Trips Archives - Page 2 of 2

Camp cooking.

Posted on November 18, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Campers at Runoia have been developing their outdoor cooking skills for many years. Wilderness trips have been an integral part of the program since camp opened 110 years ago. Can you believe that back in the day campers used their bloomers to stash their lunches in when they went off canoeing!

Regardless of how far you are hiking or canoeing you have to eat and the food can make or break the success of a trip. Trying everything from re-hydrating dried mixes to baking a cake in a Dutch oven many girls get their first taste of cooking at camp. Campers are involved in all aspects of trip menu planning and then meal preparation.

From an 8 year old flipping their first pancakes to a 15 year old menu planning and cooking meals for a whole week and with everything in between; Runoai girls get a taste of independence and begin to build their own life skills around the campfire.

Food on the hiking trail has to be light weight, well balanced, nutritious and high in energy. Trail mix, no bake cookies and other high protein snacks can be a great boost when you still have miles to go to your campsite. Cooking over a camp stove requires good organizational skills, often a menu that needs minimal pots and some creativity for making the meal tasty. A canoeing trip may allow for a little more equipment and often includes a reflector oven or Dutch oven so baking around the fire becomes a great option.

There is often nothing more satisfying than sitting around the campfire with a tin plate and a spork eating a meal that you have waited all day for and that you helped to cook.

Always a bonus if it is followed by reflector oven brownies or s’mores.

Fairies are for Real

Posted on May 20, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Imagine yourself eight years old; you are at sleepaway camp, far far far from your family. You are taking in the fun and action that happens day-in day-out at camp.

One day, as you merrily cruise along in your eight year old world, you are invited to go camping to “Fairy Ring”. Wait, it gets better. Not only do you get to camp at Fairy Ring, you get to have magical s’mores (AKA dessert before dinner) and you spend part of your afternoon building fairy houses for the fairies of Fairy Ring.

S'mores for Supper?! — S’mores for Supper?!

Consider your eight year old mind fathoming a camp out where the fairies actually live? When said fairies come to visit before bedtime, you can hardly believe your eyes. Flitting between tall pines and the evening dusk, a movement, a glow, a fairy appears!

The very next morning, when you wake up, the fairies have left you with your very own fairy rock painted in bright colors and glittery-gold.

This tradition at Camp Runoia has been going on since the beginning of time!

Singing

Posted on May 13, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Perfect Harmony

This week is concert week for the chorus that I am a member of. It means two nights of rehearsal and two performances which equals a lot of singing. I love being part of a group of women that spends time together making music. We are not professional musicians but spend time and effort learning notes, exploring musical nuances and perfecting our performance. For 2 ½ hours a week I become lost in the complexity of music mastery and the production of choral sound.

At camp singing is a large part of our everyday lives. We sing silly songs, rowdy songs, quiet, contemplative melodies and most importantly we sing our Runoia songs. We spend time at Assembly learning songs; some have been sung for generations and others are new to Runoia. Old songs carry our history. Hearing them reminds us of our special place on Great Pond. We find ourselves humming Runoia tunes when we are far from camp and know that many of our alumnae sing them to their own children as lullabies.

Our camp songs have actions, guitar accompaniments, nonsense words, no words, harmonies, different parts or barely a tune. We make songs up to popular tunes, we lip sync, we cry while we sing: sometimes from laughing and sometimes because it is our last time of the season singing together.

At camp it is not the quality or musicality that matters so much although we do channel our inner Diane Smith and try to hit those odd high notes in Tumbledown and It’s Blue and White! It is more that we do something together. We can be heard singing in the Lodge, Dining Hall, around the campfire, in a sail boat or canoe, down the path to the waterfront, out on the hiking trails, for the camp Talent Show and in the vans. Songs are a unique part of our camp culture that we pass along orally and through our song book.

Songs and singing make us happy! Music has the ability to unite us. We may not always sing in perfect harmony but we sing together to celebrate our community, traditions and just because we can! It is part of who we are at Runoia it is our ‘Harmony’.

Listen to a few favorite Runoia songs here!

Camp trunk?

Posted on April 7, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

A trunk or not a trunk? that is the question!

I am a first time at sleep away camp for my youngest daughter Mom this year. My oldest did a whole bunch of programs that either just required a duffel bag or a suitcase. She was more the college campus, camp kind of girl! it’s been a while so I am back shopping for camp supplies.

Today’s question for deliberation is what to pack in to? A trunk or duffel bags? and if we do decide on a trunk what type? my head is already swirling just contemplating thinking about it. You would think as the camp director I’d have a clear vision but it seems that there are so many pro’s and con’s for each option. To me the ubiquitous trunk screams sleep away camp and is a connection to the long time tradition of kids packing up for the summer and heading out by train to camp. But wait this is 2015 and no one arrives by train anymore and we won’t be traveling far with her stuff!

The girls that bring trunks to camp love them as they are a great catch all for spare towels and linens dress up clothes and all manner of junk you can just throw in there before cabin inspection. You can sit on them, use them to get up to your top bunk and play a round of cards on top. Trunks these days comes in such an array of styles and colors they can be an identity statement and it’s also pretty cool to bring your parents old camp trunk.

Duffel bags are easy to pack and can be tucked away on the luggage rack collecting dust bunnies until the end of the season. With all of her stuff unpacked she won’t forget about items that may be stored in the trunk and will be able to see everything.

Whichever option we go with I am sure it will work out fine it usually comes out about 50/50 amongst the campers. There are then those international staff who manage to put everything they need for the entire summer into one small backpack maybe that’s what we should do!

A journey to camp

Posted on February 22, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Is it a torch or a flashlight?

Perhaps the greatest adventure of my life was my first trip to the US. I had just finished my second year of college and having spent the previous summer living back at home and working retail full time had I was in search of a different opportunity. Luckily my college was a big early proponent of ‘abroad’ experiences and the being a ‘camp counselor at American summer camp’ was a popular choice for sports science majors.

I have vivid memories of the planning, packing and journey. Remember this was back in the dark ages before the internet so I had little clue what the place looked like and had honestly never heard of Maine! My entire knowledge of American culture had been absorbed from the limited US TV shows on British television. It was likely some combination of ‘Fame’ and ‘Starskey and Hutch’! This was also before the time of the super Walmart and I thought I needed to pack every item I could possibly need for the next 3 months in my human sized backpack it never dawned on me I could shop when I got there!

I was giddy with enthusiasm, met a random girl who was working at the same camp at the airport and headed out into the wide blue yonder.

What a trip it has been! While I have traveled to many countries and had many experiences that trip to the US was truly a life changer.

Now over 20 years later summer camp has become my career, the journey has taken many twists and turns and I have met so many amazing and interesting people along the way. I could never have imagined that I would have ended up living and raising my children in Maine.

Having the courage to take the first step of the journey can lead you to places you never imagined. Be daring and go for it.