Weekly Update: June 22nd, 2025

by Ariella Rogge on June 23

It has been an absolutely unbelievable week at camp! We had multiple mountain summits including many “first” 14ers for campers like Mt. Huron (14,015’) and Quandary Peak (14,272’) as well as a couple of the very hardest peaks, Mt. Princeton (14,200’ by HT Junior Counselors) and La Plata Peak (14,343’ by the BS Outbackers). Campers across all age groups rode miles and miles on horsepacking and Cowgirl/Cowboy camps, including a phenomenal SOLE/CORE combo trip that culminated in a 3 day pack trip almost entirely led by campers. We had creative on-property trips like the Star Wars, Harry Potter, Tipi Camp, Quicks Homestead, Ceramics, Artisan Chef and Lord of the Rings 2 day trips. Plus there were countless all day adventures to the South Platte River, to Pancake Rocks, to the Crags, to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and to Mueller State Park. Campers’ curiosity was piqued during pond observation on the Naturalist all day and on other in-camp activities, plus they gained and expanded their rock climbing, mountain biking, map reading and fishing skills.

It was a week full of adventure, challenge, nervousness and significant accomplishment…and there were some parts that were really hard…including saying goodbye to our first group of Sanborn Junior campers this morning.

Though we have had significant sunshine and blue sky, we have also had–like many of you–unseasonably warm temperatures. Add to that a fair amount of wind and the peak of our annual pine pollen season and we are all feeling a little tired, windblown and covered in a light dusting of yellow pollen. So our health centers have been dealing with allergies, fatigue and even a bit of a head cold at both High Trails and Big Spring–but even a sniffle or light cough cannot overshadow the incredible adventures your campers have had this week.

When people worry and fret about “the next generation,” there is deep concern about their ability to be resilient and to overcome challenges and hardships. There is a worry that they will not have the tools to “choose their hard”–and not be able to see the benefits of overcoming physical, mental, emotional and social challenges that they encounter. That is not the case with our campers. Our campers choose hard stuff every single day…and then they wake up and do it again with zest and stoke (at least after the climb).

On the Springtank Bomber this week, campers wondered why they had done it–but then felt a huge sense of pride about their almost marathon worthy day of hiking. The Junior Counselors wondered if they would ever, ever, EVER get to the top of Mount Princeton (after almost 6,000’ of elevation gain) and then said it was the most proud (and tired) they had ever felt. In these moments of doubt and concern, it would be easy to say, “I’m done…I’m not doing this any more” yet almost all of our campers choose to push through those feelings so they can say, “It was hard, but I did it.”

Though they might not always seek out the Ultimate Challenge (endurance athletes, we are talking about you), there are plenty of hard and challenging situations our campers will encounter as they grow older and learn to navigate the world, so it feels good to know they have the tools (attitude, perseverance, resilience) to succeed. It is also good to have a friend or two with us on the journey who can crack the joke, lighten the mood, or remind us that “Type 2” fun is both temporary and highly memorable.

We now look forward to our third week of camp, and the myriad new adventures, high points, challenges and chosen “hards” it will bring. All of the campers at High Trails will head out on their 3, 4 or 5 day Long Trips, while Big Spring will continue to see many campers out on incredible 2 day and all day trips. We will welcome our new, 2nd term Sanborn Junior campers on Tuesday and they, too, will jump right into the adventures with their living unit overnight on Thursday and Friday. There will be hard moments as well as countless opportunities for fun, singing and laughter.

Plus, if it was easy…everyone would be doing it.

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Ariella Rogge
About Ariella Rogge

Ariella started her career at Sanborn when she was twelve. After five years of camper and five years of Sanborn staff experience, she continued her work with kids in the high school classroom. Ariella and her family returned to Sanborn in 2001 to take on the Program Director role which she held til 2012. She and Elizabeth Marable became co-directors of High Trails in 2013 and then Ariella became the High Trails Director in 2020. In the fall of 2022 she became the Director of Sanborn Western Camps, overseeing the director teams of both Big Spring and High Trails. She lists mountain golf, Gymkhana, climbing mountains and making Pad Thai in the backcountry as some of her favorite activities at camp. Ariella received a B.A. in English from Colorado College and is a certified secondary English educator,an ACCT Level 2 Ropes Course Technician, an ARC lifeguard and NREMT and WEMT. She lives in Florissant in the summer and in Green Mountain Falls during the school year so she can stay involved with the busy lives of her husband, Matt, and two sons, Lairden and Karsten.