Weekly Update: June 14th, 2026

After a brilliant week of blue skies and warm temps, we awoke to a bit of a foggy, cooler morning (a High Trails camper came into the office and declared, “It is below 55 degrees…can we please put out the hot cocoa?”). Even after a single week, campers and staff have begun to feel more in tune with the natural world and the circadian rhythms and cycles of the days…so cooler temps and a little rain helps everyone slow down, be more intentional (even with getting dressed for the day!) and provides time to help us plan for the week ahead.

Along with connecting to the cycles of the natural world, campers have been adjusting to new cycles, structure and habits at camp. With our new schedule, campers have store, mail call and downtime between 4p-6p during the week–so hammocks and bunks are full as campers chillax while they read and write letters, take a pre-dinner snooze, or work through their newest book or graphic novel. They have time to clean their living units, bathrooms and washhouses in the mornings (and sometimes again in the afternoons) and everyone comes to the lodges three times a day for meals to share food, stories and experiences and listen to announcements regarding upcoming activities and adventures…and this week, there will be adventures aplenty!

Since our Mid-Week Update, campers at High Trails and Big Spring participated in all day trips and in camp activities on Thursday and Friday and we had our first all-camp event last evening: the “Decades” dance! In the theme of decades (or more like not in over five decades), we also streamed the Knicks vs. Spurs game for interested (read: passionate) camper and staff fans. Next week, we will have an Ice Cream Social in addition to the standard field games and themed dance.

Between now and then, all of our rising 9th and 10th graders will head out on TEN different SOLE/CORE service learning trips. Some will work with Colorado Fourteener’s Initiative (CFI) on restoring and maintaining the Mount Massive trail system, hike on the Wheeler and Colorado Trails and climb a few different 14,000ft. Mountains. Others will learn horsepacking skills and increase their equestrian competency while doing trail work, campsite restoration, fire mitigation and invasive species removal on nearby BLM and NFS sites with members of the Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP). CUSP will also work with groups who will spend the week, on and off property, deepening their rock climbing and mountain biking proficiency. By the end of the week, campers and staff will have provided over 1000 hours of community service to the region and to all who recreate there.

Our younger campers will head out on a dizzying amount of on and off property trips: canoeing, horsepacking, 14,000 ft mountain climbs, sports (World Cup themed, no doubt), river and fishing 2 days; Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, Star Wars, ceramics and the beloved “Classic Slumber Party” at the 4 Story Treehouse overnights and much more! There will also be all day fishing, trail riding, rock scrambling, mountain biking and fossil digging experiences…and when they aren’t out on trips, there will be plenty of arts and crafts, games in the field, hammock hikes and activities our creative counselors will invent on the spot.

After a successful week of leadership training and helping lead the unit and cabinside overnights, opening campfires and weekend events, the Outbackers and Junior Counselors (our oldest campers) are heading out on their respective “specials” next week. On these trips, they will camp at our property at the base of Mount Antero and climb mountains in the central Collegiate Range, explore The Great Sand Dunes National Park and go rafting on the Arkansas River while continuing to build the relationships that help shape the culture of the community. (We think this group of JCs and Outbackers are exceptionally awesome and cool!)

Our Sanborn Junior campers are looking forward to a week that is chock full of fun: horseback rides, their second overnight trip, river trips, egg drops, treehouse play and making the most of their last week at camp!

And so begins the rhythm of camp: an undulating experience full of “peak” moments and naps in the sunshine; a full day of imaginative play and a bedtime story; covering miles in the saddle and watching the horses graze; waking early to paddle on the glassy reservoir and playing card games on the rocks near the shore; exhilarating (or just relaxing) floats down the river and warming up under a towel while chatting with new friends; and greeting each day with the possibility and wonder of both the unknown and the structure of the camp routine helping to push us out of our comfort zones while allowing us to stay grounded. It is the heartbeat and the breath of the camp experience…and we love it!

As we know the mail can take a while to reach you, we provide the campers with a few Mad-libs style form letters throughout the session to fill out for you. These letters won’t be as informative as the letters you receive via mail but we also know it is nice to get at least ONE letter from your campers while they are at camp. In addition to the camper calendar we uploaded last week, we have uploaded a letter into your Camp InTouch account from your camper–and we will be mailing out letters from your camper’s staff members soon!

In order to access the letter and calendar, please login to your Camp InTouch account, navigate to the “Forms & Documents” page, find the letter/calendar and click on the “PRINT” icon to download the letter/review the calendar…otherwise, you will just see a blank letter/calendar. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed on your computer or laptop, you may not be able to read the letter.

If you are having trouble downloading the letter/calendar, Campminder staff recommends using Chrome and making Adobe Reader your default pdf reader.

We are looking forward to the week ahead!