How I Stopped Doubting and Learned to Love Adult Summer Camp
Technology is bad for us! We can’t relate to anything except our phones! We should unplug from civilization and live in nature!
These arguments grow more prominent every day in a world where elementary schoolers have iPhones, families seldom eat dinner together, and we expect more from our technology than from each other.
So it’s no surprise thousands pay The Digital Detox to fix these very problems. They offer Unplug events in cities like SF, LA, and NYC where participants check their mobile phones at the door and engage in analog activities like mingling, singing, board games, and letter writing.
The fact that the Digital Detox’s primary customer demographic is technology workers with more money than free time is somewhat ironic — but it makes perfect sense that these would be the people who most need analog time. Who knew there were so many overworked and overpaid urban yuppies willing to pay you to take things away from them?
Who knew there were so many overworked and overpaid urban yuppies willing to pay you to take things away from them?
When I first heard about the Detox’s flagship event Camp Grounded , I was equally dismissive. A summer camp for adults? More like another overpriced snake person cult. Besides, I went to children’s summer camp for ten years growing up — could it really be that different?
Yet as time went by, I kept hearing more and more good things about it. Everyone who went couldn’t stop talking about how authentic, intimate, and refreshing it was. I decided to check it out.
It turns out that Camp Grounded is a cult of sorts, but one dedicated to humanity. All their zany rules make sense on the inside and exist for good reason. It outshines both summer camps and music festivals with its devotion to silliness for silly’s sake. And the hippy aspect fits like Goldilocks’ porridge — not too much or too little, but just the right amount of non-denominational mindfulness. The community is strong, welcoming, and desirable — no matter who you are.
Let me explain why I stopped doubting and learned to love adult summer camp (and why you should, too!)
A Cult for the Better, Rituals and All
Cult is an ugly word. Cult members are evangelists, spreading their word like a religion, whether you want it or not. Some become addicted and can’t function outside of the community. Others return compulsively and attend like a drug. Cults also have unique rituals distinct from the outside world causing ostracization if unfollowed, from incantations to practices to nicknames.
Camp Grounded has all of these things, but perhaps only because people love it so much. I met ‘binge campers’ who had attended every camp available in the last few months. I met stressed software engineers who booked their Camp months in advance and used the booking to stay sane at their jobs.
I met ‘binge campers’ who had attended every camp available in the last few months. I met stressed software engineers who booked their Camp months in advance and used the booking to stay sane at their jobs.
I heard rumors that a startup had paid for their entire team to go to camp as an offsite only to have one of the employees quit as a result of the epiphanies they experienced at camp. I met campers who use camp to augment their psychiatrist, noting how much more effective is is to have compassionate listeners who aren’t there just because you’re paying them. For many, camp wasn’t just fun — it was therapy.
Cults have enforced rituals and camp is no exception. The rules sound zany and unnecessary to those of us in the default world, but one of the first things I noticed was how all the silly rules have very valid and positive reasons for existing. For instance:
You’re Awesome Because You Make Mistakes
Whenever anyone makes a mistake, (or breaks one of the camp rules) other members are encouraged to yell ‘You’re awesome!’ at them, to reinforce the idea that failure is okay.
This sounds ridiculously touchy feely until you see a shy individual get on stage and mess up. Normally after a public mistake one would cringe and withdraw, but when the entire crowd immediately yells ‘You’re awesome!’ they smile, expand, and continue with a confident stance. It’s downright inspiring to watch.
Convivial Chants, Not Bullying Ones
Chants are an ancient tribal way of facilitating group bonding, and can be used for ostracization and bullying at worst. Yet at camp, everything becomes a chant, provided it’s positive.
During the camp’s Color Wars, where the Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green teams compete via silly backyard games, I daresay there were more chants supporting other teams than our own.
Chants of “Red Team!” morphed into chants for “O-range!” once Yellow got involved, which invariably became chants of “Rain-bow! Rain-bow!” with other teams around. When teams missed up, the entire crowd would demand ‘Par-tial credit! Par-tial credit!’, or when teams did well, the chant became ‘Dou-ble credit! Dou-ble credit!’. The organizers had to relent.
No Clocks To Get Lost in the Moment
Clocks are shunned, which might let evil leaders control your sense of time, but here it was all for a sense of leisure. Morning activities were offered, but you could always sleep in and not miss breakfast. Nights came to a close, but you were always encouraged to ‘sneak out’ and discover other happenings deep into the night. You never knew what time it was, so you never had anywhere you needed to be.
To organize things without time, leaders talked about percents of the day, or ‘the time it took to boil an egg’, ‘ a quick commercial break’, or ‘the length of a really good yoga workshop’. You could calculate these things, but you didn’t need to — you’d get a sense of when things were.
Nicknames as Windows into Souls
The camp nicknames appear especially ridiculous. From hippy names like Sunshine or Moonbeam, to childhood loves like Punky Brewster or Happy Feet, to thought provoking ones like Death Itself, these names were invaluable when coupled with the No Work Talk rule (obliquely referred to in hushed tones as ‘W-talk’, like He Who Must Not Be Named), because without a name or an occupation, you simply can’t make small talk!
Instead you have a moniker than this human chose rather than one they were given at birth. You could immediately dive into who the person was by examining who they wanted to be, rather than an assortment of things civilization had put upon them. There was always a good story behind the nickname, and there was always a hint of who the person really was behind the nickname’s story.
There was always a good story behind the nickname, and there was always a hint of who the person really was behind the nickname’s story.
And on and on. Runners receive shouts of “Skip, don’t run!’. We were encouraged to abandon the programming altogether and go lie in one of the many available hammocks. Even the activities were barely that — all organized around play, silliness, wellness, or just plain having fun. Things were silly because silly things are more fun, and that was that.
Adult Summer Camp Makes Play Sacred
A children’s summer camp might seem like an odd home for this combination of New Ageism and Neo-Luddism, but just like the rituals, after firsthand experience, it’s uncanny how perfect it fits.
Summer camps are deep in nature, far from cities and everything they represent. They are built for hosting large numbers of people, and boast facilities designed for fun, from game meadows to arts and crafts to archery. No cell service or electricity coupled with cold nights is a perfect excuse to gather around a campfire and sing silly songs together.
Objectively, Camp Grounded is literally an adult summer camp, but subjectively, it is much more. I attended a children’s summer camp for ten years growing up, and while it shared Grounded’s arts and crafts, campfire singalongs, and emphasis on play, I sometimes got the sense that the whole concept was onebig excuse to give parents summer time away from their offspring. Shove all the kids in the wilderness and let them play games — indeed, my family wrote an entire book fighting the notion that games are merely excuses to keep children occupied.
There is a difference between play for the sake of killing time and play for the sake of fun. This is the biggest difference between Camp Grounded and children’s summer camps. The activities are the same, but the intention is different.
There is a difference between play for the sake of killing time and play for the sake of fun. This is the biggest difference between Camp Grounded and children’s summer camps. On the surface the activities are the same, but the intention is different.
At Camp Grounded, there is intention — an intention to play mindfully, to appreciate what is in front of you, and get lost in the moment. Such mindfulness was never present in my childhood, which makes it doubly meaningful in adulthood. When you’re a child, your entire life is play, so playing in the woods with strangers isn’t all that special. But when you’re an adult, your life is work, so play for play’s sake becomes almost sacred.
Adult Summer Camp, or Hippie Pagan Festival?
Camp Grounded resembles another adult activity — music festivals. Music festivals are somewhat like summer camps for adults, in that they are far from cities, promote an otherworldly atmosphere, and offer the chance to lose yourself. But festivals usually achieve this through an emphasis on top-down programming, it’s hard to connect with anybody over the pounding music, and most of all — festivals are rife with substances, whether drugs or alcohol.
Meanwhile, Camp Grounded prohibits all substances except coffee, features minimal programming designed for interpersonal connection, and lacks manufactured anything. All music is analog performed live, all writing is done on typewriters or handwritten, and nearly half the day is ‘free time’ for you to fill yourself. The only festival similarities are the copious acro-yoga, meditation circles, and omnipresent tribal face paint.
Somehow it manages to avoid the New Age vibe similar gatherings promote. Maybe it’s the techies, maybe it’s the emphasis on play and unplugging over ‘finding yourself’, or maybe it’s the accessibility of the counselors, but it doesn’t feel overwhelmingly hippy. There’s no doubt it draws from the practices, from the aforementioned mindfulness to the intimate village gathering sessions where you’re encouraged to share your fears and intentions. But my woo-woo filter never went off.
It’s this non-denominational mindfulness that is one of Camp Grounded’s biggest strengths. Mindful play coupled with radical inclusion (a concept this intimate sober community embodies far better than its namesake of Burning Man, I think), out in the woods leads to huge changes for people.
It’s this non-denominational mindfulness that is one of Camp Grounded’s biggest strengths. Mindful play coupled with radical inclusion (a concept this intimate sober community embodies far better than its namesake of Burning Man, I think), out in the woods leads to huge changes for people.
I was not one of them, but merely witnessing the transformations of your fellow campers over the weekend was powerful. In the closing circle of my camp village, three of the six full-grown men in my circle were moved to tears while talking about their weekend and their path back to the real world.
It touches me to know I was a part of their experience, to say the least. And it amazes me how therapeutic this simple recipe of open air and open mind can be.
An Impressive Community — Built or Found?
The people are what make this community. From the counselors who surely must be therapists or matchmakers in real life (from their prowess at facilitating intimacy), to the fellow campers hailing from the techie or the hippy worlds, the people are what makes Camp Grounded so magical.
I found myself wondering whether this community was built or found. These people are already wonderful and most of them live the principles of Camp Grounded every day. But camp brought them together in a beautiful place all at the same time. Was the ensuring experience created, or merely curated?
Probably a little of both. It’s true that any event with the right people won’t require any kind of programming for the attendees to have a great time (Do you require hourly breakdowns for your friendly poker nights?). But it’s unlikely you’ll run into these people outside on your own.
I’ll wager the key to a great community is:
- Determining the right principles for the right people (for Camp: presence, play, wellness, connection, and the outdoors)
- Identifying those people (overworked techies, hippies, urbanites, anyone lacking the above)
- Bringing them together. (Marketing the weekends and making them accessible to all)
After that, it’s a matter of letting the people pursue their principles together, whether that’s through song, play, or dance.
Camp Grounded has done exactly that, and created a beautiful monument to humanity, vulnerability, and authenticity that does not exist elsewhere in the modern world. And they built a sustainable business on top!
I found it hard to believe I had ever dismissed Camp as an overpriced moneymaking scheme. Instead, I couldn’t stop thinking how glad I was that something like this exists. A community built on acceptance, love, nature, and play is hard to fault.
I’m sure there are other skeptics out there who think like I did and dismiss this as overpriced hippie shit. To them I say — check it out. You’d be surprised what a magical cocktail these simple ingredients create when mixed together.
