Campers awoke this beautiful Tuesday morning eager to take on another spectacular day here at Camp Timberlake. The weather was cool and crisp as everyone headed down for breakfast to chow down on a meal of baked oatmeal, coffee cake, and the always-delicious bacon. The kitchen was nearly overwhelmed by requests for more bacon, causing one kitchen worker to exclaim, “How do boys love bacon this much?!” After breakfast, campers were treated to an inspiring morning yell from Counselor Danny. Danny implored the boys to avoid the “Invisible force” and to fight against the forces of evil to make this day the best day of camp yet. Campers heeded his words as everyone hustled off to chapel where they heard an encouraging message from Counselor Brandon about how Jesus is greater than any sin.

Following chapel, the boys feverously cleaned their cabins to try to capture the coveted award for cleanest cabin of the day. Once the cabins were sparkling, everyone dispersed to morning activities where campers worked hard to earn bars and have a lot of fun. In archery, campers took aim some high scores, and were able to deliver. Bailey M. earned his silver bar by shooting a superb score that would have made the great Robinhood proud. Over at Lake Doris, it was a busy day in canoeing. The campers learned that “loose hips=safe ships” and that “conoenication” is key to keeping everyone on the same page. (Please hold your applause for that awesome pun).  Grady S. is a phenomenal canoeist and appears to have a chance to earn his gold bar in canoeing, truly a rare feat.

Once morning activities finished up, campers ran down to lunch and were greeted by one of their favorite meals, chicken sandwiches. Everyone loaded up a sandwich with his favorite fixing and ate up! There was even a side of French fries with the meal, making today’s lunch one of camp’s favorite of the session. Once everyone had eaten his fill of food, it was time for the announcement of the cabin cleanup scores. It is really quite amazing how excited boys get about these scores. The revealing of the winner is quite the big deal day in and day out. Today’s announcement was filled with drama as the surprising cabin of Little Piney tried to defend their shocking victory from the day prior.

It came down to Little Piney and perennial favorite Big Slaty for the top two spots with the older of the two cabins, Big Slaty, earning the victory. Once the hoopla ceased, it was time for the best time… Rest Time! Everyone (except the lower cabins) enjoyed a peaceful 30 minutes until the boys were dismissed for a great hour and a half of free time during which a couple fierce games of tetherball and Thunderball broke out. Seriously, just give these boys something with a ball and they can be entertained for hours. Once free time ended, everyone was ready to go for his afternoon activities.

Around the time afternoon activities started, a double-overnight backpacking tripped returned from the mountains. It was quite the adventure! Campers Grant H, Brian S, Mike P, George H, Grant T, and counselors John Christian and David set out on Sunday from the mountain of Greybeard and hiked 6 miles to Pinnacle Mountain. On Monday, everyone awoke at 8:00 and made preparations to hit the trail at 10:30. Once they got going, the group made it to Commissory Hill by mid afternoon and camped at the base of Mount Mitchell that night. Today, the trip ended with a 2 hour hike up Mount Mitchell and everyone got back to camp by 2:30. There were many bars won on the trip as Grant and Brian got their gold bars, Mike got his silver, and George and Grant earned their bronzes. A day-trip to go fly-fishing also went out today and Kennan S caught two fish and Jesse C. wrangled one in. The trip ended with a sweet visit to a swimming hole where all enjoyed a great time.

In afternoon activities, team sports and soccer class combined to play an epic game of Wonderball. Hank B, Seth H, and Eric H led their team to a thrilling 13-11 victory, bagging the game-winning goal at the final whistle.

Once activities were over for the day, it was time for a fantastic dinner of penne pasta and meatballs with a sweet cherry cobbler for dessert. As the meal was winding down, the anticipation started building for the announcement of the evening activity. Counselor Rusty donned the red helmet, ran around the dining hall like a maniac, and ultimately yelled “NINJA TRAINING!!” His words were met with a huge roar and everyone ran our to start preparing for the full-speed and sneaky game that separates the strong from the full-blown ninja warriors.

That’s all I have for you today! All the counselors here are having a great time hanging out with your sons and we are so pumped we still have another week with them.

 

 

Brandon Chase

Little Piney Counselor

Professional Article Writer