News from Camp: November 1, 2019
Our seasons changed dramatically last week when the snow began to fall on Sunday and didn’t stop until Wednesday. Cold temperatures accompanied the snow so the camps are still covered with their winter blanket. We loved our long fall but are always inspired by the changing of the seasons, especially when it is as dramatic as this one.
We are all looking forward to the relative calm of winter and the opportunity it provides to improve our programs and our facilities. We will meet this month to select dates for some of our exceptional trips next summer. These include four- and five-day backpacking trips on Mts. Elbert and Massive, Mts. Harvard and Yale, Pikes Peak, the Colorado Trail, Buffalo Peaks, the Tarryall Mountains and several more spectacular wilderness areas. We will also plan mountain climbing trips to Mt. Huron, Mt. Ouray, Mt. Oxford and Belford, La Plata Peak, Mt. Quandary, Mt. Democrat, Mt. Princeton and ten more Colorado “Fourteeners”. We are already anticipating the fun and challenge of these amazing adventures.
This year, we have another great group of staff staying on through the winter to help us prepare for camp next summer. High Trails Directors Elizabeth Marable and Ariella Rogge, Program Director Anne Shingler and Program Specialist Emily Burnham will be hiring staff, enrolling campers, and dreaming up new programs. Big Spring Directors Mike Adler and Mark Rutberg have assembled a great team including Program Directors Kado Marino and Noah Fisher. Former Big Spring Program Director Martie Adams Jones is now an Assistant Director at our adult conference center. Riding Director Maren MacDonald, Sarah Slusher, Marge Rhodenbaugh and Charles Nunziato will take care of the horses and Sarah Krumholz, and Logan Parr will be focusing on our HTOEC Program. Of course, Mike Mac, Jerry, Jane, and Jessie will be around to help with whatever is needed.
We will again be hosting the American Camp Association—Rocky Mountain Region Annual workshop in mid-November. Attended by camp leaders from several states, this is a wonderful educational and networking opportunity and many of our year-round staff will be attending and, in some cases, presenting programs. High Trails Director Elizabeth Marable is a member of the ACA Local Council of Leaders, and has been very involved in planning the conference.
Our maintenance crew has made excellent use of the good weather—they have repaired porches on some High Trails cabins, improved the workshop at the Witcher Ranch, finished up some work on the Big Spring Lodge addition, and completed many seasonal projects. During the winter, they will continue to work on all kinds of facility upgrades at Big Spring and High Trails, including our big winter project—rebuilding Ponderosa cabin at High Trails.
Many of you have received enrollment information in the past month, and we are always happy to send our brochure to new families. We have already received a significant number of enrollments for 2019 and are excited to watch the High Trails, Big Spring and Sanborn Junior communities take shape.
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
