through, the gnarly bark of a massive pine tree, or a snail silently sliding along a leaf, for example. With just a little imagination, it’s easy to understand all this beauty as the work of nature spirits, or fairies. It’s part of our camp lore; Rockbrook is a “fairyland of beauty,” as one camp song puts it. We live among fairies enlivening our experience of nature. They are rarely seen themselves, but if you look carefully, you can see evidence of them everywhere. Today a group of Juniors took a short hike looking for just such evidence, and to make it even more fun they decided to dress as fairies too. Exploring along the path to Rockbrook Falls, they found fairy houses, fairy gardens, and even fairy playgrounds, as shiny stones, delicate flowers, and colorful lichens proved the Rockbrook Fairies lived nearby. These girls learned that there are wonders everywhere… If we just slow down, look to the side, and pay attention.

Costume Hikers

Our oldest campers (10th graders), the Hi-Ups, helped teach the younger girls another piece of Rockbrook lore today— how to tie the special “Friendship knot” on the red neckerchief of our camp uniforms. We wear our uniforms only on Sunday mornings and a couple of special events, but the red tie, ideally tied with this knot, is a crucial addition to the white shirt and shorts. The Friendship Knot is also called the “Chinese Square Knot,” “Cross Knot,” and “Rustler’s Knot.” When tied properly it has a distinctive square pattern on one side, and cross on the other, akin to the Chinese ideogram for the number ten. It’s not difficult to tie, but like most knots, the best way to learn it is to have someone demonstrate the twists and turns of the pattern. So today Sarah first taught all the Hi-Ups, and once they mastered the technique, they fanned out across the camp to teach the other campers. Friends helping friends tie Friendship knots. Pretty cool!

Sliding Rock Scream

A trip to Sliding Rock is always exciting— freezing cold water cascading down about 60 feet of sloping rock into a deep pool below, and camp girls taking turns sitting in the water for a thrilling ride and plunge —but tonight when we took all the Seniors, it was even more so. The recent record rains in our area have completely saturated the ground, and even after three days of completely dry weather, we are still seeing higher water levels in the streams and creeks. Looking Glass Creek begins high near the Blue Ridge Parkway and when it reached Sliding Rock tonight it had had a chance to build quite a bit. With our lifeguards waiting at the bottom, rescue tubes ready, the girls had a great time sliding in the faster water as it pushed on their backs down the rock. It was loud, extra-splashy, cold as ever, and more adventurous than usual. While not every Senior braved the ride, some slid four or five times, and probably would have kept sliding if we had had more time.

We topped off the trip with a quick stop at Dolly’s Dairy Bar for a frozen sweet treat.  Everyone enjoys a trip to Dolly’s. With all their special camp combination flavors (“Rockbrook Chocolate Illusion,” for example), plus standards like “Cookie Dough,” there’s something everyone likes.  It didn’t take long for the sugar to kick in and the girls to warm up for the camp songs to burst out.  It’s quite something to see when about 85 teenage girls start singing at the top of their lungs.  The word “powerful” comes to mind.  “Impressive” and “joyous” too.  With this kind of great Rockbrook girls, this much fun simply turns out that way!

Dolly's Girls

That Relaxed Feeling

Weaving Camp Kid

Today we saw more evidence of just how quickly your girls have taken to life at camp. It’s just the first day of activities, and everywhere we look, both the new and returning campers are having a great time with each other. At all the craft activities, hands were busily creating, weaving, painting, pressing clay, trying new friendship bracelets, and decorating all sorts of things. There were balls bouncing on the tennis courts, in the gym for basketball, and out on the gaga ball court. Girls climbed all three sides of the Alpine Tower while others took wild rides through the trees on our zipline course. Girls stretched and posed in the yoga class and made up improvised scenes in the drama activity. Dozens of arrows and .22 caliber ammunition were (respectively!) shot at archery and riflery targets. The sound of the diving board thumping and water splashing all day meant the lake saw lots of action too. Camp life was buzzing with action.

Add to that an absolutely perfect day of weather— brilliant blue skies and sunshine all day, no rain, low humidity and a high temperature barely above 80 degrees —and being here in the mountains was wonderful. Did you know that you can always check the weather conditions here at camp by visiting our weather station on Weather Underground?  On our station page you can find real-time and historical data, as well as weather forecasts for our area.

Rifle Shooting Children

Today was also the first day out on the water for our kayak camp girls and their instructors. The girls practiced their “wet exit” maneuvers (escaping from a kayak after it turns upside down) in the lake yesterday as a refresher, and spent time double checking their boats before loading a van and trailer with other paddling equipment, camping gear and food for their first two-day river trip. These girls already knew each other from camp last summer and had already spent a good amount of time paddling together, so right away they were excited to be set for the next week of river trips. Their plan is to paddle a different river everyday, so we’ll keep you posted about their progress.

Camp Free Time

Describing all the action, the activity that enlivens camp, like this might give you the wrong impression. The busyness is not stressful or burdensome. Just the opposite; there’s a carefree element to it. The girls are relaxing as they play. They’re loosening up while getting to know each other. They’re not rushed from one thing to another. Our daily schedule builds in free time and snack breaks (our famous muffin break in the morning, for example), and has an easy pace. We eat great food, get plenty of rest, and spend the majority of our day outside. There’s time for conversation all day long, time for silliness, dressing up, and a good laugh with friends. A camper told me today that she loves camp because “it’s so chill.” I think she’s noticing and appreciating the relaxed pace of life at camp, especially in contrast to life at school.

I suspect that’s true for lots of girls at Rockbrook. However ironic, they love the relaxed feeling along with the variety of action built into the rhythms of camp life. What a great way to recharge and enjoy yourself. Your girls are already thanking you.

zip line children

Jayne’s Backpacking Classes for Women

Jayne Fought teaching hiking at Rockbrook Camp

You probably didn’t know it, but Jayne, who has, since 2015, helped Rockbrook girls enjoy adventure trips at camp, also teaches women’s backpacking classes.

You’ve seen Jayne at camp guiding rafts down the Nantahala, leading overnight canoe trips on the French Broad, leading groups through our zipline course, guiding backpacking and camping trips in Pisgah, and leading day hikes in Dupont, just to name few of her adventures with Rockbrook campers.

Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine has just published an interesting article profiling Jayne and the women’s backpacking classes she offers here in western North Carolina. Here’s a link so you can go read, Hard Fought: Backpacking Buff Empowers Women to Hike.

Go check out the article. You’ll learn about Jayne’s background, more about her outdoor adventure experience, and I bet you’ll notice several people in the article’s photos.

Way to go Jayne!