All Systems Go
June 28, 2016 by Dan Noland

Today’s Pictures
We started today off very unusual for this session: yesterday’s welcome rain had cooled the air and brought all the greens out, but it was still hanging around, a bit drizzly. It sent some activities inside for a while, but it didn’t slow anyone down!
One of the greatest things about came as a session lengthens is to see the younger campers having their versions of the successes that the older campers do. While the hiking three-day remains afield in the high Pisgahs, in the spectacular Graveyard Fields area, and the canoists left before breakfast for a two-day trip to the Nantahala Gorge, a group of the youngest mountain bikers took a trip to the Guion Farms area of DuPont. For them, getting all the way around the course without a gentle spill shows how much they’ve learned in the last two weeks.
For some guys, the highlight of the day, certainly the cause of most hubbub, came when a group of girls from Camp Keystone arrived for a soccer match. There is always a good deal of boisterous bragging beforehand about how easy the game will be, but the girls are never pushovers, and everyone is ready for a breather when snack break come around.
The youngest guys are, as I write, on their own Chill Night to Sliding Rock and Dolly’s. I wish you all could see them when they get back to camp around Call to Quarters. Tall tales of heroic sliding (and maybe some slipping), quite sticky reports of who had which flavors, large yawning all around followed by grateful trudging off to bed.
As you can tell from the pictures, these are just highlights—camp is full of so much more going on than a mere blog can capture. For the fullest report, you’ll have to wait until Friday morning. So rest up and prepare to listen to a whirlwind of stories when you reunite.
In the meantime, enjoy the next two days, because we surely will.
Dan