Pancake Saturday

I love Saturdays at High Rocks!  In the 29 (now my 30th) summers I have been here, there have always been pancakes on Saturday. It’s just what we do.  Our Chef Lee makes the recipe in one of those giant Hobart floor mixers and always uses real eggs and real buttermilk.  It does make a difference.  It was a wonderful event sided with some lovely bacon strips, home fries, and hard-boiled eggs if you wanted them. On the fruit bar, there were blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Some guys just plopped them right on top of their pancakes. Of course, there were still assorted cereals if that wasn’t enough.

I like having everyone in camp on Saturday. The boys get a chance to catch back up after going on trips in so many directions. It is a great day to just be out and about. Again, Saturdays in activities are always a little different and fun.

Crate stacking at the climbing tower is another super-fun event.  The boys (while on belay) try to stack as many milk crates as they can (one at a time) under themself without tipping over.  Eventually, the walls come tumbling down, and the next guy gets to have a crack at it.  Lots of cheering and excitement as the boys would get to ten, twelve, or even sixteen crates before they toppled. It was a ton of fun!

The waterfront was a constant site of amazement for me.  Boys splashing around in boats as others caught fish. Meanwhile, the majestic sailboats would fill the background with their colorful sails as the laughter and fun continued around them.

Mountain biking hit some trails and did some obstacles biking did some obstacles in the morning and hit the trails in the afternoon.  My favorite here was the teeter-totter.  It is an impressive sight to see these guys rush up the front side while balancing just long enough for it to tip and allow for the slide down the other.  It’s a really fun event.

Hiking focused on setting up the tents and tarps we use here for our backpacking overnights. While it is a good skill to learn our staff always make it fun. In short, they call it hurricane day! Once the boys work together to set up their shelter, the staff announces in the background that a storm is coming! The “storm” takes the shape of a backpack leaf blower, garden hose, and a metal trashcan lid. As the boys hunker down in their shelters, the leafblower, err wind begins to blow, then the rain comes, and there is always a little thunder in the background. Super-fun times…

Tomorrow, we sleep in a little longer, bring up our much-needed laundry, and have a blast all day long!

Have a great night!

-Don Gentle

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