“Chill Night”
July 17, 2013 by Hank
Each night of a camp session we have evening activities that are normally fairly active. You have seen pictures of dodge ball, ultimate Frisbee, canoe fillups, the waterslide, & other evening activities. Tonight is our first “chill night” of the session. The word “chill” has a double meaning in this case. The Upper Senior age group gets to “chill out” with a fairly laid back evening activity, plus the activity is cold! They start the evening getting wet & chilly at Sliding Rock Recreation Area then head to Dolly’s for some of their wonderful ice cream. All the streams in our area have been swollen this summer & the Davidson River is no exception, so we’ve had to wait for water levels to subside before heading to Sliding Rock. Each age group will have a “Chill Night” before the session is over.
Lots has been happening today. There have been trips out of camp paddling the Green River & mountain biking in Dupont, a climbing 3-day trip headed out, & the 5-day backpacking trip is in their third day of their adventure. Here at camp the “projectile sports” (archery & riflery) had a “stalking” activity. You will see pictures in today’s batch. The goal was to make it from one end of Rocky Top Pasture to the other without being discovered by designated staff. I think the staff has as much fun as the boys as the campers try to avoid detection.
Another big treat today was the opportunity to paddle around the lake in some wonderful antique canoes. These canoes usually hang in the dining hall, but we get them down every now & then to let our paddlers try out paddling a bit of history. Our paddling director & local craftsman, Fritz Orr, restored these camp canoes a few years ago in the High Rocks craft shop. At the same time Fritz was restoring the Oldtown Canoes, he began making a few paddles as well. His paddles have now gained national attention and his paddle-making has become a full-time job when he’s not at High Rocks. Check out the video of Fritz making paddles. We like the paddles so much that we award one to High Rocks folks when they have attended camp for ten years. One of the High Rocks “ten year” paddles is featured in the video.
The adventures continue tomorrow. Among other trips, our “mini-session” campers will head out for their first campout. We’ll try to get some pictures to share as they hike with backpacks that are not too heavy, but are almost as big as they are!
Enjoy tonight’s batch of pictures!
Hank Birdsong