Read our Q&A with camper Catie below.
Catie’s Gallagher Experience
Year(s) that you attended Gallagher
3
What session(s)?
Session 5, Session 3
What lodges have you been in?
Duckabush, Quilcene, Skoko
Who were your lodge leaders?
1st year: Anja and Sarah
2nd year: Katelynn and Sophie
3rd year: Jackson and Kate
Favorite camp meal
Foil dinners
Favorite Camp Gallagher tradition:
Share the love jar, overnights
Favorite overnight spot:
Anderson Island (so far!)
Favorite camp song:
Sweet Home Gallagher
Favorite camp craft
Friendship bracelets
What do you think makes Gallagher special? How is it different than other camps?
Unlike other camps I've been to and heard about, Gallagher feels like one big family. We aren't confined to our lodge but encouraged to meet new people from every lodge during meals, wide games and throughout the day. At the end of the session I always feel so connected to every part of the camp and sad about all the people that I'm leaving behind.
In addition, the atmosphere at Gallagher is so different than any other camp. It's not only a place where I've had fun but it's a place where I've had the chance to not worry so much, to loosen up, to be myself, and be goofy without being judged. At Gallagher I can just play and if I mess up it's no big deal. It's a place where I've learned to find the joy in every moment and laugh at the smallest things. Above all else at Gallagher I know that I can, if only for a few days, throw myself headfirst into new challenges, take risks, and live without regret.
Was Camp Gallagher different than you expected?
When I signed up for Gallagher the first time I was drawn to it by certain aspects like the waterfront, the sailboats, and the overnight. I was surprised when, in reality, it was not those few big things that made my week so memorable but the thousand little things that i never expected. The things so seemingly mundane that you can't describe them in a way that other people would understand. The things that you just have to experience for yourself; to laugh about with your cabin later, to cry about as you remember them back home.
Waking up on the overnight to see a raccoon stalking past two feet away and exchanging wide eye glances with the person across the tarp. Finding out that your details game is being pied in the face with a plate of whipped cream. Running into the bay with your friend after Sundown. Singing songs in the big canoe during the fifth hour of paddling. Getting dishes for the third time in two days.
While I may not have imagined myself enjoying any of these moments before I came to Gallagher, with the friends I made and the memories I brought home, they're the reason I keep coming back and why I will always keep coming back.
Finish this thought: “Camp Gallagher is…”
…something that makes me smile no matter where i am or what time of year it is, just thinking about it. It's a place that gives you the chance to live life to the fullest, take risks, and feel alive. It's home.
Tell us about one camp experience that sticks out as particularly memorable.
Summer 2018 Session 5, my lodge had just changed into swimsuits and we were getting ready to go down to the beach when it started POURING rain, the hardest rain I've ever been in. Instead of turning back or complaining about the weather, unanimously we sprinted for the beach, accompanied by most of the camp. Jumping off the dock and swimming or else running around the field enjoying the rain it was definitely the most spontaneous and unexpected moment of the week but also for sure one of the most enjoyable.