Dear Moosilauke Families,

It is our pleasure to send this third weekly letter home from Moosilauke during summer 2025. As is our routine, we open with an issue related to helping boys become their best selves followed by a chronicle of the daily happenings at camp.

If you stepped foot on our campus on a typical day, you would see our 140 campers engaged in a whirlwind of activities and interactions, with the vast majority of them being engaging, positive, and fun. However, with a keen eye, you might also spot a boy who is feeling a little sad or anxious. Boys at camp can have minor down periods for all kinds of reasons, including minor bouts of homesickness (maybe caused by a letter from home), being tired or not feeling well, or maybe they had an interaction with a peer that did not go as planned.

Decades of experience working with boys have taught us a few golden rules and approaches that consistently help our campers reduce the intensity of their negative feelings and move from a down period back into the joyful swing of camp life.    

The first key step is to make the young person feel known by calling them by name, finding a quiet spot, and asking them how they are doing. The next key step is to validate what the boy is experiencing. This entails reflecting back to the camper what he has told you about why he is sad or not feeling great. When done right, validation is an act of acknowledgement rather than an act of agreeing or approval.

The next key step is to engage the boy in “doing.”  “Doing” can take many forms from going for a walk to rejoining a group activity. Podcaster and author Dan Harris often talks about how “action absorbs anxiety.” The act of getting in motion can mitigate anxiety and sadness for a number of reasons. First off, it can disrupt someone’s negative ruminations and “cycle of worry.” Taking an action, no matter how small, can also allow someone to regain a sense of control. Finally, it can also help release the pent up energy that can be created when someone is worried or sad. If a boy is sad and acting oppositional, focusing their “doing” in an area where he already feels some existing mastery can be especially effective. 

Finally, if a boy is caught in a significant “fight or flight” cycle with physical manifestations like shallow breathing, we often have success calming them down by teaching them belly or diaphragmatic breathing. It can be empowering for a boy to understand how the adrenal system can kick in and make us feel anxious and panicky, and how breathing that entails the diaphragm moving deeply in and out can tell the brain and body to calm down. 

Usually after a talk on diaphragmatic breathing the boy is ready to go do something–either because he is feeling better, or because he is sick of hearing about yoga breathing!

And now for our daily log of what transpired at Moose from Sunday, July 6, through Saturday, July 12, 2025.

On Sunday, and throughout the week, we had staff volunteering to engage with campers on off hours, especially in very popular activities that campers want more of.  Before breakfast it is common to see campers water skiing and wakeboarding on our still lake.  We have also been taking campers fishing before breakfast.  (See our social media for pictures.) And almost every day during post lunch rest hour Bill and Manny have been taking campers wake surfing.

On Sunday, the warm weather and sunshine continued. The day started with our traditional “Lazy Sunday” brunch that included cinnamon rolls, croissants, hash browns, a variety of egg dishes, and bacon and sausage.  Later in the morning, we welcomed the new campers in the July 2-week session, who after unpacking, checking in at the nurses, setting up their lockers, and participating in a tour of the camp, quickly jumped into activities with their cabin-mates and new friends from the 4-week session. In the afternoon, it was camper favorite camp-wide Capture the Flag which pitted the Volleyball team versus team Gaga Pit. After the competition we had a massive general swim. In the evening, it was Cabin Cookout during which cabins enjoyed grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, with S’mores for dessert. In the evening Cabin Clean-up winners enjoyed a movie with snacks in the Rec Halls. There was also street hockey, arena soccer, gaga pit, swimming, volleyball, and pick-up basketball.

On Monday, inter-camp competition continued with 12s tennis and 11s archery tournaments at neighboring camps. The oldest campers, the Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds), departed Monday after breakfast for their three-day whitewater rafting capstone trip to the Kennebec River, in Maine. After arriving at their destination on the first day the boys enjoyed relaxing and playing games before a delicious riverside bbq dinner of burgers, chicken, salads, pasta, and cookies and brownies for dessert. They slept in a riverside bunkhouse. On day two, after a massive breakfast, the boys were outfitted with their river gear and then took part in a safety briefing. After a short ride the rafting adventure began at the Harris Station Dam which immediately flows into a narrow gorge, hundreds of feet deep. They then plunged through “huge rolling waves and heart-pounding drops” before tackling Class IV rapids such as “Big Mama” and “Magic Falls.” All-in-all, the boys rafted for 3 hours and over 12 miles. After rafting, they enjoyed a lunch of grilled steak and pasta. In the late afternoon and evening, the boys took advantage of the volleyball and basketball facilities, and the pool. Dinner was a pizza fest. (Please see the great photos from the adventure via the Campanion app and on Instagram and Facebook.) Also on Monday, a group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) spent a “fluff” day at Weirs Beach where they enjoyed bumper cars, Go-Karts, miniature golf, and a ropes course. The boys also spent time on the boardwalk, feasting on pizza, hot dogs and ice cream, along with swimming in beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. 

On Monday a group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) had an overnight canoe trip to Cliff Island. The boys loved the canoe out to their island campsite, setting up their tents, swimming and fishing, and after a dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs, playing Manhunt and hearing a tall tale around the campfire. Also on Monday, there was an all-ages climbing trip to the Rumney crags, and an all-ages mountain biking adventure to the Green Woodlands MTB park. 

Tuesday, there were a number of inter-camp tournaments and competitions, including 13s Ultimate Frisbee, 11s baseball, and an all-ages chess tournament. The final group of Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) departed early Tuesday for their three-day Mt. Washington/Presidential Range backpacking adventure. On Day 1 the boys hiked 4.5 miles up the side of Mt. Adams to their Perch campsite. On Day 2 they hiked nearly 9 miles (3 hours), most of it on the ridgeline around Mt. Jefferson, before summiting Mt. Washington. The group then hiked down the Tuckerman Ravine and Lionhead trails to a  shelter where they settled in and enjoyed a dinner of macaroni-and-cheese. The next day was a quick descent followed by a well deserved pizza fest. Another group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) departed after breakfast for their canoeing overnight adventure to Cliff Island on Newfound Lake. Other highlights from Tuesday included a Junior As mountain biking trip around the lake, and an all ages MTB adventure at Green Woodlands.  

On Wednesday, there was a 11s/13s/15s swim meet at a neighboring camp. The Senior Bs (fourteen-year-olds), not participating on a Mt. Lafayette hiking overnight, had an overnight canoeing adventure to Cliff Island. In the evening, Port shared another tall-tale around a campfire at the beach to a captive audience of campers and staff. Also in the evening, there was dodgeball, lawn games, the Gaga pit, kickball, Ultimate frisbee, World Cup soccer, and Frisbee golf.

Thursday, inter-camp competition included a 15s baseball tournament, 13s archery tournament, and 11s tennis tournament at a neighboring camp. Another all-ages group of campers headed to the Rumney crags for some top-rope rock climbing fun. The newest Juniors (seven-to-ten-year-olds) had an afternoon of swimming, sliding, and jumping in the natural waterslides of Baker Cliffs, followed by an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops. Our Counselors-in-Training (CITs) planned and departed for their own overnight trip to Cliff Island that included a 3 hours canoe around the lake.  The next morning they were treated to a great breakfast at a local diner. A highlight of the evening was the annual counselor baseball game against a neighboring camp. Most of the campers were in attendance to cheer on their counselors and show some great Moose spirit. 

Friday, there was a 15s Pickleball tournament and 12s hockey tournament at a neighboring camp. The Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) departed after breakfast for their “fluff” trip to Whales Tales. They had a blast on the waterslides, wave pool, and lazy river. The other trip on Friday included an overnight for a group of Junior Bs (eight-and-nine-year-olds) to our lakeside campsite, the Point. The boys hiked out to the site, set up their cabin and tent, and then went for a swim.  Then it was time for a delicious dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs over a campfire, with S’mores for dessert, followed by a campfire tale.

Saturday was a big inter-camp competition day with 15s soccer and basketball, 13s basketball and soccer, 12s soccer and pickleball, and 11s baseball. Those not participating in competition had their choice of open areas on land and water. In the afternoon, there was another Coke League intramural baseball tournament. This time it was the Inter As and Bs (eleven-and-twelve-year-olds). Saturday was once again Movie Night, with homemade popcorn, compliments of the CITs, and candy treats for all to enjoy. 

In addition to all of the above, there were special events sprinkled throughout the week, including: an all ages trivia contest for prizes; a camp-wide scavenger hunt that took place over two days; Choice days on Tuesday and Thursdays where campers choose their activities for the day; Kenny’s reading of the sports scores every morning; and post meal interviews with Bill and a staff member where the staff member is asked to tell the full dining hall things like a favorite book, a favorite sandwich, and a piece of advice for the whole community.  And of course we all love it when after every meal, campers volunteer to stand in front of the 200+ people in the dining hall and tell a joke or a riddle.

That’s all for now.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to Sabina or Bill if you have any questions or concerns.

Happy Summer!

Bill, Sabina, Ken, Ingrid, Todd, Preston, Jake, Quinn and Charlotte