A Day in the Life of Campers
July 9, 2013 by Dan Noland
The washed blues of a completely clear sky, with the intense greens of very happy plants and the golden gleams of the rising sun set an appropriately bright tone today.
The canoers sent a pre-breakfast trip to the South Fork of the Toe River (the name shortened from Estatoe) on a first-ever for High Rocks day of paddling its gradually receding waters. They came back just in time for supper, wearied but beaming, so happy about the trip that there was some good-natured muttering about keeping the run “secret” from other camps. The mountain bikers went to the Guion Farm area of DuPont State Forest for the morning, and at lunch they were enthusiastic about both the trails they had ridden and the impressive amounts of mud they had on their shirts. The rock climbers allowed the rocks to dry out for another day but took two half-day trips to Keystone Camp, where their girls hosted us in climbs on their tower.
Those who remained in camp took full advantage of the sun’s warmth. Tennis was busy during instructional periods and packed during free time. The lakefront was so popular that the moorings of the Rock It came loose briefly. The entire fleet of canoes, sailboats and paddle boards were in constant use. Hiking sticks are taking final shape in crafts, along with some impressive but sometimes puzzling shapes in pottery. Soccer players got in many a dribble, pass, kick and sprint. Hikers reported back that the waterfalls in the woods around camp are full and fast, and the overnight cooking skills hike came back making much noise about the best breakfast they had ever had.
In horseback riding, about twenty-five gathered for a late afternoon ride to be followed by a cowboy dinner over a campfire outside the barn, but the rain, which had held off all day, chased them inside, where they ate the same great Dutch-oven cooked chicken and dumplings and are watching a movie, which being a western at least features many horses.
But after supper the sun came back out, so camp reverberates with the sounds of active guys running through their last reserves of energy. It never ceases to amaze me that boys who have had three big meals and almost constant access to fruit, cracker, cookie and leftover snacks can sprint to the dining hall for our last-of-the-day, 8:30 snack.
Of course, in addition to hearty appetites, camp always fosters sound sleeping at night (and at rest hour, too), and after some much-needed straightening of cabins, retrieving of neglected clothing and showering off the daily grime, we will all be fully committed to our slumbers. Hope you have had as good a time today as we have at camp. Enjoy the pictures.
Good night.
Dan