News from Camp: July 23, 2017

by Jane Sanborn on July 23

Following outstanding unit overnights at the beginning of the week, we had some fabulous all-day trips on Thursday and Friday. The weather was warm and sunny and the High Trails Juniors loved their Thursday tubing trip on the South Platte River as did a group of older girls who chose this adventure on Friday. A group from each camp climbed on the fabulous rocks at The Crags and Pancake Rocks on the west side of Pikes Peak, and others enjoyed rock scrambling on the camp property. We also took hiking trips to the Mueller Ranch State Park, canoeing trips, technical rock climbing trips, mountain biking trips, and several extremely fun horseback riding all-days. In addition Big Spring had several overnight trips including a successful summit of Mt. Ouray and an exploration trip to the Sonoran Desert near Canon City. The Big Spring Junior campers enjoyed seeing the huge petrified Sequoia stumps at The Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument on Friday and discovering leaf and insect fossils at the special digging site we visit.

We have had a full weekend with Saturday Special Activities yesterday morning and Hike the Pike in the afternoon. For Hike the Pike, campers may choose to hike up to 6 miles, and the camp makes a donation to charity for each mile walked. Many campers participated and most chose to do the entire 6 miles! Last night we had a coed ice cream social and dance; the theme of the dance was “Decades” and there were many colorful and creative costumes.

Sunday is always a day to clean up, organize and get ready for upcoming adventures. During the afternoon we had a fun in-camp program which included all kinds of games and swimming. Tonight, each camp will celebrate our traditional Sunday Rocks service at dusk.

We have a lot going on next week. Both camps have many overnight and all-day trips including mountain climbs, horseback 2-days, Capture the Flag Overnights, river trips, fishing trips and much more. This is also the week for our SOLE (Sanborn Outdoor Learning Experience) and CORE (Community Outreach Experience) Trips, offered to campers who have completed the 8th and 9th grades. Campers choose from trips specializing in mountain climbing, horseback riding, technical rock climbing, and mountain biking. Each 5-day adventure includes a service component as well as a great deal of learning in the chosen activity area.

The Junior Campers at both camps will have another fun overnight and Juniors at High Trails are looking forward to their trip the fossil beds on Wednesday. Riding, hiking explorations, swimming, crafts, and special closing activities will round out the week for the Juniors.

Our photographers are hard at work uploading this week’s photos. You can check them out tomorrow morning.

We are looking forward to another great week!

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Jane Sanborn
About Jane Sanborn

Jane began her career as a counselor at High Trails and has worked with the camps and COEC since graduating from Colorado College with a degree in English and Education. She served as the Director/Program Director of High Trails from 1970-99, and as the Executive Director of COEC for many years. She retired as Executive Director in October 2017, and assumed the role of Director of Development. Jane is also active in the American Camp Association and has served in many leadership roles. Currently, she is the Program Chair for the ACA National Conference and sits on the National Public Policy Committee.