Dear Moosilauke Families,

Many of you know of Angela Duckworth, who is a psychologist, and the best-selling author of the book Grit. Bill had the good fortune of speaking with her to discuss how to assess grit in the boarding school admission process. Her immediate (half-serious) response, which might be good for assessing grit but would not be good for application numbers, was “lose their application and make them apply a second time!”

Her new book titled Situated argues that relying on grit alone is not enough. Instead of forcing yourself to try harder, you should make your environment better first. She outlines four key elements that shape an optimal environment, and when you read them you will note that a summer at Moose can provide all four. The first is “Setting up your space” which involves removing distractions. At Moose, the ban on phones and screens is such a gift to our campers. The second and third are “Choosing your peers” and “Selecting your culture.” Here she makes the point that peer culture, especially in the teenage years, can be the most powerful influence on a boy. At Moose, we are firm believers in the power of a positive culture, so we work hard to create one where leaving your comfort zone to try new things is applauded, where effort, not just achievement is celebrated, and where it is cool to care and be inclusive. The final element, “Engaging with mentors,” emphasizes that growth is accelerated when you secure advice and support from “experienced guides.” At Moose, when we hire staff, we are looking for aspirational adults who have a desire to have a positive impact on kids. Our goal is for campers to have more aspirational adult males in their life at Moose than at any other time during the year.

And now to our chronicling of camp life from Monday, August 3rd through Sunday, August 9th.

On Monday, our first overnight hiking trips of the session departed early from camp. One group of Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) left for a three-day, two-night hike to Mt. Washington. On the first day, they hiked 4.6 miles to the Perch Campsite, where they set up camp, ate dinner, then rested up for the next day’s hike. On day two, they hiked 9.2 miles along a ridgeline that included the summits of Mt. Adams, Mt. Clay, Mt. Jefferson, and Mt. Washington. Per the campers, this day was “the best, but Washington was really hard.” At the Mt. Washington summit, they were rewarded with some money to buy snacks at the store. After soaking in the views and resting a bit, they hiked the steep trail down the back of Mt. Washington to the Hermit Lake Shelter, where they spent the night. On the final day, they hiked 2.4 miles to the pick-up spot, and then stopped at Enzo’s for an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet before returning to camp. 

Monday also saw a group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) leave for a two-day, one-night overnight backpacking adventure in the White Mountains. The first day the group hiked the challenging 3.2 mile long Liberty Springs trail in the rain to their camp site. Thankfully there was a break in the storm so that they were able to set up their tents before the rain picked up again. Despite not being able to summit Liberty due to the weather, the boys had fun playing cards in their tents. The second day, the weather cleared giving the boys great views along the ridgeline, including from the top of Little Haystack, Lincoln and Lafayette. They had lunch at the Greenleaf Hut and then descended down to their waiting van, and their much earned pizza dinner at Enzos.

Our Inter As (twelve-year-olds) departed Monday after breakfast for a hike on Mt. Moosilauke. The weather interfered with their plans to reach the summit, so they improvised and did a 5-mile loop on the trails around the mountain. After the hike, they played games on the lawn and then enjoyed some relaxation time in their bunkhouses before dinner. Dinner was provided by the Mt. Moosilauke Lodge, run by Dartmouth College, and was a feast of fried rice, roasted zucchini and chick peas, bread, salad, with blueberry crumble for dessert. 

A group of Junior As (ten-year-olds) enjoyed their own Wilderness overnight at our Pioneer Camp on the Baker River. They stopped at Moose Scoops for an ice cream treat on the way and then swam in the natural waterslides, fished, and then feasted on a dinner of hamburgers and hotdogs with S’mores for dessert. Finally, a group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) ventured out on a mountain biking excursion on the trails and roads surrounding camp in the afternoon. Intercamp competition on Monday was postponed due to the rainy weather. Evening activities included fishing, tubing, Gaga pit play, kick ball, Ultimate frisbee, and “Nuke ‘em.” 

Tuesday was a beautiful day at camp, perfect for all our planned trips and activities. Another group of Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) had their turn on a mountain biking adventure around the trails and roads within the vicinity of camp. The Counselors-in-Training departed after breakfast for a trip that they planned (from start to finish, including meals) to Cliff Island on Newfound Lake. Highlights included a roasted chicken lunch, fishing and cliff jumping, and a cheeseburger feast for dinner. Another group of Junior As (ten-year-olds) headed to the Pioneer Camp for their own overnight camping experience. Intercamp competition on Tuesday included a 14s soccer tournament at Moose and a 12s basketball and 11s soccer tournament at a neighboring camp. Evening activity highlights were World Cup soccer, tennis, pickleball, swimming, and a ping pong tournament.

The sunshine continued on Wednesday which was great for the second Senior A2 group heading out for their Mt. Washington backpacking adventure. The Senior A2s (fourteen-year-olds) and Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) not participating in the Mt. Washington or Mt. Lafayette trips headed to Cliff Island for their overnight adventure.  Highlights included canoeing to the island, fishing and swimming, playing Manhunt, and a campfire dinner of hamburgers and hotdogs, with S’mores for dessert. All-ages trips on Wednesday included a fishing trip to Indian Pond and a mountain biking trek around the lake. Intercamp competition on Wednesday included a 15s baseball tournament at Moose, along with a 13s pickleball, 12s Archery, and 10s basketball tournament at a neighboring camp. A special highlight Wednesday was the start of cooking classes courtesy of BLP staff member Rocco’s mom. Over the course of three days of classes the campers learned how to cook mushroom risotto, French toast and bacon, cinnamon buns, and egg cups in muffin tins. Highlights from the evening program included  extreme bocce, tubing, kickball, and sandcastle building.

Thursday our Senior A1s (fifteen-year-olds) departed after breakfast for their capstone trip of whitewater rafting on the Kennebec River in Maine. After arriving at the lodge, they settled into their cabins, played pool, then feasted on a barbecue dinner of hamburgers and grilled chicken. The next day, after a buffet breakfast, they headed to the start of the rapids. It was a 3-hour, seven-mile run down the white water that included class II and IV rapids. Once done, they returned to the lodge for a lunch of salmon, steak, and grilled chicken, before the drive back to camp.

Also on Thursday, the Inter As (twelve-year-olds) enjoyed a very refreshing and fun afternoon jumping, swimming, and sliding in the natural waterslides of Baker Cliffs, followed by an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops. The Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) ventured out to Cliff Island for a camping overnight. Highlights included games of Manhunt and King of the Hill, swimming and fishing, and hamburgers over the campfire.

Intercamp competition included a 15s basketball and 13s soccer tournament at Moose, as well as a 9s soccer tournament at a neighboring camp. In the evening, Port shared another tall-tale, the White Ape, around a campfire on the beach.

On Friday, the Senior Bs (thirteen-year-olds) had their “fluff” trip to Weir’s Beach for the day. The campers loved the go-karts, miniature golf, water bumper cars, and the batting cage followed by swimming and having some treats on the boardwalk. A group of Junior Bs (eight-and-nine-year-olds) departed after dinner for an overnight camping adventure at the Point, our lakeside campsite. Also on Friday, there was an all-ages rock climbing trip to the Rumney crags. Intercamp competition on Friday was a 13s Ultimate frisbee tournament at a neighboring camp. In the evening, there was ping pong, lawn games, open tennis and basketball, sandcastle building, and a canoeing and stand up paddle boarding expedition.

Saturday, there were two open mountain biking trips and a rock climbing excursion to the Rumney crags with Rocco. Saturday was also “wacky activities day” where each of the area activity heads coordinated fun, skill challenges. Saturday afternoon also saw the first round of intramural “Coke League” baseball. The first group was the Inter Bs (eleven-year-olds) and Inter As (twelve-year-olds). All participants received a Classic Coke refreshment for their efforts and positive attitudes. There was also a camp-wide scavenger hunt for the “silver arrow.” In the evening, it was Movie Night with two different viewings in the Junior Hill Rec Hall and the dining hall. Freshly made popcorn was provided by the Counselors-in-Training. 

Sunday we held our traditional buffet brunch of eggs, sausage, bacon, homemade cinnamon buns, and muffins. In the afternoon, it was time for Carnival! There were multiple inflatables (a waterslide, bounce house, and inflatable basketball) and booths that included black jack, a roulette wheel, baseball balloon toss, donut on a string, TP toss, pin knockdown, ring toss, a 3-point competition, ping pong challenges, obstacle course race, balloon dart toss, hockey trick shot, football toss, and bean bag tic-tac-toe. There was also a face painting booth, Sno-Cones with the CITs and Todd, and donut making with Sabina. After the Carnival, most campers elected to go for a free swim. It was then time for a camp cookout on the beach with hamburgers and hot dogs. Finally, the Junior and Senior Hill winners of the past week’s cabin clean-up were rewarded with an ice cream treat at Moose Scoops. 

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