On this episode of MyCamp, we learn what camp looks like when work is play! We chatted with Andy and Tracy Bachmann, the owners and directors of Camp Highlands!

Camp Highlands was founded in 1904, to get boys out of the city during the summer and into the wilderness. Andy is a third generation at Highlands; he grew up at camp as a camper, was a counselor, Assistant Director, and now the Director with his wife, Tracy. Tracy started coming to camp when she and Andy were dating, where she and her friends would drive up and sneak onto camp to visit their friends! Even though she didn’t grow up attending camp, she loves the community part that camp brings. Tracy said that she loves being part of something bigger than herself. Part of this camp community comes from their staff, who are amazing! About 95% of their staff grew up as campers at Camp Highlands, their oldest counselor is 83 years old!

Their cabins don’t have electricity or running water because they wanted to keep that founding principle of giving boys a real wilderness experience. They pride themselves on being unplugged! Andy explained their philosophy as “I’m third,” meaning that your values come first, others come second, and yourself comes third. One of Tracy’s favorite traditions at camp is Sunday Night Sing, where they use a slide projector from the 1940s, a piano, and all just sing on their first night together. They start off by singing fun, fast songs, then switch to slower, more meaningful songs. Andy’s favorite tradition is Camp Highlands’ birthday! They have an event called the Steeplechase to celebrate camp’s birthday, where all the boys run their camp flag all around the campgrounds for about 2 hours. He said it’s one of the most exciting events to happen during the year!

We loved learning more about the history of Camp Highlands, and talking to Andy and Tracy about their time at Camp Highlands!

Want to learn more about Camp Highlands? Check them out on Instagram @camphighlands.

Check out more of our My Camp podcasts and other camp materials on our Happy Camper Live website. You can also find us on YouTube at Happy Camper Live and on Instagram @happy_camper_live.