Reflecting on Summer 2026
It is hard to believe that Summer 2026 is almost over. It seems like it was yesterday that I was welcoming counselors to camp, coaching them through behavior management, the values of GRP, and their first Staff Campout. Campers were soon to follow, greeted with open arms, Ortman and Scrappy, the joys of polar-bearing under Uncles Creek Falls, and the traditions of our Upper Council fire.
One of my favorite GRP traditions is the spirit stones. Each session, at our opening fire, I introduce campers to the story and meaning of the spirit stones. As they walk up the hill to one of our more reverent spaces, the Upper Council fire, they start to see thousands of stones. Some brightly colored, some faded, some with soil still covering them from a recent resurfacing project by a few dedicated Alumni. These stones, filling the hillside behind the fire, represent every camper and staff member who has come to GRP.
Over 37, now 38 summers, generations of campers have walked the trials and paths of Green River and have each picked up a stone. One that, for some reason, calls to them. Some as large as the backpack they struggle to carry it in, some the size of a piece of gravel, potentially picked up on the path to the cabin. While packing up their trunks on the last day, the campers take the time to paint the stone they pick up, putting a bit of themselves and the person they have become while they have spent time at GRP.
The campers walking through the field on opening day are not the campers they are now painting their spirit stone. They have made new friends, tried new things, pushed a bit outside of their comfort zone to learn new things about themselves, and started to grow into the future generation of environmental stewards and amazing people they will one day become. When they paint that stone, or simply hold it as they walk up to the Upper Council Fire, they are reliving those moments, those lessons, and putting a bit of them into that stone. A living memory of the summer and the experience they just had.
At the start of our closing Upper Council Fire, each camper and staff member places their stone in a circle around the fire. Currently, there are 4 rings representing 4 sessions, and a 5th will be added soon. On August 7th, the last thing the Summer 2026 staff will do is move the spirit stones from the fire ring to the spirit stone hill. Where they will be forevermore. (Forevermore).
When campers and staff return to the “real world” and get a bit camp sick, or need a reminder of the lesson they learned, or simply need a break from the stresses that come with life, they can close their eyes and think of their spirit stones. Knowing they are always welcome and have a piece of themselves, a living memory, under the pines in the Green River Valley.
Many times throughout my life, when I am away or need a reminder of the challenges I have overcome and the growth I have experienced over my past 3 years as Executive Director, I find myself taking a deep breath and remembering the feel of the forest floor on that final summer camp night as a Counselor and then Mentor. Always connected to that via the many spirit stones I have on the hill. Joined by thousands of other memories and people, always represented in the cool shade on a hill underneath the pines.
So, as this summer 2026 comes to a close, Alumni and Campers, I invite you to take a moment to close your eyes and remember your spirit stone and the feelings that come with it. Parents, as your campers prepare to return to the classroom, I encourage you to ask them about their spirit stones and the lessons, growth, and memories tied to it. Because no matter how far you go, or what adventures this life takes you on, everyone who has hiked these trails or experienced the magic that is GRP has a place to return to under the pines.
