Dear Moosilauke Families,

Our letters home—of which this is the third for summer 2019 covering Friday, July 5 through Tuesday, July 9th—are one avenue for you to stay in touch with what is happening at Camp. Liking us on Facebook and following us on Instagram (@camp_moosilauke) are two other great ways to have pictures, videos, and essays pushed out to you. And of course you can view the daily pictures that we post on Shutterfly by clicking here.

Friday was another warm and sunny day so all activities were a go. Inter-camp competition included a 10s tennis tournament at a neighboring camp and a 13s lacrosse game at Moose. A group of campers headed out on a climbing trip to the Rumney crags. A group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) ventured to the Wentworth Waterhole on a mountain biking expedition. The Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) enjoyed an afternoon swimming in the natural water slides of Baker Cliffs, followed by an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops. Another group of campers enjoyed a day hitting the links at the Bradford Golf Club. Friday meals included bagels for breakfast, Philly cheese steak sandwiches and fries for lunch, and “Kenny Cookout” for dinner (chicken, sausage, pasta salad, and cornbread). In the evening, the oldest campers, the Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds), headed into Hanover for a “fluff” trip of pizza and a movie. Evening activities included tubing, fishing, a stand-up paddle boarding and canoeing extravaganza, and a tall tale around a campfire on the beach from Port.

Saturday morning, campers participated in our annual Baker Valley Tournament, a day of competition for multiple age groups in basketball, baseball, soccer, and Ultimate frisbee against neighboring camps. Those not involved in competition had their choice of sign-ups at the waterfront, tennis, lacrosse, woodworking, arts & crafts, Backcountry Leadership Program (BLP), and mountain biking. A rain storm arrived early afternoon, so the campers and counselors enjoyed a much needed respite from the hot, warm weather of the first week as activities were shifted indoors. There were board games, a “Rock-em Sock-em” tournament, bowling, card games, mini-golf, bingo, greeting card-making, and a movie in the Rec Hall. Meals on Saturday included egg sandwiches for breakfast, assorted sandwich meats, cheese, and salads for lunch, and pizza for dinner. In the evening, it was movie night, with a viewing of “The Goonies” on Junior Hill and “The Knight’s Tale” on Senior Hill. As per usual, there was popcorn served to all, compliments of the CITs. 

Sunday, the weather was beautiful once again. In the morning, the second group of Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) departed for their overnight canoeing adventure on Lake Umbagog and the Androscoggin River. For the rest of Camp, it was another “Lazy Sunday” with a buffet breakfast of made-to-order omelets, sausage, chocolate chip muffins, yogurt and fruit bar, and hot chocolate. The boys enjoyed some down time in the am playing cards, pick-up basketball and soccer, a variety of field games, reading, and lounging on the beach. Lunch was chicken tenders and french fries, with a full salad bar. In the afternoon, there were special activity sessions such as cardio tennis, a bouldering competition, yoga on the stand-up paddle boards, water polo, one-on-one lacrosse competitions, a home run derby, tie-dye, a boating adventure to the end of the lake, water balloon archery, and a sailing regatta. There were also 3 different day trips that included: a fishing trip to Indian Pond, a mountain biking/swimming adventure, and a climbing trip to the Rumney crags. 

Sunday also saw the Junior Counselors began their three-day Wilderness First Aid (WFA) training. Before dinner, we convened for our weekly community gathering that included: shoutouts and nice moments from the campers and staff; camper reports on three overnight adventure trips; a top ten list of activity and sports highlights from the week; a first person essay read aloud from a counselor; and a whole camp sing-along about Moosilauke to the tune of “Sweet Caroline.” Dinner was the usual cabin cookout of hamburgers and hot dogs. Evening activities included open areas and tubing. Finally, two cabins were rewarded with a viewing of “Toy Story 4” at the Fairlee Drive-In for having the best clean-up scores for the past week. 

Monday, a group of Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) departed early for their 2-night, 3-day backpacking trip to the Mt. Washington region. According to a counselor that has been to the summit multiple times, they had “the best weather that has ever existed on the top of Mt. Washington.” It was sunny and clear—and the winds were only gusting at 50 mph! (Fun fact: for nearly sixty-two years, Mount Washington held the world record for the fastest wind gust ever recorded on the surface of the Earth—231 miles per hour, recorded April 12, 1934 by Mount Washington Observatory staff.) On the first day of the trip the group hiked 3.6 miles uphill to their campsite, where they dropped their packs and then continued a 3 mile loop to summit Mt. Adams. A dinner of mac-n-cheese and sausage made everyone happy. A beautiful sunset culminated a great first day. The next morning the group summited Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Clay, and Mt. Washington and covered a total of 8 miles. They gorged on peanut butter, Nutella, and tortillas for lunch and creamy broccoli and tuna pasta for dinner. The final day each camper was allowed a 2-mile “solo” hike back to the trailhead. The campers were spaced 3 minutes apart so that they could enjoy the last bit of the hike on their own. They finished up with a short hike together and ate 5 large pizzas at Enzo’s on their way back to Moose.

Also on Monday, a second group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) went on a mountain biking trek to the Waterhole for a picnic lunch and swim. The Junior Bs (eight and nine-year-olds) spent the night at our lakeside Point campsite, cooking dinner and S’mores over a campfire, fishing, swimming, telling “tall tales,” and reading before falling asleep in a log cabin for the evening. They made it back to Camp in time for Moose Bears the next morning! Competition on Monday included an all-ages track meet and a 12s tennis tournament at neighboring camps. Meals on Monday included: French toast and bacon for breakfast, pulled pork sandwiches and french fries for lunch, and pasta and sauce (meat and meatless) for dinner. 

Tuesday, a group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) ventured out on a mountain biking expedition to the Wentworth Waterhole. Another group of campers enjoyed a day of rock climbing in Rumney, and still another group played a round of golf at the Bradford Golf Club. The second group of Junior Bs headed to the Point for their lakeside campout and overnight. In the afternoon, Sabina led another afternoon outdoor cooking class. Competition on Tuesday included a 10s baseball game and a 12s lacrosse tournament at Moose and a 14s soccer tournament at a neighboring camp. Meals on Tuesday were scrambled eggs and potatoes for breakfast, sweet-and-sour chicken with soy noodles for lunch, and the traditional weekly “Taco Tuesday” meal for dinner. 

Whew! We have a lot we are doing as a Camp in a just a brief 4 to 5-day period. Please be in touch if you have any questions.

Happy Summer!

Bill, Sabina, Port, Heide, Ken, and Ingrid