Weekly Update: August 9th, 2026

So much life and joy. That is the epitome of camp. This last week of Summer 2026 has had it all and more. Performances at the JC Dinner. Long trip mountain summits. Pizza nights in the lodge. Chilly mornings hawking horses in the early dawn. Plane letter writing. Overcoming the fear of heights and zipping on the zipline into the future. Hot day swimming fun. Naps in the alpine tundra. Bushwacking through damp willows by headlamp. A luau. Gymkhana. Trip Certificates, Mile Club achievements, art and riding awards. Easy floats down the river. Watching the shooting stars.

The Perseids Meteor shower will peak on Wednesday, yet tonight–with the moonrise happening around the first bus departure–the sky abounds with stars and even more shooting ones than normal. It’s a little end-of-summer celestial fireworks show. Along with the visibility of the meteors and without a moon just yet, the vast Milky Way stretches above camp with a bright density that is awe-inspiring: just like your kids.

And they have packed it all in this last week. There have been spontaneous dance parties, non-stop chanting, brownies for breakfast (just for dessert), laughter, “last chance” activities, singing loudly and proudly out of key, hugs, and–over the last two days–a fair amount of tears. For our oldest (and teariest) campers, the Junior Counselors (JCs at High Trails) and Outbackers (at Big Spring) there is a palpable desire to squeeze every last drop, every last moment, out of this summer experience–and their urgency and their presence–should be a reminder to all of us.

Live with joy.

Our JCs and Outbackers are tone setters for the summer experience. They are the near-peers that every other camper looks up to and aspires to be more like. Campers love their counselors and seek to emulate them–yet it is the depth of history and experience that make our oldest campers the true “cultural torch bearers” of camp. And this particular group of young men and young women have set the bar exceptionally high for others to follow. They are all good friends and it shows.

In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, the JCs “snuck” (supported by helpful staff) into the Big Spring lodge where they set all of the tables for Big Spring staff and painstakingly decorated a table for the Outbackers. They had nameplace cards with inside jokes, plenty of pink tulle, sidewalk chalk declaring their secret arrival and departure and a flag (with a photo of them on it) they flew at the entrance of the lodge. It was a tremendous surprise for Big Spring and many of the boys came into the lodge for breakfast and said, “That is so cool!”

Not to be outdone, this morning, the Outbackers returned the favor and papered the High Trails lodge with over 100 photos of the JCs–from their earliest years (some have been campers since 2017) to this year–and many of the photos, especially from the last few years, showed all of these friends on trips together. They also left sidewalk chalk and white board notes–but the overall vibe of these covert missions was clear: these kids truly like and respect each other and have loved their camp experience.

Because of this, that feeling has extended outward and infused all aspects of the last two weeks and the full month. As one of the JCs read tonight in her “Dear Sanborn” letter (a tribute and reflection on their time at camp), Sanborn “was never just about the trips we get to go on but the people we go with that make the trips worthwhile.” Doing all of the stuff we do at camp is definitely cool–and makes for great stories and “peak” moments–but it is the countless small moments of true connection, presence and engagement with others that make it special, unique and unforgettable.

This has been an unforgettable summer and an unforgettable session. The stories your camper will share with you will unfold as they continue to process, absorb and integrate the experience into their own sense of self. We hope they will tell you about the tributes they received at their Closing Campfires, which BOOM beads they earned at Big Spring and which superlatives they received at High Trails. We hope they will tell you about the times that felt hard and then when they found the strength, the inspiration or the friend who helped them through. We hope they tell you stories that you don’t fully understand because, not only did you “have to be there,” they are beginning to shape themselves into individuals who are part of their own community.

As a parent, this independence, autonomy and sense of responsibility can bring a bit of a shiver (excitement/nervousness/nostalgia/all of it)…and it is important that you know what we know and what we see here: you have great kids and you are doing a great job. They couldn’t do this without what you are instilling, and have already instilled in them–they just get to take it to the next level when they are at camp.

Our hope is as big as the universe: that they take this life and joy with them out of camp and into the larger world–and then they come back next summer (or in a few summers for those JCs and Outbackers when they apply to be on staff) and grow even more. So we will leave Summer 2026 with these words from another “Dear Sanborn” letter tonight:

Camp has taught me so much more than I could ever have imagined. It taught me to be brave when everything feels impossible; to laugh until my stomach hurts; and, most importantly, brought me a community I now can’t imagine being without. Only the people here experiencing this wonderful place together are the ones who truly understand the beauty of Sanborn.

Thank you for sharing your campers with us this summer.