July 18, 2023

Dear Moosilauke Families,

It is our pleasure to send our fourth letter home for summer 2023 covering July 11 through July 17.  Campers and staff alike are amazed that we only have a few days left until we transition to our next session.  As always, summer the way it ought to be!

On Tuesday, July 11th, a group of Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) departed before breakfast for a Mt. Washington backpacking adventure.  The first day the boys had a steep hike to their campsite on Mt. Adams.  After setting up their tents and eating a delicious dinner of tortilla pizzas, the group did a sunset hike to the summit without packs.  The second day, they trekked along the ridgeline of the Presidentials and summited Jefferson, Clay, and finally Mt. Washington, lunching on sandwiches, granola bars, and Goldfish crackers along the way.  They stayed at a lean-to campsite at Tuckerman’s Ravine, where they enjoyed a dinner of mac-n-cheese.  The last day entailed a quick descent and then a pizza dinner on the way back to camp.

All of our Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) spent Tuesday playing and sleeping in tents at Cliff Island on Newfound Lake.  The group canoed out to the island, set up their campsite, ate Uncrustables and coldcut sandwiches for lunch, then they explored, fished, swam, and played cards.  In the evening, they feasted on hamburgers, hot dogs, and S’mores cooked over a campfire.  In the morning, they had a quick breakfast of bagels before canoeing back to the dock.  A group of campers also ventured to the 60 miles of trails at Green Woodlands for a day testing their mountain biking skills.  Finally, intercamp competition continued with a 10s Archery tournament at a neighboring camp.  Highlights from the evening included tubing, a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, tennis, handball, and soccer.  Meals included pancakes and bacon for breakfast, pulled pork and french fries for lunch, and our traditional “Taco Tuesday” fare for dinner.

On Wednesday, July 12, the Inter As (twelve-year-olds) ventured out for their own hiking overnight adventure to Mt. Moosilauke.  After driving to the mountain and dropping their sleeping gear at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, the boys hiked a 7.1 mile out-and-back trail to the summit.  They went up the Gorge Brook trail and descended on the Carriage to Snapper trails.  Back at the Lodge, they had a fantastic meal of garlic bread, minestrone soup, tofu masala, roasted vegetables, salad, and brownies.  After dinner the Ravine Lodge staff played Mad Libs with the campers.  The boys then played card games in the bunkhouses before going to sleep.  The next day, they feasted on a delicious breakfast of homemade breads, muffins, eggs, and oatmeal before heading back to camp.  

The Senior Bs (fourteen-year-olds), who did not participate in the Mt. Lafayette hiking overnight, had an overnight at our lakeside campsite, the Point.  They canoed out to the site, set up camp, and then cooked their dinner over a campfire, with S’mores for dessert.  After dinner they fished on the lake and then slept in the log cabin.  The Junior As (ten-year-olds) spent the afternoon at the Fish Hatchery, followed by an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops.  Intercamp competition on Wednesday included an 11s soccer tournament at a neighboring camp.  Meals on Wednesday were breakfast burritos with hash browns for breakfast, chicken patties and french fries for lunch, and mac-n-cheese with rolls for dinner.  In the evening, there was tubing, wiffleball, pickleball, dodgeball, fishing, and a knockout tournament at basketball.

On Thursday, July 13, the Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) departed after breakfast for their capstone overnight rafting trip on the Kennebec River.  (Please check out the video on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok–along with the photos on the Campanion App.)  The first day entailed driving to the lodge in Maine where they played games and feasted on a steak, chicken, and fish cookout.  The next morning they headed to the Harris Station dam where they began a five mile stretch of Class III and IV whitewater rafting.  After a riverside snack they then ran another seven miles of serious whitewater.   A few of the rafts capsized and everyone enjoyed lazily floating down part of the river.  The adventure also included a shower for all under an amazing waterfall.
Thursday also saw the Junior A (ten-year-old) 2-weekers enjoying an overnight on our Upper Baker Pond Hilltop campsite, and the Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) venturing to Weirs Beach, where they played games on the boardwalk and relaxed and swam on Lake Winnipesaukee.  Another group of campers (all-ages) participated in a rock climbing trip to the Rumney crags.  Intercamp competition included an 11s tennis tournament and an 11s/13s/15s swim meet at a neighboring camp.  In the evening, there were tag games, wiffleball, kickball, dodgeball, tennis, and beach lounging.  Meals included scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast, grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch, and spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner.  

On Friday, July 14, the SA2s (fourteen-year-olds) departed after breakfast for a day at Whales Tales.  They had a blast going down the multiple waterslides, tubing down “Lazy River,” and eating food and treats in between.  A group of Junior Bs (seven, eight, and nine-year olds) hiked out to the Point, our lakeside campsite, for a wilderness overnight.  They cooked S’mores, fished, and swam, before nestling into the log cabin for the night.  Intercamp competition included a 12s Archery tournament and a 13s Tennis tournament at neighboring camps.  A highlight of the evening was the annual staff baseball game against the counselors of a neighboring camp.  A busload of campers ventured over to the peer camp to cheer on their awesome counselors.  Those who remained at camp had tubing, basketball, tennis, lawn games, and chill-time at the beach.  Meals on Friday were bagels and muffins for breakfast, Philly cheese steak sandwiches with tater tots for lunch, and the weekly Kenny Cookout bbq for dinner. 

On Saturday, July 15, the last of the overnight trips for the first half of the summer returned to camp.  Campers had their choice of activities in both the morning and the afternoon and also the chance to play in 10s street hockey and basketball tournaments at a neighboring camp and a 12s soccer tourney at Moose.  Meals on Saturday were pancakes and bacon for breakfast, assorted cold cut sandwiches for lunch, and a cookout at the neighboring girls camp for dinner, followed by a dance on their campus.  

On Sunday, July 16, we had our traditional “Lazy Sunday.”  After brunch, given a rainy morning, campers had the choice of activities on our fields and on the waterfront, including the favorite – tubing, along with indoor arts & crafts, woodworking, card games, and reading.  After a lunch of chicken teriyaki, rice, and eggrolls, the skies cleared, so all activity areas were open.  Special events included a tubing extravaganza for the Seniors and a tie-dye event in arts & crafts.  In the evening, the boys feasted on homemade pizzas, and then enjoyed “movie night” on the hills, complete with homemade popcorn.

Monday, July 17, was a “TMD”–a Typical Moosilauke Day–because of the beautiful weather and plethora of routine and special activities available to the boys.  A group of campers of all ages departed after breakfast for a day of golf at the Bradford Golf Club, followed by lunch at a local deli.  Another group headed out to the Rumney Crags for a day of rock climbing.  In the afternoon, there was the annual intra-camp baseball tournament for the 12 and unders, called “Coke League.”  The teams were coached by our enthusiastic Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds).  Every player and coach was treated to a Coke after the game for their tremendous efforts and great attitudes.  On Monday afternoon, our Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) had their annual 15s Dodgeball Tournament at a neighboring camp.  As always, they enjoyed mimicking the movie “Dodgeball” and dressing up in wacky outfits for the event.  

In the evening, the campers had tubing, dodgeball, wiffleball, hockey, kickball, handball, and lounging at the beach. The culminating event of the evening was the official “break” of our two-day Red vs. Grey competition.  The theme this year was “A Cook in Time.”  In a play on A wrinkle in Time, eight cooks from Moosiauke’s past traveled through time to task the whole camp with finding the original can by the brook from 1972 in an attempt to keep the camp and all its inhabitants from vanishing.  Incredible set pieces from the extravaganza included Todd’s antique red truck seemingly on fire, the cook’s appearing in the stream after floating under the junior hill bridge, and an amazing fireworks display on the field.  A special thanks to our director of special operations, Todd G, for orchestrating such an amazing production.  The evening ended with the campers being divided into two teams, and the captains from each undertaking the traditional ax challenge.

That’s all for now.

Happy Summer!
Bill, Sabina, Ken, Ingrid, Todd, Preston, Jake, Quinn, and Charlotte