Campers leave camp each Saturday morning around 11:00, after which we clean up, eat lunch together, debrief the week, and wrap up everything in the afternoon. Time off begins at that time and ends when we gather back again to prep for the coming week around 4pm on Sunday. Each staff member also gets one night a week off, from the end of dinner until the beginning of Cabin Time (post camp game and session).
As a general rule, staff must remain together at camp through the weekend. However, we understand that everybody has weddings to attend, friends in town, siblings leaving the country, or another special event that they need to attend. So, each staff member gets one weekend over the summer to leave, in addition to one of the weekends either before or after July 4th (depending on the year), when all of our staff leave for a slightly longer weekend.
Yes, you will have a chance to do your laundry once a week.
Most every summer, our staff get a couple of t-shirts and a water bottle. Also, depending on the year, we have pro-deals with gear companies where you can get nice things at a significant discount (hammocks, sandals, climbing gear, etc), but these are always in flux and never guaranteed. Feel free to ask about them when you arrive for staff training!
Our summer staff are not allowed to have their personal electronics with them during the week. It is a distraction to how we desire to influence our campers throughout the week. Staffers are welcome to use those things only during their time off and away from campers.
We have around 150-200 campers a week and it takes about 60-80 summer staff to create the incredible experience and service that we want for our campers. In addition to those summer staffers, we have 6-8 full-time Camp Highland staff members serving as well.
A car is not necessary, but past summer staffers would say they enjoy having one for the weekend. Ellijay is the closest town are is about a 25 minute drive from the gates of camp. With that said, it has been rare that staffers go anywhere by themselves so, if you don’t bring a car, the chance of being able to catch a ride with somebody that has one is pretty good.