Winning bidder will receive a two-week session of choice from Camp Hawkeye, a sleepaway camp located about 2 hours north of Boston on beautiful Red Hill in Moultonborough, NH, a yodel away from the White Mountains.  Hawkeye is an overnight camp for girls and boys ages 8 to 16.

Trips:

At Hawkeye we run what we call a "trips based program."  This means that a central part of each week is an out-of-camp Wilderness Adventure Trip.  These are primarily day hiking trips but can include day canoeing trips and multi-day trips of either kind.  Do you know how to hike?  Well, let's find out...can you walk?  Yes?  Then you can hike.  How about canoe...can you canoe?  No?  Well then we'll have to remedy that.  In the first days and week of each session one of our goals is to get everyone into and familiar with the canoe.  You'll pick it up quickly and if not then just make sure you are in the front.

Trips at camp are coordinated at first by Cabin group.  After one or two trips with your group each camper is assessed and placed in a skill appropriate group that allows them to get the most enjoyment and learning out of each trip.

Trips are carried out by our Expeditions Staff.  These trip leaders are all experienced outdoors-people with First Aid training and a sensible approach to the mountains and woods.  You are in good hands when you step on the trail and though you will be challenged and encouraged to push yourself perhaps farther than you have before you will always be safe.

Each week the wilderness trip builds upon the skills learned in prior weeks and practiced on other trips.  In the first week you may learn a little about maps and trail signs and in the second you will build upon those skills with compass work and perhaps even the basics of declination.  By the fourth week you will be building fires, setting up camp, and distributing responsibilities among your group members as you take the lead on a portion of  a trip.

Our trips take advantage of our wonderful location on Red Hill and within yodeling distance of the White Mountains.  Campers should be prepared to crawl through boulder caves, swim in waterfalls, take-in breathtaking views, camp on an island, swim in the deepest lake in New Hampshire, and see a variety of wildlife and topography.

History:

In 1823, James Fenimore Cooper published his 2nd book, The Pioneers; this was the first in what grew to be his most famous series, the Leatherstocking Tales. The main character was an orphan, Nathaniel “Natty” Bumppo, who came to be known by a variety of nicknames including Hawkeye, Deerslayer, La Longue Carabine, Leatherstocking, and Pathfinder. The archetype of the early American frontier hero Bumppo was portrayed as a simple living, good natured, loyal, moral, and friendly scout whose closest friends were his Indian companions. He lived on the fringe of “American” society, choosing instead to walk, camp, and live in, and off, of the woods he loved so much. He was completely at ease in this natural habitat and felt kinship with the natural world around him. His awe of the majesty of the woods and trees inspired me as a young reader and continues to inspire me today.

Cooper romanticizes Bumppo’s life in the wild based upon his own experiences growing up in what is now rural and central New York State. Bumppo's character embraced the respect for the environment and knowledge of the natural world that Camp Hawkeye seeks to promote through simple community living and participation on wilderness adventure trips.

Across the country there are thousands of day and residential camps. There are countless more non-profit organizations, foundations, and for-profit companies. Each one has a name, and each name has a meaning, but not every name has a personality. Not every name has an idea behind it, and not every name moves us to do and want deeper and better things from ourselves. Hawkeye is one name that does. From the pages of Cooper’s famous Leatherstocking Tales series, the moniker, “Hawkeye,” describes a true woodsman and frontier hero.

Campers:

For those of you who are new to Hawkeye let us give you an outline of camp and camp life.  A camper's life is organized around two things; (1) a  cabin group of between 6 and 12 individuals your own gender and age, and, (2) the tribe you are in.  Your cabin is determined by things over which you have no control and in that group you will make some of the best friends of your life.  Your tribe is different.  Tribes are made up of both male and female campers of all ages as well as counselors.  Everyone, the cook, nurse, and administrators included are all members of one tribe or another.  Every has or will be sorted!

The sorting happens during the first week at camp and is determined by, of course, the Sorting Bucket.  This bucket is of indeterminate age and has no affiliation with one tribe or another.  With absolute certainty the bucket decides for which tribe each individual is best suited.  There will be no resorting as the bucket is infallible.  Take some time to familiarize yourself with each tribe in turn and see if you can figure out in which tribe you will end up.

Link is www.camphawkeye.com