Dear Moosilauke Family,

It is our pleasure to write this second weekly letter home from Moosilauke during the second session of summer 2025–our 121st year! Along with chronicling the day-to-day happenings at camp we will continue to write about issues related to boys.  

Christine Carter is a famous author, speaker, and coach whose work focuses on helping kids and adults create courageous, joyful, meaningful, and productive lives. Christine is also a friend who Bill and Sabina got to know when she was a parent and trustee at The Thacher School.

In 2020 she published a book which we highly recommend parents of middle and high school-age kids read. As the title makes clear, The New Adolescence: Raising Happy and Successful Teens in an Age of Anxiety and Distraction is a road map to help kids become their best selves during these crazy and dynamic times.

Christine writes the same way she talks: in a clear, positive, and down-to-earth manner that is engaging and authentic. The book is a quick read. But just in case you don’t have the time, we have outlined some of the key points below. 

“This is a terrifying time to be a parent” because teens are worse off than they have ever been relative to mental health. Christine writes: “While we’ve always known that teenagers can be moody, this is not what we are seeing here. Nor are we now newly detecting problems that have been in our society all along. The number of American adolescents who reported having had major depression in the preceding year has increased 52 percent since 2005, with the largest increases coming after 2011.”

The root of what ails teens is the “perfect storm” of increased pressure to achieve combined with a technological revolution related to how “…we all communicate, create, work, and think…” Christine points out: “Today’s teenagers communicate with social media more than they see their friends in person. They binge-watch TV series alone in their rooms on personal devices instead of watching a sitcom in the family room. Many delay driving; affluent teens use Uber and Lyft. They shop online—clicking on ads that are served specifically to them—instead of hanging out at the mall with their peers.”

The good news is that “the solutions are right in front of us,” and as one of her chapter headings pronounces: “This is Going to Be Easier Than You Think.”  The broad strokes of her solutions entail:

• Moving to parent as coach/consultant as opposed to boss/manager approach when kids are in high school.
• Focusing our efforts on helping our teens take on three character-building skills: connection, focus, and rest.
• Helping our kids embrace stress because it helps create “stress inoculation.”  And, at the same time, helping them embrace practices that foster positive emotions.
• Revamping how we talk to our kids about sex, drugs, and money.

Christine also points out that an essential element in helping our teens is first taking care of ourselves and modeling healthy behaviors. Christine quotes a study that found the three most powerful “parenting practices” in terms of their influence on our teen’s “health, happiness, and school success” are: 

• Love and affection. Parents support and accept their child, are physically affectionate, and spend quality one-on-one time together.
• Stress management. Parents take steps to reduce stress for themselves and their children, like practicing relaxation techniques and promoting positive interpretations of difficult events.
• Relationship skills. Parents maintain a healthy relationship with their spouse, significant other, and/or co-parent, and model effective relationship skills with other people.

Ending on a positive note, she writes: “Here is what I think is amazing about this list of high-impact parenting practices: All of these things are free, all are possible for parents from all walks of life, and two of the three aren’t even parenting skills, per se.”

And now for the recap of events and activities from Monday, July 28, through Sunday, August 3, 2025.  

On Monday, we had a season high six trips venture into the backcountry. A group of Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) departed early for a three-day, two-night overnight backpacking adventure to the Mt. Washington region that covered 17 miles of hiking. The first day was a steep hike up to the tent platforms on Mt. Adams. Day two, the intrepid group hiked a beautiful ridge line that had them summiting Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Clay, and finally Mt. Washington. At the Mt. Washington summit, they relaxed and munched on snacks before heading to the Tuckerman’s Ravine Lodge for the evening. The last day, the group descended down to the pickup stop and then were rewarded with an all-you-can-eat pizza feast before returning to Camp. 

A group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) departed early Monday for an overnight hike to Mt. Lafayette. The first day they hiked the very steep Liberty Springs trail (very few switchbacks) to the Liberty Springs campsite. Day two was a glorious hike along the Franconia Ridge that had them summiting Little Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette. On their way back to Camp, they had their own all-you-can-eat pizza dinner. 

The Inter As (twelve-year-olds) left after breakfast Monday for a hike up Mt. Moosilauke, followed by an overnight at the Mt. Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, run by Dartmouth College. The group made great time reaching the 4,802 feet summit via the Gorge Brook Trail. On the descent they took the Carriage Trail to the Snapper extension. Once down the mountain, they relaxed and played games at the Lodge before feasting on a gourmet home cooked meal. In the morning, they enjoyed a breakfast of eggs, sausage, oats, and breads, before heading back to Camp for morning activities. A group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) headed to Cliff Island on Newfound Lake for a canoeing overnight that included a few miles of paddling, swimming and fishing, playing Manhunt, cooking their dinner over a campfire, and sleeping in tents. The final overnight Monday was a Junior A (ten-year-old) trip to our riverside Pioneer Camp. Day trips Monday (and Tuesday) included climbing at Rumney and biking on the groomed trails at Green Woodlands. Intercamp competition continued on Monday with a 13s lacrosse tournament and an 11s basketball tournament at Moose. 

Tuesday’s post breakfast announcement period had an international bent as Bill asked the camp how many different languages we could say hello in. Nine languages were included, including Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Hungarian, Welsh, and German! Our biking counselors added to the fun by making their announcements in Dutch, Spanish, and English. On Tuesday, intercamp competition included a 14s soccer tournament and 10s baseball tournament at Moose, along with a 12s basketball tournament at a neighboring camp. Another group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) had their overnight on Cliff Island on Newfound Lake, and another group of Junior As (ten-year-olds) ventured to our Pioneer Camp for the afternoon and evening, returning to Camp before breakfast the next day. A highlight of the afternoon was a wake surfing session during rest hour for campers who had already mastered getting up and were ready to drop the rope. In the evening, there was dodgeball, “Nukem” volleyball, street hockey, Gaga pit, Ultimate frisbee, Frisbee golf, stand-up paddleboarding, fishing, tubing, pickup basketball and tennis, and swimming.

Wednesday was a big birthday celebration at camp with four campers celebrating in the dining hall with a song and cakes. A group of Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) and Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) who were not participating on overnight hiking trips had an overnight adventure on Cliff Island and a third group of Junior As (ten-year-olds) spent the afternoon and evening at Pioneer Camp. Fishing was very popular Tuesday with many boys fishing off our own docks while another group ventured to Indian pond to try their luck from canoes. The fish of the day was a pickerel that was over 2 pounds. Day trips included mountain biking at Green Woodlands and around our lake. Intercamp competition was a 13s baseball tournament at Moose. In the evening a highlight was a flotilla of 12 SUPs taking a tour of the lake. Rain came at around 7:30 causing everyone to head up to their cabins a little earlier than usual.

The big trip on Thursday was the Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) capstone adventure to Maine for whitewater rafting. After arriving at their riverside destination on the first day the boys enjoyed swimming in the pool, playing volleyball, and then feasting on a dinner of homemade pizzas, salad, and brownies. They slept in a riverside bunkhouse. On day two, after a great continental breakfast the boys were outfitted with their river gear and then took part in a safety briefing. And then it was time for the rapids! They put in at the Harris Station Dam which immediately enters a narrow gorge that is hundreds of feet deep. They then had to navigate Class III and IV rapids such as “Big Mama” and “Magic Falls.” All-in-all, the boys rafted over 12 miles. After running the rapids, they had a relaxing swim near a beautiful waterfall. They were then treated to a delicious lunch of steak, chicken, salmon, pasta salad, rice, and homemade cookies.

Other trips on Thursday included another group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) heading off for a Mt. Lafayette backpacking adventure and the Inter As (twelve-year-olds) spending the day at the natural waterslides of Baker Cliffs, followed by an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops. The Counselors-in-Training departed Thursday for a trip to Cliff Island on Newfound Lake that they designed. A food highlight was cooking chicken wings for dinner, with S’mores for dessert. Competition on Thursday was a 15s soccer and 13s basketball tournament at Moose, and a 9s soccer tournament at a neighboring camp. In the evening, Port shared another tall-tale around a campfire on the beach, while a cabin got to go tubing.

Friday was another hot, sunny day, perfect for a white water kayaking adventure. An all ages group who had been working on a “bomb proof” Eskimo Roll ventured to the Hartland Rapids on the Connecticut River for a day of ferrying in and out of the Class II rapids. Water skiing, wake boarding, and wake surfing were all extremely popular Friday, with many boys getting up for the very first time. The competition highlight Friday was a 15s Ultimate frisbee tournament at a neighboring camp. Dinner was the fan favorite “Kenny Cookout.” In the evening, there was tag games, street hockey, “Nukem” volleyball, dodgeball, Frisbee golf, Ultimate frisbee, fishing, pick up basketball, and a Moose Scoops treat for the cabin clean-up winners. 

Just like every day (except Sunday) about 60 Moose Bears greeted the morning Saturday with chants, splashing, and songs. Saturday’s breakfast was high energy since it was the first day in a while that every boy was in camp after a trip-heavy week. After breakfast there was a greatest hits version of Camp chants and songs followed by some fun “positive risk taking” as campers volunteered to get in front of about 220 people and tell jokes and do silly dances. After a morning of scheduled activities, we had a fun “open area” afternoon that included special activities such as a 3 on 3 basketball tourney, “Trick Shot” at archery, Tie-Dye in Arts and Crafts, a pickleball tournament, survival skills with BLP, “Lax-roccer” (a combination of lacrosse and soccer), a sailing regatta, a carving clinic in wake surfing, and three Coke League intramural baseball games for the Juniors (seven-to-ten-year-olds), Inter As (twelve-year-olds), and Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds). There were also two all-ages mountain biking trips. In the evening, it was Movie Night, with candy treats and homemade popcorn for all. Also in the evening, there was a canoeing clinic for the Inter As in preparation for the upcoming canoe to Hanover.

Sunday started with another amazing brunch that included eggs, bacon, sausage, homemade pastries, a fruit/yogurt/granola bar, and hot chocolate. The highlight of our “Lazy Sunday” morning was a U.S. vs. the World counselor soccer game. In the afternoon, it was Carnival! Activities included 3 large inflatable games including a massive waterslide. Booths included the TP toss, donut on a string, baseball balloon toss, roulette wheel, poker, blackjack, pin knockdown, ring toss, BKB All-Star 3-point competition, ping pong challenges, an obstacle race course, balloon dart toss, face painting, homemade donut making with Sabina, and Sno-Cones provided by the CITs. Dinner was also a special surprise–an amazing BBQ that included two full roasted pigs that were slow cooked on the fields all day long, along with corn on the cob, maple bread, and cole slaw. And of course there were also tasty beef and veggie options.

That’s all for now. Thank you for sharing your boys with us. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to Bill or Sabina if you have any questions.

Happy Summer!

Warmly,

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