Packing For Camp

The Definitive Guide to Gearing Up for GRP

Welcome to summer camp, the most fabulous living arrangement you will ever find in the forest for free. This style guide will help you plan and pack for a season you won’t forget — a season of high humidity, loud night creatures, and possibly bunk beds.

This first section details the basics of summer living. As you search for a trunk, box, luggage or other container to store all your basics in, keep in mind that the distance from the floor to the bottom of the bed in the camper cabins is a stylish 13.5 inches. All cabins have electricity, but we ask that you don’t use any digital devices in the cabins with kids.

The list below includes essentials, but you are welcome to add appropriate decorations to make your home comfortable and fun. A word of warning about all your belongings: our temperate rain forest climate means that the air has lots of moisture. Any cloth or paper can succumb to mildew if left in the open air.

Here are the cabin basics:

• Pillow

• Bath towels & wash cloths (lighter towels will dry faster!)*

• Flat & fitted sheets (twin for cabins, varies with other accommodations)*

• Comforter and/or blankets (plan for both warm and cool nights)*

• Books to read and share

• Toiletries & shower caddy

• Mattress pad (optional)

• Laundry bag (easily recognizable as yours)

  *GRP will provide these items for international staff

Camp days are warm (~80 degrees) with cooler mornings and evenings (~60 degrees, occasional lows in the 50s).

Summer tends to bring regular rain showers and thunderstorms, so plan for things to get wet!

Mosquitoes and no-see-ums like to bother us around dusk, so make sure you’ve got a few light-weight pants and long sleeves to throw on pretty regularly. These work much better than bug spray.

We provide laundry service every Tuesday. The service we use is reliable, but with the thousands of articles of clothing that get sent out every week, pieces of clothing do go missing with some regularity. For this reason, and because we often get wet and muddy, we don’t recommend bringing your absolute favorite clothes.

Dress Policy

Our dress policy is very simple. On opening day, we wear our staff shirt (you’ll get one!) and a wood cookie (your nametag). The rest of the time, we generally wear shorts and t-shirts! Clothes and bodies aren’t our focus — kids are. To that end, we do have a few key rules that apply to everyone:

1. Clothing should be functional. Given our environment, that means that they provide full coverage of hips and torso to provide protection from scrapes and cuts while hiking and playing in the forest.

2. Clothing should promote GRP’s mission. That means clothing with inflammatory language or imagery should not be packed.

3. Closed-toe shoes are expected for most activities. Flip-flops are only appropriate in the cabins and on your way to the shower house. Our trails are full of sticks and stones to hurt your foot bones!

Please check our full dress code or contact us if you have any questions about a specific circumstance.

Clothes To Bring

• Shorts

• T-shirts (short- and long-sleeved)

• Sleeping clothes (warm and cool)

• Underwear

• Socks (Lots!!!!! And at least a couple pairs of wool hiking socks)

• Bathing suit (Must be designed for athletic function)

• Pants (Synthetic hiking pants are really nice to have)

• Sweatshirt, sweaters, hoodie

  • It can get cold at night! It’s summer, but layers are the key to success, especially on CampOut

• Very waterproof rain jacket or poncho

• Rain pants (optional)

• Outfits for themed dinners: Pirate Night, Contra Dance, Closing Banquet, Twinner, Throwback Thursday (think fun shirts, glitter, accessories, etc)

• Camouflage items for campwide games (optional - can also bring just dark-colored clothing)

Since the air is so damp here, we recommend storing all of your clothes in something like a bin or trunk that can close securely and reduce the risk of mold/mildew.

Having the right footwear can make or break an outdoor experience. Whether it’s reducing the risk of snakebite, increasing traction on slippery rocks, or simply avoiding a bee sting between your toes, shoes are really an important part of outdoor safety and recreational literacy. This is a life lesson that we want to teach our campers, and it starts with you!

Here are the shoes we recommend bringing to camp, along with the situations in which we expect you to use — or not to use! — them. You are a role model for our campers, and so we expect you to follow these guidelines.

Closed-Toed Shoes

1. Tennis Shoes - For running around, every day wear, hiking if your boots are wet. Most afternoon activities require that campers have closed-toed shoes on, and so we expect you to follow suit.

2. Hiking Boots - For all Mentor Hikes and CampOut. These should be very comfortable! I recommend waterproof hiking boots that go above your ankle. Don’t forget to get some wool hiking socks, too. Also, remember to break those puppies in before heading out on your first big hike!

3. Water shoes - To bring with you on specific Mentor Hikes that have a water component. We expect you to wear your hiking boots to the water, then change into your closed-toed water shoes, which helps prevent blisters. Our policy is that you must have water shoes on if you are going to be walking in our rivers. We ask you to serve as a role model for the campers. You don’t have to buy fancy new water shoes either - you can use old tennis shoes. Just make sure they’re closed-toed. (Sorry, Chaco fans!)

Open-Toed Shoes

1. Shower Shoes - Flip flops are fine, anything just to shuffle from your cabin to the nearby shower house.

2. Chacos, etc - You are welcome to bring whatever open-toed-sandal brand you like. We’re not going to micro-manage your footwear generally, but please only wear these in situations when it’s also okay for campers to wear them. For example, if you are teaching the music class in the afternoon, Chacos are just fine. If you’re playing Field Games, however, be a good role model and wear tennis shoes.

For the most part, we will supply all the gear you need for Campout. That includes all food, tents, stoves, cookware, ropes, etc. You can even rent a specialized backpack from us if you don’t have one. If you are a gearhead and want to bring your own backpacking stuff, you are welcome to — just know that we are required to store stoves and fuel in a specific place on camp, so you won’t be able to keep those in your cabin.

Here’s what we don’t supply, so plan to bring:

• Day pack for Mentor Hikes and around camp

• Internal frame backpack (46L+) - you can rent this from us, but I’d recommend finding a used one! (Ours are functional but lame.) Try one on if you can with expert help to make sure it fits. My favorite backpacks are from Osprey and Deuter.

• At least two water bottles

• Flashlight or headlamp with extra batteries

• Pocket knife

• Sleeping bag

• Ground pad

• Supply of instant coffee/tea for backpacking trip

• Small amount of duct tape, string, rope, bungee cords…ya never know

Finally, here is a list of fun things that you are welcome to bring.

• Mug for drinking coffee and tea - this is a must! Bring a fun thrift-store mug you don’t mind getting lost or damaged, or one that’s indestructible. We wash them in an industrial dishwasher.

• Personal climbing gear

• Instruments of all kinds! We are a highly musical bunch. Because of humidity and children, probably don’t bring your $10,000 violin or anything crazy . . .

• Mountain bike

• Fishing rod

• Card games, board games

• Laptop or tablet - used only in the staff lounge

• Bluetooth speakers - used only when kids aren’t around

• Journal, notebook, sketchbook

• Kayak for time off

• Any other personal outdoor recreation equipment is cool! If it’s a weapon, we will have to store it in a locked area so kids can’t get to it, so please let us know ahead of time to make arrangements.