Sunday, July 26, 2026

Dear Moose Families,

Lisa Damour is a well-known child psychologist who has written a number of books, including The Emotional Lives of Teenagers. She writes and speaks in a very clear way about many important issues related to youth development, but in this letter we want to highlight her advice relative to emotions. To start, she makes it clear that emotions are healthy and keep us safe, but she quickly follows with the importance of finding a balance between emotional expression and emotional suppression for kids and teenagers. Culturally, boys are often taught to suppress their emotions while girls can get in the routine of overexpressing them. Damour makes the point that too much of either is not healthy. At Moose, we follow Damour’s advice to try and foster expression and regulation over suppression. We want to help boys express their emotions so they can get a sense of release and help when they need it, but we also want to help them regulate their emotions so they don’t get into a negative feedback loop. 

On to the recap of the events and activities for July 20 – July 26, 2026.

On Monday, July 20th, the Inter As (twelve-year-olds) departed after breakfast for their overnight hiking adventure at Mt. Moosilauke. The intrepid group began their hike via the 3.7 mile long Gorge Brook Trail. The group did an excellent job, maintaining a strong pace on their way to the 4,802 foot summit. While at the top, they enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches, fruit and candy. They descended via the Carriage Trail to the Snapper Trail.  Once down, they began their stay at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, which is owned by Dartmouth and operated by its students. The boys played games on the fields around the lodge before venturing over to the Lodge for dinner. Dinner was a feast of chicken teriyaki, fried rice, butternut squash soup, mixed greens salad, with homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert. After dinner, they spent some time playing games around a campfire before going to sleep in the bunk house. 

Monday also saw a group of Junior As (ten-year-olds) enjoying an overnight at our Pioneer Camp. During the day they swam at the natural waterslides of Baker Cliffs, explored and relaxed around the campsite, cooked a dinner of hamburgers and hotdogs with S’mores over a campfire. In the evening, they swam and fished before settling into their tents for the evening, returning to camp for breakfast the next day. A group of Junior Bs (eight-and-nine-year-olds) hiked to our Point outpost after dinner for their own wilderness overnight. While there they swam, fished, and had S’mores around a campfire, then nestled into the cabin and tent to sleep. Other trips Monday included top-rope rock climbing in Rumney, a golf trip to the links in Bradford, and a mountain biking trip around our lake. Intercamp competition on Monday included a 15s basketball tournament at Moose and a 13s tennis tournament at a neighboring camp. Evening highlights included Port sharing another tall-tale around a campfire on the beach, Inter B (eleven-year-old) intramural “Coke League” baseball, and a morning inspection winning cabin going to Moose Scoops for an ice cream treat. 

Tuesday trips included the final rock climbing adventure of the session to the Rumney crags, and an all-ages mountain bike trek in the morning around the lake. Another highlight Tuesday afternoon was an all-camp art show in the Junior Rec Hall. The quality and quantity of art displayed was amazing. Intercamp competition on Tuesday was an 11s soccer tournament at a neighboring camp. 

In the evening on Tuesday, there was the much-anticipated “break” for this summer’s Red vs. Grey events. The theme was “the Lake Monster.” For days leading up to the break there were many unexplained events and phenomena around the camp, including a flipped Hobie Cat on the beach, stand-up-paddle boards strewn in front of the wood shop, and life jackets found in strange places. The break was initiated by Associate Director Charlotte who gathered all the campers on the docks for a camp photo at dusk. The photo shoot was suddenly interrupted by a sighting of a “lake monster” swimming near the Point. Next, a group of scientists from the “American Department of Aquatic Resource Management” came roaring across the lake in a speed boat to warn the campers that the lake was in danger. Once on shore they uncovered a smoldering pile of debris that was the remains of Todd’s antique red truck after the lake monster attacked it. The scientists then explained that the lake’s chemical balance was out of whack and that it was up to the campers to find the ingredients to the “formula” that could save the lake (and kill the lake monster). The campers were then sent on a hunt by age group to find the needed ingredients. After all the ingredients were found the whole camp regrouped on the beach to witness the mixing of the formula, and the amazing eruption that followed. Ken then appeared to announce our two-day Red and Grey competition, and then he and Associate Director Jake read off the two teams and gave out the traditional red and grey bracelets.

Red vs. Grey events filled both Wednesday and Thursday. This year’s events included: an all-ages fishing derby, a track meet, a canoe and swim regatta, mile runs, rope pulls, Moose relays, and age group competition in soccer, archery, basketball, football, Ultimate frisbee, kickball, baseball, and softball. New non-athletic events this summer were a catapult building contest, a home-made boat race in the brook, and a team banner design competition. The final night’s events were the traditional team fire-building and team song competitions. In the end, the winning team prevailed by the closest margin we can remember–one point! All-in-all it was two amazing days of friendly competition.

On Friday, we had a surprise late breakfast on the beach that included an assortment of donuts and hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts, along with a yogurt/granola/fruit/cereal bar. After breakfast, there was one last cabin clean-up of the season, and then it was a full choice day that included an Inter A (twelve-year-old) “Coke League” intramural baseball game, and a trip to Robie Farms. The trip to the 156-year-old family farm included a composting discussion and a tour with a stop at their cheese cave. Intercamp competition continued with a 15s dodgeball tournament. At night there were the SA2/SB Coke League baseball games, a movie viewing in the Rec Hall, and a trip to Moose Scoops for cabin clean-up winners. 

Saturday was Packing Day. After each cabin was checked out by the Associate Directors, campers had free play. Then it was time for our season-ending banquet dinner. At the banquet, the campers sat by cabin and age groups. They feasted on sirloin steak, twice-baked potatoes, Caesar salad, fresh dinner rolls, buttered corn, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. After dinner, Todd unveiled his final Trick-of-the-Day. As always, the campers were in awe of Todd’s mad skills. Next came the end-of-session slide show, which included a presentation of the campers who received the t-shirt achievements in the different activity areas. Then, campers who have been with us for three, five, six, and eight years were recognized with some new Moose swag. The Moose Bears and campers who brought a friend also received their own t-shirts or jacket if they brought multiple friends. Finally, the whole camp gathered around the bonfire to watch the Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) light the “2026” sign and the fire. It was a beautiful evening.

A final note. We do no traditional paid advertising so we rely on current families to help spread the word about Moosilauke. If you know of a family interested in learning more about Moose please have them contact us so we can schedule a Zoom meeting with them. Thank you!

Happy Summer!

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