At camp, we are on our feet literally all day; often on rugged and uneven terrains, and in a variety of weather conditions. Help your staff prepare for your terrain by recommending the right foot wear for them. When counselors arrive at camp unprepared, it starts the job off on the wrong foot (pun intended!).
At a risk of sounding like a mom (which, I am a mom, by the way), proper foot care is essential at camp. Ending up in the health center with blisters, cuts, and ingrown toenails is a time drain. Help your staff out by letting them know what shoes to pack! Here’s our list.
Sturdy sneakers. We are talking about running or walking sneakers with tie laces and solid soles. Not Keds, not Toms, but good old sneakers. You may call them tennis shoes if you live in the southern US. Take care of your feet and wear with these dry socks. It’s like a little piece of heaven for your feet.
Water Shoes/Flip Flops. Your camp will probably offer a place to swim and you’ll need appropriate foot gear to go with your bathing suit. Flip flops are a great choice, as are Crocs, or water shoes. Something easy to slip on and off that will protect your foot while walking though camp.
Rain Boots. yes, really. Just like you wore when you were 5. Staff may see this item on the list and decide against it. However, when it rains at camp, you still need to go outside and often it is muddy. Having a pair of easy to slip on rain boots will make you an unstoppable counselor this summer at camp.
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Shoes for your specialty, if needed. If you will be hiking this summer, pack your hiking boots and be sure to break them in now! Or, if you need cleats for your job, be sure they are broken in this spring as well. Working in the art studio, be sure your sturdy sneakers are okay to take a hit from some paint.
Going-out-of-camp shoes. You’ll get out of camp on days and nights off, so you’ll want to put something on your feet that you don’t wear every day while at camp. Trust me; leaving camp shoes are something different than the sturdy every day shoes you wear while at camp. Depending on where you plan to go on your days off, you may want to pack sandals, slip ons, or something rugged if your day off consists of rock climbing and hiking.
Slippers (totally optional). When you get back to your cabin at the end of the day or at rest hour, having a pair of slippers to put on your feet is like a small massage for feet that have been running on fields all day, or hiking up mountains, or swimming in lakes. Reward your feet at the end of the day by slipping into your slippers. Bonus camp tip: wearing slippers in your cabin means that when you get into your bed at night, you don’t bring in all the miscellaneous pebbles that landed on you cabin floor that day. DOUBLE BONUS TIP FOR BUNK COUNSELORS – having the bunk “shoe free” keeps the floor MUCH cleaner with 8-10 campers tramping in and out all day. Keep your slippers by the front door!
And, if you really want to be good to you feet, rub some peppermint foot lotion on at the end of the day once you are in bed. After two months of camp terrain, your feet will be happy your paid some attention to them every night!
Campstaff Compass 