We were blessed with another beautiful morning here at Camp Timberlake. We had a delicious breakfast of sausage, eggs, and hash browns followed by a rousing morning yell. During chapel. we sang some camp favorites, including “Give me oil” and “Star of the Morning.” Further In counselor Tom L. shared a message about the meaning of the Resurrection. After chapel, we headed to our cabins for cabin clean up. Campers worked hard during cabin clean up as the race for the Golden Plunger (and the pizza party that goes with it) is razor thin. Today, Big Slatey had the cleanest cabin with an almost perfect 9.75 score.

In activities, campers learned new skills and worked toward their bronze, silver, and gold bars. In archery, Daniel A. earned his bronze bar by shooting successfully at 15 yards and naming the parts of the bow and the range safety rules. Over on the lake, Rawson B, Bradley J, and William I. earned their bronze bars and Henri F-P and Drew S. earned their silver bars.

Up in the Big House, cooking class fired up the grill to cook sliders. Charlie B, Baran D, and Tyler S. helped make patties while Peter Q. and Keegan K. perfected their burger flipping techniques.

Over on the pump track, our mountain biking classes took advantage of the sunny weather to practice their skills and work toward bars as well. Grey B. earned his bronze bar and Riley D. and Ben A. earned their gold bars. A gold bar in an activity is the result of many hours of hard work and demonstrates mastery of an activity. Congratulations!

While lots of fun was had in camp, tons of campers got to experience adventure out of camp today. We had two trips go out: a hiking trip to the infamous Babel Tower in the awe inspiring Linville Gorge and a kayaking trip to the mighty Tuckasegee river.

On the day hike today, Spencer L., Sam C., Micah M., Aaron S., Brenden D., Zack C., Charlie O., Ben A., Michael F., and Dash V. had the opportunity to make the epic descent into the Linville Wilderness. The group hiked a 1.5 mile trail and descended around 1100 feet in the process making for a very tough hike. However, the initial discomfort was swiftly forgotten as they arrive at their destination…a clearing in the bottom of a gorge with 1000 foot walls rising up on either side, crystal clear water raging down a 20 foot waterfall dividing the gorge in half. It truly is a spectacle.

About two hours to the west, Noah W., Ian W., Spencer V.G., Will G., Layton S., Peter B., and Tayman H. were navigating their way down the mighty Tuckasegee river. On the river, they conquered rapids such as Slingshot, Double Drop and Shark Tooth. Everyone made it down the river safe with huge smiles on their faces.

After a delicious dinner of country fried steak, mashed potatoes and corn, the Sultan of Fun announced tonight’s evening activity: Commando! This is a camp favorite. The staff spend days filling up water balloons in anticipation of a full-out water balloon battle on Spencer’s Green. While we won’t know the winner until tomorrow, we do know that it was a closely contested matchup between the Seminoles and Iroquois.

As taps echo over the mountains, another day ends here at Camp Timberlake. Thank you for sharing your sons with us this summer.

 

Harris “Hollywood” Cannon

Steven “Sporty” Menendez

Program Staff