Keystone Soccer/Tennis Day!

July 13, 2010 by Woody Noland

 Pictures from July 13, 2010 (password required)

One of the surprising things about being in the middle of the four week session is that, by the time the wake-up bell rings at 7:45, a few dozen people have already eaten breakfast and pulled out of camp on their trips, and camp, especially the dining room, is an oddly quiter place. That’s relatively speaking, of course.

In addition to the two advanced trips that remain out of camp from yesterday, an all-day hike went to the nearby but quite spectacular Caeser’s Head State Park along the Blue Ridge Escarpment at the very top of South Carolina. Besides the virtiginous drop from a granite outcropping over 400 million year old, the park has almost 7500 acres of forest trails and waterfalls and is part of a larger system of parks and wilderness areas, one of the truly special places in our country. Several of the campers’ faces were quite thoughful upon their return this evening. Canoers went to the Nantahala River about two hours west, in the Nantahala National Forest, where the cold water comes from the bottom of 1700 foot deep Fontana Lake and rushes through a deep, narrow gorge. Mountain bikers ventured to Pisgah National Forest, enjoying difficult trails on a gorgeously sunny day. In the afternoon, girls from Keystone Camp came to High Rocks for tennis and soccer, fun for all and a predictable distraction for some of the guys. After an early supper, the upper-middler age group–Chalet and Flattop cabins–went on their “Chill Night” to Sliding Rock and Dolly’s.

We have gotten a bit more rain today, sweet music at rest hour and a welcome change this evening from the heat of the last few weeks. Since many of our evening activities involve getting wet anyway, doing them in the rain adds a bit of adventure.

It is gratifying to see how the older, more experienced campers have picked up on the new two-week campers. They treat them as equals, help them get the hang of activities and are quick to answer questions or redirect a confused wanderer. In part because of this, the guys who got here just yesterday are already full-fledged members of the community.

Thank you for letting us spend wonderful time with all of these fine young people.

Dan Noland

ps. Keep a lookout tomorrow for the pictures from Crazy Hair Day!