Girls Camp 2025

Many months of planning all led to this week with this amazing group of young women.

Camp Ritchie is such a beautiful spot in the Sierras. As hard as it is to get ready, and as exhausting as it is to work through the week, it is always incredible to be back up there.

And I do feel lucky that I get to spend my week hiking each day. We drove up on Tuesday and once everyone got settled, I headed out with a couple of other ladies to scout out the main part of the trail. We had a pleasant walk and found a huge mushroom, along with many types of wildflowers.

That evening we had a full moon (and our phones could not handle the lighting--the gravel road lit up like a green lawn in a magical forest, haha. It was pretty, but not this pretty.

Wednesday we got to head out for another hike: Shealor Lakes with the third years.

The girls did fabulous with the hike--they're a pretty chill group without anyone trying to race to the finish, and most did well with keeping up.

Only a few of them were interested in cooking any of their lunch this year, but those girls figured out how to set up and start the stoves and made their ramen and hot chocolate.

They got to jump off the rock there this year and it was so fun to watch a lot of them go from nervous to taking the leap. Most of the girls who swam ended up jumping before we left.

Hardest part of this hike is that it's quite a hike up the mountain to get out from the lake.

These mountains are gorgeous.

Back at camp, we ate amazing food, enjoyed spiritual moments with the girls, laughs with the other leaders, and a few of us even snuck off for a quick climb up the hill. It was so beautiful that evening that I got up early to show another one of the leaders who missed our evening hike.

The view of camp from up above is fun. You can just see all the green roofs from the cabins.

We found some cool moths that morning, too. I got called out by several different leaders to look at different things they found during the week. Even if it's mostly that I just have the app to identify things, it's fun to be the nature person.

And then, the Thursday hike with the second years means we get to kayak and canoe down to the dam and then hike back into camp. This year, the water was much higher than it has been and we were able to paddle in so far that the hike was much simpler. No bushwacking, and a couple of hours shorter hike than last year.

Our two lifeguards who paddled along with us decided that instead of waiting until the fishing boat could come and get all of the boats, they would try to string them together behind their kayaks. It was impressive when they were actually able to move the dozen boats out of the cove. And then we watched them get stuck just outside entrance to the cove, where the wind was pushing them back. Luckily, the motorboat was able to come quickly and saved them from doing the whole paddle back.

After we ate lunch on the shore, and filtered water, we scrambled up the dam and the girls led us back to camp.

We stopped by the big sugar cone pine tree,

and then finished the hike into camp.

And then there was just one more day of hiking, with the first years.

Even though the hike itself is the shortest and simplest, I love this one because we take some time to do nature journaling and the girls really seem to like it.

Getting to spend 15 minutes of silence in the woods, just paying attention to the details.

The girls checked out the big tree,

and then we finished the hike to the lake.

They had a couple of hours to eat and swim. It was such a great, chill day, which was what they needed. By the end of the week, the 11 & 12 year olds are often starting to struggle a little. Not enough sleep and constant activity.

It was such a great week and I'm always so impressed by these girls and their strong spirits and ability to do hard things and make the most of it.

And I came home, so tired and yet, rejuvenated.

Pre-gaming the Hike

When one of the 4th year leaders from Girls Camp texted and asked if there was any way we could go up and try out the back packing hike ahead of time, it was an easy yes from me.

Even though I've had so much to do, I was happy to take a day to go up and do the 7.5 mile hike to Granite and Hidden Lakes.

It was absolutely gorgeous! So many little lakes/ponds along with the named ones on the map.

Wildflowers,

And some cute little mushrooms. 

And then, after we ate lunch at Hidden Lake and found a good spot for them to set up tents for the overnight the next week, it started to rain on us.

You can't tell in the picture, but we got hailed on and rained on for most of the hike back to our cars. So much thunder.

It made for a very memorable hike, even if we did get a little cold (because two of us weren't even smart enough to bring long sleeves, let alone all the rain gear we had in the car.)

I'm so excited for the girls that they get to do this one! 

It is the perfect beginner backpacking hike--lakes, a waterfall, creek crossings, and only 600 feet elevation gain over 3.5 miles. I think they'll love it.

Girls' Camp Hikes

I was back at camp as the hiking lead this year. I had a lot of fun with the hikes last year, and this time, we worked a little more on teaching skills to help the girls' develop confidence in their abilities to hike leading up to their overnight hike their 4th year (about age 14/15).

My first group were the 3rd years. We did the Shealor Lake Trail which is only about a 30 minute drive from camp. The hike isn't long--less than 1.5 miles each way, but it does involve a little elevation and some maneuvering through the rocky mountain. We took a few minutes in the parking lot to orient ourselves using a map and compass so the girls could figure out which way we needed to go, and then we were off!

The best part is the little lake at the end where the girls could swim.

This year we brought stoves and water filters so we could make ramen and hot chocolate to go with our lunch. We figured the girls could get comfortable with backpacking stoves before they have to cook all their meals on them for 24 hours. They were pretty excited about doing this--even boiling water is fun when you get to do it by a lake.

We spent a couple of hours playing in the water and eating before we hiked back.

This girl was cracking me up--she floated like this for a long time, and that water wasn't all that warm. I'm impressed by her endurance!

They were such a great group!

The next day, the 2nd years learned about paddling,

And then they kayaked and canoed across the lake.

We took a couple of bigger boats along to keep an eye on the girls, but they all did so well!

This is a pretty fun way to start a hike.

And then the waterfront staff tied up all the boats and dragged them out to the ski boat to take them across the lake.

On shore, we learned how to filter water,

and refilled everyone's water bottles after lunch.

And then, after a quick lesson in how to line up the compass and map to again see where we wanted to go, we started the hiking portion of our adventure. We were dropped off farther down from the dam than we'd originally planned, and the trail didn't seem to be particularly well marked on that side. I wish I had more pictures of the bushwacking that we ended up doing, but I was too busy trying to keep everyone safe and encouraged. As we told the girls, we were never actually lost, because we knew where the lake was, and where we needed to go, but we just didn't know where the trail was always. We would find cairns marking the way and be able to follow them for a couple hundred yards and then they'd disappear and we'd lose the trail and have to go aways before we eventually found it again.

The final stretch that we had to fight through to get back on the trail ended up being pretty challenging with boulders and manzanita above our waists--I got a lovely bruise/cut to show for it--but the girls made it through and we found the trail and were able to get to the dam where we knew the trail was marked.

We filtered water again because people were running out, and then crossed the dam.

It was a fun little adventure. And then the girls were easily able to follow the trail markers the rest of the way back.

We made a stop at the big sugar pine tree, and then finished off the almost 4-mile hike with the climb back into camp and the girls were happy to have giant otterpops waiting for them at the lodge. It was a more technical and longer hike than we'd planned, but they did it!

On Friday, I had my last group--the 1st years. 

Bean went along on this one as the lifguard because they hike to the end of the lake and then spend a couple hours playing. It was fun that the other young leader was there, too. Heaven is getting ready to leave on her mission and was there as a 1st year cabin leader.

I was excited for this one because even though it's a pretty short hike, I decided that what better way to start their hiking experience at camp than learning to appreciate nature in a different way than they might be used to.

We stopped at this spot for about 30 minutes, and I talked to them about why nature journaling can be such a great way to slow down and see things differently and then had them find something they wanted to journal about. I gave them about 20 minutes, and everyone spent at least a few minutes working on an entry, while some spent the whole time. It was better than I expected, and so fun to get to try something I use in my classes with this church group.

We had them make a ring around the big sugar pine--most groups hike by this tree at least twice in their years at camp and it's fun to compare pictures from year to year.

Then, we had a couple hours at the lake for swimming and shenanigans. The lake is a great temperature this year!

On Wednesday, Bean left with the 4th year backpacking trip. She was so excited to get back out there for an overnight trip.

They did a 5 mile hike to Round Lake,

and she lifeguarded for them while they swam and played at the water.

From all reports, the girls did awesome with the hike and everything that went with it. They cooked meals (boiled water, haha), stargazed, saw bats, peed in the woods, and did a little over 10 miles in two days with loaded packs without complaining, which for a first backpacking trip (for most of them), was pretty impressive.