The Power of a Camp Experience

A reflection from our Director, Emma Bundy, on the benefits of camp for kids as well as their parents.

Over the 30 years I’ve been involved with Bar 717, I’ve worn a lot of hats. I’ve been a nervous first-time camper, a seasoned Camper in Leadership Training (CILT), a barn counselor, and a Director. In a pinch, I’ve been a dishwasher, a dump truck driver, and a plumber. But until last summer there was one role I’d never occupied: a parent of a camper.

As you might surmise from my long and varied history with Camp, I am a believer in the power of a camp experience. I’ve been lucky to see it up close — to watch children learn to see themselves in a new way, to feel independent and powerful, and to push through discomfort and trepidation. I love to see them fall in love with the mountains of Trinity County and the version of themselves they can return to here at the ranch each summer. Over time, that version becomes more present even in time away from Camp. They can learn to approach challenges at home and at school with the same bravery they summon to hike a peak in the Alps or share a song for the first time at Vespers.

Emma & friends head to Camp Trinity for the first time in 1996.

I’ve also seen what a job at camp can do for a young person (or a not so young person for that matter!). Those who are brave enough to commit to working at camp are rewarded with capabilities that last a lifetime. These aren’t skills that can be learned in class or automated by AI — they are ways of navigating the world with compassion and clarity of purpose. They are approaches to problem solving and building relationships that last based on trust and shared values. It’s not easy work but it’s meaningful, and one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from working at camp is that hard work can still be fun when you know why you’re doing it. 

Owen moves onto his platform.

So now we’ve established that camp is good for campers and staff, but what about parents?  What do we gain from sending kids off to this big adventure? When my seven year old told us he wanted to sign up last year, I was surprised and nervous. As a goofy rising second grader, he is a reluctant bather. I doubted he’d eat a vegetable if left to his own devices. I feared the salad bar would run out of ranch dressing and croutons. But I also felt it was important to trust his instinct that he was ready—and he was. He moved onto the platform and instantly attached to his counselor, a wonderful mid-twenties grad student and world class yo-yo champion. With no apparent nerves, he chatted excitedly to his platform mates about how good camp breakfast is and showed off his stack of books. He tenderly tucked his stuffed animal into his sleeping bag, and the delicate mix of big kid and little kid nearly took my breath away.

Leaving him there, I felt nervous and excited for him and for me. Thankfully, he had a great time and as it turns out, his time at camp was good for me and my husband too. Once he was a camper, we had to let go of the dozens of daily reminders we give him at home, resigned to the idea that he would eat what he wanted and probably stay up too late reading by flashlight. Even in tough moments, we had to believe he had the tools and the support to succeed. By sending him to camp, we were able to support him in the most meaningful way possible — by letting him prove to himself that he could do it! Wash his own hair. Pick out his clothes. Ask for another serving of garlic bread. Hike to the Swimhole. Help cook dinner by a campfire. Stuff a sleeping bag (OK, fine, he still needs help with this one).

It fundamentally shifted the way we saw him in the world. What a gift this is — especially as parents wrestle with big issues around how to raise happy, healthy kids in a moment that feels scary and uncertain. Instead of grasping for more control, we can and should open ourselves up to share the weight of that responsibility. Camp can do this by offering our kids a safe community of peers and adults who are, importantly, not their parents. It can also give kids a deep sense of belonging. Although he would not have called it that, my son’s animated stories of joining an act at the Untalent Show and gleefully eating crawfish mac and cheese on an overnight signaled to us that he felt welcome and taken care of. Isn’t that what we want most? 

If we’re lucky, both of our kids will love camp and be shaped by their experiences on the ranch. If we’re even luckier, their time at camp will continue to help us see what our kids are capable of and learn how to show up — and when to get out of the way — so they can find out on their own.

Emma’s kids performing ninja moves in the 2022 Untalent Show.