Dear Moosilauke Families,

Before we get into our boy topic for the week, and the recounting of the highlights from the last 7 days, a note about air quality. Although we had a sepia-toned day or two early last week, the air quality during the last few days has been mostly sunny with blue skies. So no current worries related to bad air here at Moosilauke.

The recent FIFA world cup games have been an exciting watch for both soccer aficionados, and those who are relatively new to the sport. At Moose we have been reporting scores to the campers every morning, debating who is the soccer GOAT, while also showing as many games as possible given our schedule.

Speaking of the World Cup, we highly recommend reading a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about Norway’s approach to youth sports titled This Nation Breaks Every Rule of US Youth Sports–and Built a World Cup Monster. The article highlights a few key philosophies embraced by Norway–which are also at the heart of how we approach athletics at Moose. The article highlights that club sport teams in Norway, including the soccer club that Erling Haaland played for, clearly nurture talent (and in Erling’s case, world class talent) while also caring “more about having fun than winning” and ”barely keeping score.” The author writes that “The nation is so committed to its egalitarian ideals of social enjoyment, proper development and sports-for all that kids aren’t even sorted by talent.” 

In a similar fashion, at Moose, one of our key goals with athletics is to help kids build performance character and well-being by getting them to move beyond the sports they are already good at and confident about, and to get them trying new activities and getting used to encountering and overcoming failure in the process. At Moose we want campers to play on intercamp teams in sports they feel locked out of at home.

And it turns out, the research supports Norway’s and Moosilauke’s approach which focuses on nurturing not just talent, but participation and character development. Two quotes in the article from a Norwegian coach nicely summarize our shared philosophy: “As many as possible, for as long as possible, and as good as possible” and “We don’t rate human worth on whether you are good or bad at kicking a ball.” 

Now, onto the recap for July 13-19, 2026.

On Monday, the Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) departed for their capstone whitewater rafting trip to Kennebec, Maine. Once they arrived at the base camp, the boys had a fun afternoon swimming in the pool, followed by a homemade pizza dinner. The next day, the campers had an amazing time rafting the 7 miles of Class II and IV rapids, including the famous “Big Mama” and “Magic Falls” sections of the river. After the rafting, they enjoyed a steak lunch, more down time at the lodge, and a grilled chicken barbecue for dinner. The next morning, after a delicious buffet breakfast, they headed back to camp. (Please see the video of the rafting on our social media accounts, along with the photos on Campanion.) 

The Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) spent Monday at Weirs Beach. The campers loved the go-karts, miniature golf, water bumper cars, and the batting cage. They also played arcade games, had ice cream at the boardwalk, lounged at the beach, and had a picnic lunch. A group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) Monday headed to an overnight camping adventure at Cliff Island on Newfound Lake. After arriving, they canoed a mile to the island. They then set up the tents, fished, swam, and played Manhunt. For dinner, they cooked hamburgers over a campfire, with S’mores for dessert. On campus a highlight was another wakesurfing session with Bill and Manny during rest hour. Intercamp competition Monday included a 12s tennis and an 11s archery tournament at neighboring camps. In the evening, there was stand-up paddleboarding, bucket golf, dodgeball, beach lounging, swimming, basketball, hockey, and tubing. 

On Tuesday, a group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) departed early for a backpacking adventure to Mt. Lafayette and the Franconia Ridge region. After a breakfast stop at Dunkin Donuts, the group headed to the Liberty Springs trailhead to start their journey. The first 1-½ miles of the trail was easy hiking, but the next 2-½ miles were very steep, with a lot of rocky steps. They stayed at the Liberty Springs campsite where they had a dinner of stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and chicken, before nestling into their tents just as a rain storm arrived. In the morning, they packed up their campsite, had a breakfast of oatmeal, then hiked up to the ridgeline. It was a very windy and hazy day, but the group powered through, hiking about 8 miles, summiting Mt. Lincoln, Haystack, Lafayette, and Little Haystack. On the descent, they stopped at the Greenleaf Hut for some snacks before heading to their van. They feasted on a pizza dinner at Enzo’s on their way back to camp. 

The other backcountry overnight Tuesday entailed another group of Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) camping on Cliff Island. Other highlights on Tuesday included a group of Junior As (ten-year-olds) biking around the lake, an all-ages track meet and an all-ages chess tournament at neighboring camps, a world cup viewing party on the beach of the Spain vs. France match, a 3-point competition, and a scavenger hunt led by Quinn. In the dining hall on Tuesday, Bill conducted a quick poll on the possible teams Lebron James might join this coming season. (The camp was very split!) In the evening, along with a slate of regular activities, the campers had the opportunity to watch the MLB Homerun Derby.

Wednesday started early for a volunteer group of campers who ventured on the mirror calm lake for a pre-breakfast water skiing adventure. Intercamp competition continued with a number of tournaments, including 15s pickleball, 13s lacrosse, and 11s baseball. A post lunch highlight was a riddle for the whole camp from a young camper. In the afternoon campers enjoyed their two choice periods along with the chance to watch the England vs. Argentina match. In the evening, campers could choose between regular activities, a tall-tale, The White Ape, from Port around a campfire at the beach, and a viewing of the MLB All-Star game.

Thursday we had our first rainy day in many moons, causing us to cut short and/or cancel a number of intercamp competitions, and also delay the start of regular afternoon activities. Thursday also saw another group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) leave for their two-day backpacking adventure that covered six summits in the Franconia Notch region of the white Mountains. A highlight of the trip was the “solo hikes” the boys undertook on about a mile of the ridge line. The group commented that the trip was a great warm-up for their Mt. Washington adventure scheduled for summer 2027. Our 2-week Junior As and Bs (eight-nine-and-ten-year-olds) spent the afternoon at the local fish hatchery, followed by an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops. Evening highlights included the annual counselor baseball game, tubing, and open areas.

On Friday, a group of campers woke up early to go for a pre-breakfast fishing adventure with Preston. Other highlights from Friday included a 12s pickleball tournament at a neighboring camp, an all-ages climbing trip to the Rumney crags, the Senior A2 (fourteen-year-olds) trip to a waterpark, and the Counselor-in-Training overnight on Cliff Island on Newfound lake. The C.I.T.s planned the entire trip on their own–including the menu that included steaks over a camp fire, and a breakfast the next day at a local diner. The other trip Friday involved a group of Junior Bs (eight-and-nine-year-olds) spending the night in tents at the Point campsite on the lake.

Saturday, rain caused us to cancel the scheduled intercamp competition and regular afternoon activities, and in their place hold a fun afternoon of indoor activities that included board games, nature movies in the Rec Hall, bingo and trivia for candy prizes, and arts & crafts projects. In the evening, it was movie night in the Rec Hall, with homemade popcorn, compliments of the Counselors-in-Training. 

On Sunday, the campers had a “lazy morning” that included a sumptuous buffet breakfast followed by free play down the hill.  Campers were also able to watch the counselor USA vs. the World counselor soccer game. (The World won 1-0.) In the afternoon, it was Carnival! Along with an inflatable waterslide, obstacle course, and bouncy house, there were an amazing array of booths that included a toilet paper toss, donut on a string, 3-point competition, hockey trickshot, pin knockdown, pingpong counselor challenge, bean bag tic-tac-toe, dart balloon toss, black jack, and face painting, with candy for prizes. Two other highlights were the sno-cones provided by the Counselors-in-Training, and Sabina’s homemade donuts. In the evening, there was a camp-wide cookout on the beach of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, soda, and S’mores around a campfire for dessert.  

Finally, it was a fun week of camp birthdays with six campers being serenaded with a song in the dining hall and a homemade cake.

That’s all for now.  We can’t believe there is only one week left in this session!  As always, thanks for sharing your amazing boys.

Happy Summer!

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