Reaping the Rewards
June 22, 2015 by Don Gentle
The final week of the session was off to a kicking start this morning with activities in a flurry and trips departing camp left and right. Campers that have been working hard for two weeks solid are now reaping the rewards. Cavers were the first out this morning as usual, but with five other trips heading out this morning, they weren’t even down the road before other groups were heading out. Climbers left on a day trip to Cedar Rock today. They enjoyed a toasty sunny day on the rock with some great long range views.
Speaking of reaping rewards for your efforts, woodworking is a perfect example of such effort. I have been really impressed with the different creation coming from the shop this year. It has been a great experience for the guys. The beauty of a small program is the individualized attention each child receives. Woodworking is a perfect example of the attention. I enjoyed seeing all of the clocks, lock boxes, stools, lamps, and other creations. I am also impressed to see the levels attained in archery and riflery this session. Watching how consistently some of these guys can hit an archery target at forty yards is quite impressive! It has taken some of these campers many years to get to this level. Do you know each year we enter all the camper ranks into the database so that when we print out their score card for the session next year they can begin right where they left off after a little warm up.
The confidence that the campers’ successes have built up to this point is noticeable in their interactions with staff, each other, and the ownership they feel towards the camp program. One particular offering that headed out today was the two-day survival trip offered by hiking. Again, our 1000 acres sets the scene while the staff create the challenge. The boys will work on various adventures along the way to earn clues about where tools or food may be stashed next. Their hard work and accomplishments will bring them the reward of hot food, or cold SPAM. The boys will create shelters and work independent of the staff for a good part of the trip. The staff will facilitate and shadow, but the boys have to solve the problems on their own. They will even build their own shelters to sleep in tonight. Keep in mind that this trip is for our oldest camper group and the staff will have shelter for the boys if they need it. Just to be clear, it is not the boys pictured above, most of whom are heading out on their first overnight ever.
Speaking of the young men pictured above. They headed out to tackle Cold Mountain today. A great trip with a lot of personal experience. It took them a little bit to get packed up and ready. What they lack in experience, they carry in enthusiasm. We are looking forward to hearing about their adventure when they return.
To wrap up the list of trips today, we also had some boys heading out to the French Broad River. The pictures will show you how much fun they had with and without their canoes on the river today. Finally, the mountain bikers had an afternoon trip over to DuPont today; another excellent experience for those boys.
Just a few short days left… I can’t believe it will end this week! Remember, if you want a USB drive with high quality versions of all the pictures this session, be sure to drop an email to Stephanie in the office (office@highrocks.com) to reserve one today.
Thanks for checking in again this evening. More adventures await tomorrow!
Good Night,
Don