Camp Blog

Today we hit a high adventure note and offered several out of camp trips to the girls. While some of the adventure offerings here at Rockbrook are part of our regular activity schedule (for example, zip lining and Alpine Tower climbing), and hence happen almost everyday with almost every camper experiencing them at some point, others are “sign up” trips that are special off-camp outings. The girls sign up for these out-of-camp adventure trips when announced the day before.

One of those trips took a group of campers over near Saluda to the lower section of the Green River for whitewater kayaking. The Green is the next step in our kayaking progression after a trip on the French Broad (which also happened this week!). The Green takes basic skills applied in moving water— catching an eddy, ferrying, and peeling out, for example —and turns them up a notch. The water on the Green is moving a little faster, has more features, and few true rapids where the girls need to maneuver their boats more precisely. Our longtime lead kayaking instructor Leland Davis (who by the way is very well-known in the national paddling community) loves introducing kids to whitewater boating. Our Rockbrook girls had a good day out on the water. Leland says they all did well, even successfully surfing one section where the water makes a perfect waveform. With the Green River successfully run, there’ll be more challenging rivers to hit next week.

Another boating trip returned today after spending the night out camping. This was an overnight canoeing trip along the French Broad River here in Transylvania County. The girls gathered tents, cooking equipment and food, and their personal items (clothes, sleeping bag, etc.) in special “dry bags” so everything could be loaded into canoes. They paddled tandem canoes, two campers per boat— bow and stern —starting near Rosman and gently making their way downriver toward Rockbrook. About halfway, they pulled over to set up camp on a grassy field near the river. A campfire, s’mores, and sleeping in tents turned it into a real camping trip. More paddling in the morning, the crew returned to camp before noon, tired but cheerful.

After dinner tonight a cabin of junior campers (Juniors are the youngest girls at camp.) took a special trip to a local berry farm owned by our Staff Director Wendy Manner and her family. The girls were thrilled to spend time with ducks and chickens, and a very furry bunny. They could experience the animals up close, pick them up feeling their feathers and fur. The farm grows flowers as well, so the girls were able to harvest a few different varieties and make their own bouquets. They learned a bit about the plants grown, the organic fertilizer produced in a compost pile, and how the eggs are gathered from the chicken house. To round out the evening, there was a campfire where the girls could roast marshmallows, make s’mores and sing a few camp songs. A classic treat before taking the short drive back to camp.

It’s wonderful to see these Rockbrook girls jumping feet first into all this adventure. They are showing that with a dash of bravery, and with some enthusiastic encouragement, they can do what might initially seem scary or even impossible. Together they find themselves meeting challenges and solving problems. Even in these adventure settings, they are accomplishing things, handling what comes, and growing more confident in the process. You might think these girls need a lot of help. But mostly, they don’t. In so many ways, these Rockbrook girls can…!

I had a conversation with a few counselors today that revealed another important part of the culture at Rockbrook, something that helps define the tone of our days here. We were standing around talking after breakfast and another staff member came up to ask me a quick question, but before launching immediately into what was on her mind, she paused and first said hello, asking how I was this morning. With genuine interest, she thoughtfully reconnected with me before dealing with her own concerns. It really struck me and when she left I made a point to tell the other staff members about how impressed I was with the encounter. “Did you see that? She was so genuinely caring, even when needing something!” It was a wonderful example of being kind and caring to others, recognizing the other people around you, and being sensitive to their feelings and experience. It was a simple expression of compassion.

That’s the vibe around here. We try to remember; the people come first. We discuss this idea and practice it at length during our staff training week, and of course keep a look out for those qualities when hiring staff members in the first place. It’s the idea that foremost at camp we are creating relationships. We are exercising those personal qualities that draw us closer to others: kindness, generosity, caring, compassion, paying attention to others’ needs. You might call it simply being “nice,” but recognizing how these qualities are outwardly focused is key. That’s what makes a great Rockbrook staff member, someone who can model these personal qualities and help encourage positive relationships at camp. When you meet a Rockbrook camper or staff member, and see that she’s so friendly, this is why.

But this staff member demonstrated the more important part of this idea— that caring should come first, not just included when it’s convenient, but first. This can often be difficult to do especially when you’re feeling rushed, when your own concerns feel urgent, or when your principled agenda seems completely clear to you. That counselor really needed her question answered, but she put me and our relationship first before asking it. Another example, and certainly a more difficult one, is when you have to reprimand someone or give a person critical feedback, like when a counselor needs to correct a camper’s negative behavior. Even when that camper’s behavior is frustrating or annoying, we try to begin by remembering the positive qualities of our relationship, the sense of mutual care and support we all share at camp. That kindness, the gentle compassion of it, makes a big difference. In a community this close, it’s crucial, and at Rockbrook, it’s something that defines who we are. Sure, we don’t always live up to this ideal, but we recognize it as a value we strive to realize.

Everyday on the back porch of the Curosty cabin, you can find girls carefully threading needles with colorful string and yarn for cross-stitch, crochet and knitting projects. That’s where the “Needlecraft” activity meets. It’s a wonderful shady spot looking out into the woods and within earshot of Rockbrook Creek babbling through the center of camp. Like all the porches around camp (There are 8 different ones, not counting the smaller porches on some of the cabins), this is a welcoming place to hang out and enjoy the company of other campers. Cool and breezy, these porches are really comfortable in the summer, great places to work on an arts and crafts project like drawing, making jewelry or cross-stitch. And as you might expect, they are likewise the scene of many hilarious conversations.

It’s been fun to poke my head into the pottery studio this week. This is one of the activities that’s immediately accessible, with simple techniques that take very little time to demonstrate and learn. Coils, slabs, pinching and shaping! No matter what age the camper, she will have an idea of what to do with that clay. It’s almost an instinct. I also noticed several girls working on the more advance skill of using the potters’s wheel. Several were really getting the hang of it too. Starting carefully, they were drawing the centered clay slowly upward forming the wall of their cup or bowl. Later, after their pieces dry, they’ll paint on difference glazes that will turn bright and colorful after being fired in the kilns. There really are some amazing works of art being produced!

Feel free to reach out to us at anytime if we can answer a question or help somehow. Thanks for your support and encouragement. Your girls are having a great time in “The Heart of a Wooded Mountain.”

I suspect that every parent would love to spend some time at camp. Not so much to do the activities we have, though riding the zipline course is pretty cool, but rather to just hang out and watch the campers in their element.

Every activity area is absolutely fascinating! After a few instructions from the counselors or guides, the girls eagerly jump into action, each cabin group gathering supplies, donning protective equipment (harnesses or helmets, for example), and setting about the tasks at hand. There’s always something to learn— belay commands before climbing the tower, how to aim their rifle, twist their t-shirt before dyeing, leading their horse out into the arena, measuring ingredients for making soap, and so much more —and thereby always something new to try. You’d be amazed at the girls’ immediate willingness to give everything a go. I think this has a lot to do with the thoroughly non-competitive spirit in everything we do here at Rockbrook. We’re never judging who’s the best, or concerned about how any one person compares in their skills or talents (or looks! or charm!.) This means it’s easier for girls to be themselves, to try new things, and to be open to all sorts of things they otherwise might not have the courage to do. There’s built-in enthusiasm for almost everything as a result, a real joy to do more, experience more, and enjoy more while being comfortable in your own skin. Again, it’s positively fascinating to see a group of children empowered and happy, liberated in a way, when placed in this environment. Combine that with the delightfully social dimension of camp, all the chatting, laughing and regular togetherness, and you have quite a show. It’s just so rare ordinarily to see a group of girls, with no smartphones in sight (hmmm…. maybe that has something to do with it too…), this engaged, this enthusiastic, this confidently at ease and joyful. Fascinating!

I’m sure you’ve heard that this year marks 100 years from the founding of Rockbrook in 1921. We are celebrating that birthday throughout the summer culminating with an alumnae reunion to be held in late August. While so many things at Rockbrook have been updated (all the bathrooms and showers, the office, the riding center, many of the cabins, and so forth), there are portions of the camp that are in fact 100 years old— the stone lodges, many of the cabins, and most of the dining hall (it was expanded twice over the years), for example. Of course, the whole forested environment has that historic, old-growth feel to it as well. Ancient trees, massive boulders, and the French Broad River have been the camp’s constant companions.

Today we discovered another almost 100-year-old part of the camp— the sewer line that serves the kitchen. Snaking downhill under the dining hall and out under the driveway, the old terracotta line served us all very well… until this morning. Suddenly, things were not draining properly and the call went out to investigate. It turns out that the oak tree in front of the dining hall had grown a root into a portion of the pipe creating a blockage. After about an hour of (messy) digging, we replaced a section of the line with a nice modern PVC pipe. All covered underground, we’re now happily washing dishes again.

After dinner, 4 cabins of senior girls, their counselors and lifeguards all loaded up in buses and vans for an evening trip to Sliding Rock. This has been a popular outing with Rockbrook girls for decades. Sitting down in the “freezing” cold water, zipping over the 60-ft rock slab and dunking into the pool at the bottom is truly a classic camp experience. We again were lucky and arrived to find nobody else sliding, and we were able to have the place to ourselves. Sliding two at a time, the girls rotated back in line with many taking three or four trips before it was finally too dark to continue. And to top off the trip, we all agreed nothing could beat a stop at Dolly’s Dairy Bar. The great folks there were ready and waiting for all 56 of us to enjoy a cup or cone of our favorite flavor of ice cream. It was a bit late when we finally got back to camp and the girls could turn in for the night, but that’s OK because it meant we had another good full day at camp.

Today almost half the camp dropped into some high adventure as we took Middlers and Seniors whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River. Located about 2 hours west of Rockbrook, the Nantahala is a popular river to raft with thousands of people enjoying the scenic ride every year. Rockbrook has been taking campers there to raft since the early 1980s —longer than any other camp— and is the only girls summer camp awarded a permit to run its own trips down the river. This means we have our own equipment, hire our own guides, and follow an approved US Forest Service operating plan. It also means we can take large groups of campers down the river without having to hire an outside company, or charging anything extra.

As a result, rafting over the years has become a regular part of the Rockbrook adventure program, easily being the most popular off-camp trip. I’d say 95% of the girls offered the chance, are thrilled to go. Why? Because it’s so uniquely fun. It’s all the gear. You feel tough just wearing the PFD and putting on the helmet. It’s figuring out how to sit on the raft, bracing your feet under the thwarts, the challenge of holding paddle, and timing your paddle strokes with the others in your boat. Mostly of course, rafting is a blast because you’re in the boat with your friends, bumping and bouncing over the waves, being splashed unexpectedly with bright, cold water. Between rapids there are calm stretches of the river where the girls can jump in for a quick swim and feel the shock of the especially cold Nantahala river. There’s also plenty of time to chat, sing, and goof around for the camera. The trips today were perfect, both the morning and afternoon runs—warm and sunny weather, great timing to avoid other rafting companies’ trips, and a delicious picnic lunch packed for us. The girls had a really great time.

What happens when you plant a garden of colorful plants, ones that have special dye qualities, leaf and stem varieties, and then introduce paint, textiles, paper and ink? You have the perfect inspiration for art. You have garden art, or what some campers are starting to call “gart.”

Gart is one of our newest activities at Rockbrook this summer. Conceived and led by Bailey Knight and Sara Green, this outdoor art activity is super cool and unique. This morning a cabin of girls painted, pressed and designed cards and plaques using flowers and leaves. The project included hammering these natural materials between squares of paper, and using paints to add complementary colors and designs. Another project involved taking white linen, soaking it in “rust water,” and then steaming plants to release tannins into the cloth. Beginning with these organic materials creates really nice textures and patterns, true works of art the girls can be proud of.

One quick note about mail at camp. It’s worth repeating that girls love getting mail at camp, the old-fashioned paper kind. Sure you can send emails, and those are easier for parents, but nothing beats a real letter or card. Our local Post Office can be overwhelmed and slower in the summer, so planning ahead is important.

Even after just a few days, we’re seeing so many of the things that make camp great for children. The friendships and community feeling are growing stronger as we spend this time together in this beautiful place.

Our daily schedule at Rockbrook includes four 1-hour blocks of activity time where the girls go to a specific area of camp to climb, shoot, create, ride, swim, and so forth. Meals, of course, are also scheduled, but in addition, there are three hour-long periods of free time where the girls can explore camp on their own, head to the lake for “free swim,” play tennis or gaga ball, or just take a leisurely shower, for example. There’s a good balance of “things I know I’ll do” and “things I might decide to do.” This balance of scheduled activity time and regular free time is true this summer too, even though for “COVID reasons” we are assigning activities by cabin group. So a camper might take climbing and pottery with the girls in her cabin, but during the first free swim period decide to play tetherball with other girls on her line.

By the way, this system of rotating activities as cabin groups is what allows the girls to remove their masks (if they feel comfortable doing so) during the activities. When the only campers present are girls from the same sleeping cabin, masks are optional, even though we ask our staff members to model good masking when when assisting a camper up close. If you page through the daily photo gallery online (and I hope you will!), you’ll see a whole range of girls wearing and not wearing masks. During free time, when the campers have more freedom to interact with girls outside their cabin group, mask wearing is more common, just as it is less common during the scheduled activities involving a single cabin group.

Today that new activity rotation system burst onto the scene scattering every cabin group in a different direction. Every part of camp came alive with excited action. We had juniors shooting rifles, and a group of middlers riding the zipline. There were some seniors kayaking and others weaving. One group took a hike to a waterfall in the nearby Dupont State Forest. Another stretched, balanced and pulled themselves up the indoor climbing wall, while still another found themselves learning about color theory by mixing tempura paints on paper. These girls were busy! A full slate of camp activities filling our day.

Another reason to spend time scrolling through the photo gallery is to get a sense of our staff members. You may have guessed this if you read their staff profiles, but seeing them in action is truly impressive. More than 75% of them are former campers who have grown up coming to Rockbrook, or are former staff members from previous summers. Missing last year, there were many of these young women eager to return to camp, and now after last week’s orientation and training, they are doing an amazing job. Kind and enthusiastic, patient and fun, these are great folks that your girls will really admire.

The 9th grade campers, who we call “CAs,” took a hike to discuss their ideas for the end-of-session party known around here as “Banquet.” These girls plan the entire party from the food, decorations, music and entertainment, which can include costumed dances and skits. They also select a single theme for their banquet plans, so this hike was to discuss and ultimately select their secret theme. Starting with more than two dozen ideas, they narrowed down the list and landed on something that will appeal to all the ages in camp. It’s always fun to see how they bring together all their ideas and present a really fun event for the entire camp. In just a few short weeks, we’ll all find out!

This session is off to a wonderful start. It’s an absolute joy to see.

Hello from Rockbrook! Today we opened our first session of the summer 2021 season. After months of planning, and really two years of thinking about how camp would be this summer, the opening day arrived. Finally, we can welcome girls to camp, introduce them to all the other amazing campers and staff members that make up this community, and begin to experience all the special aspects of camp life. “More than ever” seems to be the phrase of the day. Given the feelings of loss, and many struggles imposed upon everyone by the coronavirus pandemic, we all need camp more than ever. The time outside, the laughter and smiling faces, the closeness of friendship, the hilarious silliness, the opportunity for fresh, real-world (tech-free) experience— yep, more than ever. You can already see it on the girls faces and hear it in their voices. They’re so happy to be here, so ready to play, to be carefree kids, and to enjoy the fun of camp. For the staff too, they missed this place and the simpler, more genuine life camp provides. This has always been true at Rockbrook, summer after summer, but this year, it’s even more so.

Thank you parents for helping make our new opening day procedure so smooth. Your attention to the details of our pre-camp protocols and instructions (so many forms! emails! text messages!) really helped make this new check-in a success. We especially appreciate all the effort you put into keeping your girls healthy before arriving. We know the symptom monitoring, and the testing was an added burden, but we think it is well worth the benefit it provides the whole camp community. Thank you! If you have any feedback about your check-in experience, we’d love to hear from you.

One worry about this new procedure was that the campers would not have their parents to help settle them into their cabin. From the camper’s point of view, his turned out to be unjustified. Since we had campers stagger their arrivals by age, this helped the girls in each cabin arrive close to one another, and that allowed everyone to set up their bunks together. A fun new group project was born, with the counselors and bunkmates helping make the whole cabin more comfortable. We were able the launch the whole cabin group into action right away. A great thing!

As campers arrived throughout the morning, those cabin groups already settled enjoyed playing tetherball, snacking on homemade banana bread, and exploring the main areas of camp. Sunny skies made this wonderful. By noon, everyone had arrived and were ready for our first dining hall lunch— Rick’s famous mac-n-cheese. Over the years (This is Rick’s 11th year managing the Rockbrook kitchen.), this has become a favorite opening day meal. With roasted broccoli, and bowls of freshly cut fruit, this meal is a true crowd pleaser. It think the secret is the 3 different kinds of cheese he uses, but it’s bound to be more than just that!

The girls had time for cabin meetings after lunch. They discussed general rules and good habits for getting along in such close living quarters. They talked about their “cabin contracts” that can help address disagreements, and guide their interactions positively. For example, they agreed that you should ask permission before sitting on another person’s bed.

The afternoon brought everyone to the lake. The lifeguards and directors took time to explain the safety procedures of the waterfront area and answer everyone’s questions about how to make the most of the swimming opportunities at camp— the “mermaid” (lap swimming) club, the water slide, floats, and free swim times. Then, cabin by cabin, the girls took turns demonstrating their swimming ability by jumping off the dock, swimming and treading water for a minute. Each camper received a “swim tag” based on that ability which determines where in the lake they can swim. We have ways to allow everyone at Rockbrook to enjoy the lake, no matter what their swimming ability. With fun music playing, and the encouraging cheers of friends, these “swim demos” were a fun way to spend the afternoon. Was the water cold? Let’s just say it was “refreshing.”

At its core, camp is about connection. It’s about taking a break from our screens, and discovering the beauty of nature that’s been there all along. It’s about the joy of friendship found in simple shared experience. In these ways and others, camp is such a relief. And yes, this summer, that’s true more than ever.

Summer 2021! Rockbrook’s 100th birthday! It’s hard not to be excited about the coming camp season, but at the same time to wonder what the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis will mean for camp. While there is some good news on the horizon as vaccines become increasingly available, we know the coronavirus will most likely still be a concern this summer, and our planning must include specific steps to maintain the health and safety of our entire camp community.

As we consider additional protocols and how we might modify our current procedures to address these concerns, we’re fortunate to have several sources of expert advice and guidance. Our national accrediting organization, the American Camp Association (ACA), has worked with the CDC and an expert panel of health professionals to publish a “Field Guide for Camps.” Written with input from State Health Departments across the country as well, including North Carolina, this is an ever-updating summary of information and best practices for camps. This Field Guide is excellent, and Rockbrook will use it extensively as we plan for the summer of 2021.

We realize too that the effects of the pandemic and the country’s response to it are still changing, and that therefore our plans must remain flexible as new information becomes clear. We hope you can be patient as we learn more and slowly crystalize the details of our plans. Most importantly, yes, we are actively planning to hold camp at Rockbrook this coming summer.

So how will camp be different in summer 2021? With all of the current health and safety concerns, recognized best practices and Covid-19 information for camps, and a degree of provisionality in mind, we do expect a few changes. For example, to minimize the risk of spreading any infection, we will wear masks when appropriate, change how we gather in large groups, how we schedule our activities, and how we eat our meals.

Here are a few other points of action we are considering in our plans:

• Utilize Covid-19 testing for all staff and campers, both as a pre-arrival screening and on-going assessment.
• Define cohort groupings: cabins as “families” and larger “neighborhoods.”
• Wear masks when appropriate (e.g. when within 6 feet of different cohorts).
• Eat meals mostly outside with greater outdoor, covered eating areas.
• Enhance our sanitation procedures and emphasize hand washing.
• Expand our on-site medical staff and Health Hut procedures.
• Alter our opening and closing day procedures to limit contact.
• Emphasize outdoor activity whenever possible.
• Limit exposure to “non-camp” population generally.

It is likely we will be able to offer most of our core programming for in-camp activities (including rock climbing, ziplining and hiking), as well as most off-site adventure trips.

Again, like us, we hope you will remain flexible as we work to create a safe camp environment. We’re committed to keeping everyone informed as we move toward that goal.

While camp will be different in some ways, we know there will still be the kind of authentic friendship, daily experience with nature, opportunities for creativity and adventure, and the kind of carefree fun the Rockbrook community always provides. More than ever, it seems, we all need camp, so we’re extremely excited about this coming summer at Rockbrook.

Thank you once again for your overwhelming support and encouragement over this past year. It’s been a real comfort to know our camp families love Rockbrook as we do, and a true joy to feel that camp spirit in anticipation of our next summer together.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about next summer, give us a shout. We are always happy to hear from you!