Muddy Sunday and Upper Senior Challenge

July 24, 2016 by Don Gentle

Today’s Pictures

Our final Sunday of the session.  The Krispy Kreme fairy came by last night, which was a big hit for the boys at breakfast.  Of course we still had assorted cereals, eggs, hash browns, and fresh cut fruit.   After Chase shared some thoughtful words down by the lake, we spent the rest of the morning enjoying some choice activities.

The Upper Senior Challenge has been a hit sense it’s inception over a decade ago.  The oldest age group of boys in our three and four week sessions are a special group of guys. Not only have most all of these boys been here for years, they even have to write a letter to explain why they want to come back to camp in this age group. I feel it is important for these boys to think about coming back to camp as upper seniors since it has such an impact on camp.  It is not just another year at camp.  These boys enjoy a few extra privileges , but also the responsibility of a leadership role in camp.  Like it or not, the younger boys all look to these guys to set the tone, show them what is acceptable, and basically how to act as a camper. This upper senior age group is a great group of young men.  Anyhow, today they competed cabin against cabin as they were challenged by many activities they have done here at camp over the years. It involves a lot of running, but also mountain biking, canoeing, marksmanship, fire building, soccer, and even a trip off the rope swing just to name a few.  The key is that they have to complete the task as a cabin group.  No man is left behind. They cannot begin a task until everyone is there and the task is not complete until everyone has finished. I enjoy seeing the excitement, teamwork, and talent as they move around camp.  Today was a great event.  I was very proud to see some of these boys run up campfire hill today that I first met when they were just eight and walking up to their first campfire.

The mini II boys enjoyed the afternoon in the lake floating around trying to find a “yeti egg” that looks and tastes strangely familiar to a watermelon.  It was a great way to spend a steamy afternoon. Our other age groups took advantage of some games around camp, the water slide, and the mud pit! There is something about mud and boys.  I always enjoy how they sort of tiptoe around it at first, but by the end we can not get them out of it.

There are far too many pictures tonight.  I’m not sure whether that is a good or bad thing.  Nonetheless, take some time to enjoy all the wonderfulness of our weekend.  There are a number of pictures form last night’s Keystone Camp square dance.  I think my favorite part of these girls’ camp get together events are the siblings.  We have a number of sibling pairs from Keystone.  There some upper senior and afternoon events, but the best are the annual mud event!  You can’t beat these!

We are all ready to tackle this last week of camp.  There are plenty of challenges, excitement, and fun ahead!

Have a great night!

Don