We just had the wonderful opportunity of catching up with longtime staff member Brad Carter (1995-2000, 2002, 2003 Expedition).  Brad worked and grew our climbing program for many years.  He lead two expeditions to Yosemite, and has been a great friend ever since.

Brad just came through town to attend and play music for a wedding of some local friends here in Brevard.  While catching up with Brad, we had the opportunity to meet his new wife, Melisa!  We actually found out Brad was married one day on Facebook.  It was posted something like this…”got married in Yosemite in September to best ever gal Melisa Holman.”  It was posted December 23rd; perfect Brad Carter fashion.

Brad is doing really well and currently living in Seattle with his wife and playing music, mostly, for a living.  He still keeps up on the guitar and the banjo;  Melisa plays the violin.  Brad also keeps up with Brent Harding (staff-1996) who is head chef at Le Pichet’s in Seattle and Aaron “AJ” Power (staff-1995,96,2000-2001), who has made a living as an amazing artist.

We were also able to catch up with Travis Herbert (1997-99), who is still in the area working for North Carolina Outward Bound’s Unity Project.  We also had Stuart and Katie Dodson over that night too.  They live in Brevard and will be expecting their first child this summer!

Stuart, Katie, Travis, Melisa, Brad, and Zoob

It was a wonderful evening of catching up, laughing about old times, and remembering so many others that have put Camp High Rocks on their path.  My best to all of them; it was a wonderful time!

Of course, all of us here at Camp High Rocks know how important camp is for young boys.  You cannot beat the opportunities for growth, independence, friends, new activities, connection with nature, and mostly FUN!

Camp High Rocks continues to foster its relationship with the American Camp Association, an organization that is trying to reach out to everyone about the importance of camp.  As members of the American Camp Association and the Association of Independent Camps, we all really enjoyed this new piece put out by the ACA with generous funding by the Legacy Fund sponsored by the AIC.  Enjoy the video and feel free to pass it on…

 This year Camp High Rocks will be participating in our first ACA Accreditation visit to be an ACA Accredited Camp.  So far the process has been wonderful and we have learned a lot.  We look forward to the event and the possibility of being an ACA Accredited Camp.  If you would like to pass a great link on to parents about the ACA and the joys of camp send them to www.CampParents.org.

 The Association for Experiential Education also accredits Camp High Rocks.  Actually, we were the first program ever to be accredited by AEE.  We will continue to enjoy the benefits and knowledge from this accreditation as well and feel that they complement each other very well.  To find out more about AEE and their accreditation program visit www.aee.org.

We just had our third annual Father/Son Weekend here at High Rocks this past weekend!  This year we hosted about 28 families.  The weather was great, with only a little rain here and there until Sunday.  Activities included the High Ropes Course, Climbing Tower, Archery, Riflery, Canoeing on the lake, a French Broad Canoe Float, Dupont Waterfall Hike, tennis, soccer, and mostly a lot of fishing!  It was a great success and was much warmer this year than the previous two. 

We sure had a lot of fun getting to know some new campers, dads, and potential campers.  Follow the link for a full picture gallery of the event.  Father-Son Pictures