Snow Day!
July 20, 2018 by Woody Noland
As the this third week draws to a close, High Rocks was greeted with a wonderfully chilly start to the day, and when I say chilly I mean it. Unbeknownst to camp, a small group of staff festooned camp with a winter wonderland theme over night so our sleepy, bed-headed fellows were greeted with all kinds of snowflakes, candy canes, lights, and hot chocolate by the roaring fire. To say they were surprised would be quite the understatement. Many were still taking it all in by the end of breakfast, though the cocoa seemed to start the gears turning a bit faster.
The rest of the day had that thematic bent with activities all having a spin on their normal happenings. At this point in the session, anything new and unexpected stands out quickly from the normal pace that they know so well. Our mini guys, though not here as long yet, were more than willing to go along with the fun and seemed to accept it as just a normal Friday at camp!
The day got started fast with all of our seniors heading out of camp jaw-crackingly early for a day spent rafting on section 9 of the French Broad. The water was abundant, rapids of good size, and rowdy energy at a peak for the second oldest age group who roundly agreed this was one of their more favorite days so far. After a return trip up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for lunch, the group returned rather sedated and ready to relax back into camp for the later afternoon lead-up to dinner.
There was a group of climbers that cruised into Pisgah for a day on the Nose of Looking Glass. The climb is an enjoyable experience of big rock to get the guys up high and feeling quite exposed, while also feeling like lords of all they survey from the top of the climb. Our mountain bikers made their way over to DuPont for a morning ride on this delightfully cool morning. Some of our most recent additions to camp were invited on a half-day hike up Rich Mountain for the afternoon and enjoyed the opportunity to see more of our property and the conservation land adjacent to us. Though many of the guys were quite impressed at how steep the walk up was, they made it to the top in good time to savor the view and the different perspective back onto camp before hustling back for Choice Period. We also had our Chattooga overnight trip return with some all kinds of stories of rapids negotiated, rocks jumped off of, swimming holes enjoyed, and a reasonably comfortable night sleeping to the sounds of the river nearby. They did look pretty excited to be back at camp for a big dining hall dinner, with the prospect of hot showers this evening looming large!
This evening’s activity has a theatrical focus inspired by The Greatest Showman. The event kicked off with a counselor skit from the opening number too much hilarity and stomping. It is fun to see our guys embrace the chance to focus their creative side in performing a wide variety of skits and talents for the camp community. Everything from full cabin comedies to solo performances graced the stage and camp, as always, was a willing, enthusiastic audience!
Along with our daily pictures this evening, we also have a highlight video capturing just some of the fun in this session so far. Don has also asked that I let you know about 191 images from yesterday that did not post and are now available on the July 19 gallery. Please enjoy all the fun and come on back tomorrow evening for a post-square collection!
Have a good night,
Woody
July Session Fun!