I received a homesick letter from my camper. Now what?
Receiving a letter from your camper saying they’re homesick, unhappy, or unsure can be unnerving. I’m a parent, too, and I understand – my children both sent homesick letters from…
The Blog of the West Wind
Kabeyun’s blog features a variety of voices, including camp’s leadership, counselors, and trustees. Sometimes it’s a peak into daily life at camp both in and out of season, and more often it’s a way of sharing our thoughts on the ways that Kabeyun helps to develop strong, confident, caring boys one summer at a time.
A Month Without a Phone? “Honestly, It’s a Relief”
When Henry A. arrived for his final summer as a Kabeyun camper, he left behind something most 15 year-olds consider a necessity: his phone. For four weeks in the Owls…
A Century of Wilderness Trips
If you ask former Kabeyun trips counselors about their experiences leading wilderness trips, you’ll get an earful, in all the best ways. That’s what I found when I began researching…
The View From the Office Porch 2026
There is a particular kind of learning that happens at Kabeyun that does not appear on an activity sheet at the end of the day. It is rarely acknowledged and…
Without an Audience
When daily photo-sharing first emerged in the mid-2000s, many camps were quick to adopt it. Kabeyun, as it often does, chose a different path. Nearly twenty years later, we’ve revisited…
Kayaking at Kabeyun
For campers, whitewater kayaking begins without any whitewater at all, in the sheltered Small Cove. It’s where we start small, learning to keep our boat straight and trying our first…
Spring Reflections
I’ve written before about the stages of camp’s ‘cycling down’ during the fall and winter: how things here can feel empty and quiet before the snow falls, and how that…
Remembering Bill French
Kabeyun is saddened to announce the death of Bill French, a pillar of our community whose impact on camp cannot be overstated. Bill passed away on February 10, 2025, in Cambridge, MA, after…
The View from the Office Porch 2025
There are certain aspects of Kabeyun I take for granted, things I count on encountering each time I drive down the camp road. Some of those are specific to me…
The View from the Office Porch 2024
This summer will mark my 14th year as Kabeyun’s director, and my 26th season at camp dating back to 1985, when I arrived as an apprehensive and uncertain 11-year-old. It…
