Author: Don Gentle

It’s hard to believe we are hitting the last few days of the session here already.  I enjoyed seeing another group of trips out this morning including the Mini Men canoers making their first river trips down the French Broad.  My hope is that it is one of many in the future. There was another… Continue reading Wait! I’m Not Ready to Leave!

Mondays always start with a lot of excitement.  We had 6 trips out of camp today and 2 additional special events on the high ropes course. Rock Climbing had two trips out to our private High Rocks climbing area.  It’s so close, that we don’t even get in the van and the boys are finished… Continue reading Busiest Day Yet

Another fantastic Sunday here at High Rocks!  After a much-needed sleep-in, the boys worked hard to get their laundry up to the lot before breakfast. We enjoyed some of those scratch-made cinnamon rolls from Nate and the kitchen crew accompanied by scrambled eggs, oatmeal, fresh-cut fruit, yogurt, and assorted cereals. We had a great meal, then a… Continue reading Upper Senior Challenge Sunday

It sure was another fantastic day! The morning kicked off with the time-honored tradition of pancakes and sausage. We sided with some home fries and boiled eggs and then fresh fruit, yogurt, and assorted cereals.  Today is the day I fill in for the photographer, so I am out and about all day long.  It’s… Continue reading Living in the Present

The cool morning brought a smokey-looking mist off the lake. I love these sorts of mornings in the mountains. It has been nice to see a slow drying of the air and some lower temperatures. It was only 57 degrees at 7 am this morning! The high did make it to 79, but the cool… Continue reading The Weekend

I was super excited to get up to the dining hall this morning. While I typically make it up there fairly early for our daily meeting, I wanted to be sure I caught some of the mini guys coming in from their cabin overnights. As luck would have it, I was even able to catch… Continue reading Good Morning High Rocks!

I had one of those “jack of all trade” days today at camp. After my usual admin meeting at 7:30 am, I made the rounds in the dining hall catching staff and campers for various needs. Then,  I had to fix a printer over at the health center, which lead to an Amazon list of… Continue reading Waikiki Wednesday

We sure enjoyed seeing all our Mini II families today! The cool moist air in the low seventies welcomed them to the mountains when they stepped out of their cars. I always enjoy the surprise on our parents’ faces when they open the door to the beautiful mountain air.  Life at 3000ft has its advantages!… Continue reading Welcome Mini II Campers

Another fantastic Sunday at camp.  After a wonderful breakfast, and a little music, A multi-year staff member, Dallas, lead our morning by the lake with a talk about empathy; what it means, and how it can help our community. I was impressed to see the boys participate in some of the questions and really seem… Continue reading Gold Rush Sunday

We had a great day visiting with the Mini I parents and wish well to all those boys heading home today.   This group of “minis” was almost entirely first-time campers. It was a big step to jump into all that we have to offer.  I heard several stories about the boys not wanting to… Continue reading Untitled

Sometimes we are reminded that these mountains are part of a temperate rainforest.  It allows us to paddle all summer, keeps the trees and grass green without ever watering, and provides for delightful sunsets.  While it did rain today, it wasn’t much of a hindrance; we still did our activities outside. The total accumulation was not… Continue reading Into The Weekend

Life at camp started pretty early this morning.  A group of climbers was heading out for a two-day adventure at about 7 am today. They will head off to Virginia to a cool location As I made my way to the dining hall for our daily “meeting of the minds” there was a flurry of… Continue reading The Mini Men