This last Tuesday of the session had an early drizzly start as the night rain slowly tapered off. Needless to say, the morning was a little bit slow in getting going as campers are feeling two and a half weeks of camp. The beds feel cozier, the pillow seems deeper, those loud bird noises are practically lullabies by now.

But the bell clangs just as loud and the call of the morning rang out as ever, lurching camp into motion.  We were met with a breakfast of chocolate chip scones, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, sausages, fruits and berries, along with the ever-present variety of cereals.

The crew moved on to their day which was becoming rapidly sunnier and rather warm. Trips left camp at their normal pace for one of the last tripping days of the session. For the first time ever, our disc golf program took a trip down to the course on Brevard College’s campus. They played all morning and were impressed at some of the difficult holes along the round. The length of some of the throws required, and then the fact that some holes were on the other side of a stand of trees also stumped them for a while and gave the group plenty of reasons for creativity in their throws.

The paddlers took a younger group of boaters to the Tuckaseegee for a full day on a delightful water level to work with. As a significant step up, the Tuck showed the guys what pushy current can be and the need to work with the water to catch their eddies and make their moves in the rapid. The feeling of having your canoe taken by the force of the river and needing to exert yourself to make it do what you want is an eye opener for sure!

Our climbers took a trip up to the Cathedral Rocks to enjoy the warm morning and had some time on natural rock. Our mountain bikers also had a trip to Dupont where they rode Mine Mountain before getting a brief chill time by Fawn Lake before returning to camp for a well-deserved lunch.

The day’s heat picked up heading into lunch and then the breeze blew up and didn’t stop blowing. That ushered in a very pleasant cool front throughout the afternoon as the day cooled off and everything felt delightful. Our sailors immediately took up the charge and once again cruised with speed and confidence across the lake. Soccer was working hard on small-side games and skills. It doesn’t hurt to have the World Cup as a motivator for our young footballers!

Tennis was working on serves and some game play, loving the cooler courts. Horseback riding was enjoying trail rides and did loops through camp as part of the mission. It is always cool to see other activities pause in their doings to allow the horses by without providing an unintentional startle. Connestee was up on the high ropes course and were literally dancing on the wires as I walked by. They were all too happy to yell greetings down to me and any other person who happened to be passing.

A great day it was, and one that saw a lot of guys working hard on their last few chances at passing a level in their chosen activities. I look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings!