Author Archives: Jeff Carter

For many of us this was an especially emotional evening because we held our last Spirit Fire of the summer. The Spirit Fire is another of the long traditions at Rockbrook, something that’s been a closing ceremony for every session since the camp’s founding more than 100 years ago. It’s a campfire ceremony held on the large rock (“Vesper Rock”) overlooking the camp lake. Surrounded by huge white oak and hemlock trees, the entire camp gathers there dressed in our red and white uniforms. In the same fire ring as generations of Rockbrook girls have done in the past, we build a great campfire. We begin near dusk, so as the surrounding woods turn from green to blue to grey and finally to black, the orange glow of the campfire looks gorgeous. With crickets and frogs chirping, and the sound of the waterfall into the lake faintly splashing in the background, we create an almost dreamy setting.

The Spirit Fire program provides an opportunity to recall and reflect upon the rich experiences we shared during the session. We sing favorite traditional camp songs and listen as fellow campers and counselors share their thoughts about their time at camp. For example, we sing “How Did we Come to Meet Pal” and “The Streams and the Mountains,” just two favorites. The speakers are selected from all age groups (Juniors, Middlers, Seniors, and Hi-Ups) and from both first-year and returning counselors.

The speeches tonight confirmed what we’ve all been experiencing this session— a profound closeness, a special feeling of connection and comfort shared with the others at camp. One word that kept coming up was “home.” Campers described feeling “at home” here at Rockbrook. One simply said, “When I’m at camp, I’m home.” And a counselor put it perfectly, “Rockbrook is my home, not because of the place, but because of the people.” All of these speakers realized that as camp enlivens the best part of ourselves, as we live those core relationship values of kindness and caring, we make the best friends of our lives. Through the day, we find our true selves relaxing into the generous arms of a supportive community.

That’s why the Spirit Fire is bittersweet. It’s a wonderful reminder of why these girls love camp, of why, for many, it’s their favorite time of the year. Nowhere else do they feel this good and have these kinds of close relationships. But the Spirit Fire also marks the end of the session and the time when we must soon say goodbye. Camp friends are the best friends, but they are also usually seen only once a year. Closing camp for this reason is always sad.

It’s been especially gratifying this session to see your girls enjoy the special experiences of camp, to learn and grow individually, and to forge so many close camp friendships. We are so grateful to everyone— campers, staff, and parents alike —for helping make this session so successful. Thank you! We know Rockbrook means as much to all of you as it does to us. We are already looking forward to being together again next summer.

Today we proved once again that Rockbrook girls love to go whitewater rafting, as we spent the day over at the Nantahala River. It was back in the early 1980s when Rockbrook received a Forest Service permit to run rafting trips on the Nantahala. Rockbrook is still the only girls camp to have this type of permit. This allows us to take everyone who might wish to go (though only Middlers and Seniors are old enough), use our own equipment, train our own guides, and take trips at our convenience. Over the years, whitewater rafting has become the most popular adventure trip we offer. I’d say 95% of the girls eligible to go will sign up for one of the trips. Today 71 people rafted the Nantahala in two groups, with half going in the morning and the other half after lunch— two trips in one day.

Take a look at the online photo gallery of today’s rafting and you’ll see right away that the girls had a fantastic day on the river. Something about rafting inspires even more silliness, more laughter, and more frolicking. While rafting, they’re posing for the camera, making “high fives” with their paddles, “playing dead,” and recreating movie scenes, for example. Even though they have to paddle the boats now and then, the splashing water and bumps from the rapids keeps things playful and exciting.

Today’s weather was ideal for rafting too— hot and sunny, which is nice when combined with the chilly 50-degree water of the Nantahala. The 9-mile section of the river takes us about 2 hours to raft. It’s a series of calm floating sections and wild whitewater rapids with names like “The Bump,” “Patton’s Run,” “Delbar’s Rock,” and “Surfer’s Rapid.” Like most things at camp, a big part of the fun of rafting comes from the fact that you’re doing it with friends. This makes every surprising bump hilarious, especially when someone falls out of the raft and needs a pull to get back in, or when “riding the bull” on the front of the raft ends up in a fall backwards into the boat, feet waving in the air. The final rapid of the trip is the Nantahala Falls, a class-III, double drop rapid that is powerful and fun. It never fails to get everyone screaming, and at the bottom, to create feelings of celebration after making it through. It’s the perfect highlight ending for a day of adventure.

Back at camp in time for dinner… well actually about 20 minutes late, which meant we joined the meal already in motion, the girls were surprised to find the dining hall tables rearranged and everyone sitting in different places (not in their cabin groups as usual). There were 12 large tables, one for each month, because it was “birthday night!” Everyone was seated according to their birth month. Plus, there were some amazing costumes on display. It was a “not so scary Halloween” costume dinner, with wild hats, wigs, sunglasses, colorful shirts and dresses. Each month had its own decorated cake to share as well. With funny halloween-themed music playing, it was s party!

Keeping the costume theme going, our evening program was an all-camp dance in the gym. Our friend and local DJ, DJ Marcus, was set up with his sound and light equipment when the girls arrived in waves. Soon the gym was packed with girls jumping and singing along to their favorite pop songs. I’m always impressed how Marcus will mix in a few group dances like the “Cha Cha Slide” to encourage everyone, even the more reserved girls, to join in the moves.

Walking up the hill after the dance, one of the girls who had also gone rafting said to me she felt “pretty tired, in a good way.” “Me too,” I thought. Camp life is generally full of action, keeping us moving throughout the day. All the chatting, smiling and laughing, plus the intensely stimulating things we do— climbing, riding, creating, rafting, dancing, etc. —makes this a rich way be. We’re not zoning out in front of a glowing screen. We’re actively engaged with real world textures and sensations, bolstered by an incredibly enthusiastic and supportive group of people. There’s really nothing, nothing this good, quite like it !

On a day like this, it takes about one minute around here for signs of camp to appear. Today was the opening day of our Third and August Mini sessions, a day when we welcomed a new group of girls to Rockbrook. For some of these girls, this was the first time they had ever seen the camp in person. They may have studied our website and watched a few of the videos there, but they had not yet experienced camp life. Others were returning to camp, eager to see camp friends and relive what they love about Rockbrook. For everyone this was the start, the day they’d been anticipating for months.

It may have been the start, but from the very first moment we had smiling girls, excited counselors, and easy friendships forming. Out of every arriving car stepped a camper itching to get started. There was also some jitteriness, but that too seemed par for something this new and exciting. Right away campers were meeting other girls, greeting their counselor, and learning the names of everyone. In some cases friends would recognize each other and run toward each other screaming with delight ready for a long awaited reunion hug.

Immediately, girls were playing games and joining others on the hill to take a turn smacking the tetherball. They were unfolding their crazy creek chairs, side by side, to have a conversation. They were gathering their things and, together with their bunkmates, tackling the task of making their beds, stringing fairy lights, and arranging everyone’s trunks in their cabins. The girls were wearing their wood-chip nametags and their Rockbrook t-shirts. They were already walking with a buddy, sometimes holding hands, confidently making their way around. In their first moments at camp, these girls were off!

Right before lunch, the whole camp assembled in the shade of the big walnut tree on the hill for a few songs and introductions. All the directors said hello, as well as the group of 10th grade Hi-Ups. Even Felix, the camp dog, made an appearance, happily the focus of many petting hands.

Somehow it’s become a tradition of sorts to serve Rick’s homemade mac-n-cheese for lunch on opening days. It’s probably because it’s such good comfort food and the girls love it. It’s got three or four different kinds of cheese and a crunchy breadcrumb topping that makes it delicious. Sautéed fresh vegetables and cut juicy watermelon rounded out the meal.

Camp tours came next with every cabin group eventually making it down to the lake for our “swimming demonstrations.” This is a chance to learn about the waterfront area, our tag system and all the opportunities to swim each day at camp. Each girl took turns jumping off the dock, swimming and treading water to demonstrate how comfortable she is in the chilly mountain water. With the lifeguards in the water for encouragement, most everyone did well and received a blue tag for the tag board.

Later this afternoon, the counselors took turns performing brief skits as a way to advertise the different activity options to the campers. Using costumes, songs, and dances, and they gave the campers a chance to learn about the activities and to see who will be teaching. It will be helpful for the campers to know this when they select their first schedule of activities later this evening.

It’s been a beautiful day to get the session started. Camp life is appearing all around, and with the start of activities tomorrow, we’ll see it truly blossom. I can already tell these girls are going to jump right in.

After the excitement and intense celebration of the banquet last night, the mood shifted for our closing campfire. This “Spirit Fire” has been a tradition at Rockbrook for its more than 100 year long history. It is a special time to celebrate each session by gathering around a campfire to reflect a little about camp, to sing a few special songs, and to mark our time together with a shared candlelight ceremony. With everyone dressed in their red and white uniforms, complete with red ties for campers, we fan out across the low wooden benches around the campfire area near the lake. All of the campers, counselors and directors fit snuggly in that space, shoulder to shoulder, all focused on the great fire lit up front.

The program features several traditional songs that are perhaps a little less silly or raucous and a little more serious or significant. We sing “In the Heart of a Wooded Mountain,” for example, which we call the “camp song.” It describes Rockbrook as a “fairyland of beauty where friendships so true are born.” We sing “How Did We Come to Meet Pal,” a song that reminds us that camp teaches “the meaning of the real worth of friendship born to last.” Another favorite song we sing at Spirit Fire is called “The Streams and the Mountains.” It has a nice waltz beat and cheerful melody as it evokes the feeling of camp, “a special place for which we yearn.”

The most interesting part of the event is the speeches given by campers of all ages and a few staff members. These short reflections about camp weave between songs, and are interesting because they reveal how the speakers feel about camp, funny details of their experience and what Rockbrook means to them.

Tonight I noticed a theme of sorts running through several of the Spirit Fire speeches. One camper described how she was at first very nervous coming to camp, especially not knowing anyone already attending. After a few days, though, she was surprised how quickly she began to make friends and feel comfortable. Another camper said she was surprised to find Rockbrook people so “friendly and nice.” A first-time counselor found herself surprised how much fun she was having at her summer job. Several campers described how their camp friends were surprisingly closer than their friends at home. One 4-week camper said she was surprised how quickly her session went by.

All of these speakers, you see, talked about being surprised by some aspect of their camp experience. They were pleasantly surprised by Rockbrook. Their worries turned out to be unfounded. They actually made friends easily, were comfortable at camp, found nice people, and had plenty of fun. They found that initial jitters didn’t last, and hiccups were only temporary. It’s hard to believe that camp can be this different, this much better than their non-camp lives, but it is. Surprise!

Again, many of us found ourselves sniffling and choking up a bit during the speeches, especially when the speakers themselves became emotional. Each reminder that this was our last night together this session made those emotions even more powerful. Each time someone said Rockbrook felt like home, we would hear echoes of soft whimpers.

The Spirit Fire program ends with everyone sharing part of the campfire by lighting a small white candle. Sarah and the other directors first light their candle from the fire, and then pass it along to each camper’s and staff member’s candle. Everyone then forms a circle around the lake facing the water. It’s a beautiful moment to see how strong the spirit of Rockbrook is among everyone there.

Now we have to say goodbye until next summer. We leave a little stronger and more confident, more comfortable at camp, and knowing that this haven in the “heart of a wooded mountain” will always be our home. It’s been an amazing session, one that we will all remember fondly.