Weekly Update: July 27th, 2025

As of Friday, the holidays are roughly 5 months away. We were reminded of this when High Trails campers and staff cut down a tree, decorated the lodge and celebrated some winter fun on one of the hotter days of the session. It was an apt way to end the week that had started somewhat rainy and cool. Yet, as one of our departing Sanborn Junior campers said, “Hot cocoa is good ANY time of year!”

It was a sweet (and bittersweet) week at both camps: many campers were out on multiple overnight and all day trips, while most of our oldest campers spent the entire week out on their SOLE (Sanborn Outdoor Leadership Experience) and CORE (Community OutReach Experience) service learning trips. There were long days of rugged hiking and working on trails with CFI and CUSP, plus many successful mountain summits including multiple successful ascents of Mt. Antero and Quandary plus Mt. Elbert and Mt. Huron bombers. And what, you might ask, is a “bomber”? It is a single day climb of a 14,000+ mountain that begins and ends on the same day…basically, it is a climb where you roll up to the trailhead in the dark, hop out of the van, climb a mountain and come home. We had our all-camp “Hike the Pike” fundraising walk yesterday–with Sanborn donating money to the Texas flood relief efforts for every mile each camper walked (total amount coming soon!).

Tomorrow and Tuesday, High Trails campers will leave for their “Long Trips”–three, four and five day trips into the backcountry for hiking, horsepacking, mountain climbing, “slicker sliding” (sledding on jackets), artistic expression, canoeing and more. Big Spring campers will have another jam-packed week of two day and all day trips, including “Riders of Rohan” (a Lord of the Rings themed horsepacking trip) and the beloved “Spring Tank Bomber” (see above) and a “FYWB” (Find Your Way Back) orienteering and navigating. With the rains, new allergens, physical exertion and shared tents, we have also had some coughs and sniffles at Big Spring–so the boys are looking forward to “chillaxing” on the Fishing and River two days as well. The week will be (“high-key”) full of “stoke” and “quality vibes.”

Like some of the current (occasionally indecipherable) slang, the semantics of camp are both unique and somewhat magical in the process of creating belonging over the camps’ 78 year history.

On the day after the departure of our 3rd term Sanborn Junior campers, and the eve of the last “Opening Day” (Sanborn Junior 4th term) of the 2025 Summer–we thought we would share some of the most magical (and rather unique) linguistic curiosities of Sanborn with you. This way, when the camper letters from today are uploaded tomorrow, you may have a better sense of what the heck your campers have been doing this last week!

Places

1. A-Bluff: the large rock formation that looms above High Trails and can be seen from the Big Spring office. It’s smaller counterparts are “B-Bluff” and “C-Bluff”. So it isn’t just a bluff…it is A-Bluff. It is a fun place to “rock scramble” (basically climbing on, over, under and between many of the granite formations found all over the camp property.) See “Witcher Rocks” or “Old Boys Sunday Rocks” below
2. Bat Caves: These are neither true caves nor do they actively have bats. (Also known as the “Maze Caves”) Unlike the high bluffs, this pile of massive Pikes Peak granite boulders are actually part of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, which we have access to from the northeast edge of our property. Fun fact: Sandy and Laura Sanborn donated almost 100 acres of Sanborn property to help ensure the development of the National Monument back in the 1960s.
3. Canoe/Paddle Trip: Unlike some camps, Sanborn doesn’t have a lake front or river, so we travel to the nearby 11-Mile Reservoir for our canoeing and SUP excursions. Our river trips go to the South Platte River for easy going tubing adventures which create a perfectly relaxing way to spend a day while watching eagles, catching crawdads and “body surfing” with the current in our lifejackets.
4. Ridges: The somewhat linear arrangement/grouping of similar-aged campers’ living units. At High Trails there are only two ridges (North and South), but there are five Ridge Leaders (see below). At Big Spring there are four ridges (ABCD, HKL, MOPQ and STUW) and each of those letters represents a different Colorado mountain (we’ll let the campers name them for you).
5. Vespers: Both a place and an activity. High Trails Sunday Vespers happens on B-Bluff, while Big Spring hikes to Little Blue for their Sunday evening community building. Once you go to “Vespers” you know what it is and where it is.

People

1. ACs: Assistant Counselors–youngest staff members at camp, but who know their way around the kitchens and the cookie jars. They help lead trips, provide camper guidance, invent fun games like yogurt container stacking and are often exceptionally good dish room dancers.
2. JCs: Junior Counselors–the oldest campers at High Trails. This is not to be confused with Junior Campers or, more perplexingly, the counselors who work with the Sanborn Junior campers. This is confusing to us occasionally, so we try and stick with calling those fantastic leaders “JCs.”
3. Outbackers: The oldest campers at Big Spring. At both High Trails and Big Spring, these oldest campers are assigned to a living unit and they build relationships with campers and staff while also taking on additional responsibilities like leading evening activities, campfires, dances and other all camp themed events. (We need to do some historic research on the origin of the name “Outbacker”–we don’t think it has anything to do with Australia, but we aren’t entirely sure of that, either)
4. Ridge Leaders: Members of the “SLT” (Senior Leadership Team), these near-peer staff supervisors are typically also experienced, returning Sanborn staff members who lead trips, design all camp activities, support the day to day operations of camp and spend time hanging out with campers and staff in the evenings.

Things

1. Tweety, The BAT and Barbie: These are camp trucks. Most are named for colors, paint jobs or size. The laundry vehicle doesn’t have a specific name, but does have a horse on it. Hearing it drive down the ridge at 6:30am causes many camp staff to run like horses to the laundry drops if they forgot to put the laundry out the night before.
2. Chits: The camp currency. Though not part of the Federal Reserve System, chits can be earned, saved and spent on individual and collective awards (ie: an ice cream at the camp store or a pizza party as a living unit). Inflationary cycles of The Chit can occur when well meaning JCs or Outbackers decide campers can earn a chit for every piece of micro-trash they pick up. This requires a market correction that results in a lot of ice cream parties.
3. Round-Up: Our daily, evening connection time in living units, cabins and on trips where we share “Shout-Outs” (affirmations and gratitude), “Ownerships” (opportunities to name mistakes or missteps); “Team Time” (a fun activity with your group…like s’mores or a game) and “Tomorrow’s Plan” (an overview of the following day and time to remind people to get the laundry out).
4. This Window, That Window & The Other Window: These are the names of the windows at each of the camp kitchens. Certain things come out of or go in certain windows. We actually think the names of these windows are the best representation of the semantic hoo-hah of camp.

For campers, part of growing into and learning more about the camp experience comes from learning that you go to “Outcamp” to get your food and gear for trips or that you can ask the “KC” (Kitchen Coordinator) to help you restock the toilet paper in your cabin or the washhouse or that your “Able/Mabel Waiter” is the one who is going to bring you food or napkins from “This Window.” Some of these words and names are traditional and historical, some are new and silly, and some are the creation of someone at some point and it just stuck (a “spoggle” is the plastic container that holds utensils) but they all are part of creating the patchwork of experience that makes up a Sanborn Summer.

We hope our 3rd term Sanborn Junior campers have been regaling you with stories using names of people, places and things you don’t entirely understand, but with a sense of excitement, emotion and joy that is palpable. We know the letters home from our month-long campers may hold some of the same semantic befuddlement for you–but also contain the deep sense of pride, accomplishment and wonder of being a part of something that isn’t easy to define.

We can’t wait for them to share their stories of the places, spaces and people that are becoming part of their nomenclature and summer experience with you.

And now it is time for….“One-big-clap!” (how a lot of “Round-Ups” end at night)

Ariella, Will & Krista