Not Far Now
July 23, 2014 by Don Gentle
It was another exciting day at High Rocks. The sun was shining as the patchy clouds were coming out of the trees like smoke, a common theme in these mountains that give it their namesake. It didn’t take long for the day to hit high gear as the wake-up bell rang and camp jumped into action!
The hikers were on one of many trips that headed out into the woods today. They went to the East Fork of the Pigeon River, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, on a rock hop, which winds up being a bit like bouldering, but with many pools to splash around in on the way up the river, often bushwhacking around steeper places through thick rhododendron, from Yellowstone (aka Skinny Dip) Falls to Graveyard Fields.
Our mountain bikers headed out for another ride at the amazing DuPont State Forest. The rain made it a little muddy this afternoon, but the boys really enjoyed it!
Our paddlers headed down to Section II of The Chattooga River today. The rain has kept the levels up just high enough so that we can squeeze in one more trip this year. The wild and scenic river is truly an amazing place.
The High Rocks “Rolex” event continued today with the cross-country events. The boys and their horses will wind through several pastures trotting, and jumping over obstacles. This is my favorite part of the three-day event. I really enjoy how attached these boys get to these horses. It is pretty neat to see them come down to the barn during choice period to clean stalls and take care of “their” horse.
As if that was not enough, today was our annual fish fry event. The boys spent the morning catching a few more fish. Later in the day, the staff cleaned the fish and took some opportunity to show the boys the different parts of the fish and how to properly clean them. After the fish were ready, we washed up and headed to the kitchen. A commercial kitchen can be quite an exciting place for a young man. We whipped up a classic beer batter, and worked with the boys on how to flour, dredge, and fry the fish. I was especially impressed with the young guys; they were super excited about the whole process. Of course, it all ended with a fish feast. What a blast!
Tonight the guys all gathered on the athletic field for an all camp event of games on the field that ultimately led them to the mud pit! There is just something about a bunch of guys and a mud pit!
More fun tomorrow! Have a great night!
Don