Thursday dawned bright and clear here at Timberlake. As campers rolled out of bed to the sound of reveille the aroma of sausage and pancakes wafted from the Tuck, assuring our young men that delicious sustenance awaited them at breakfast. After our morning meal Spencer M led us in a raucous morning yell before we headed over to chapel for some of our favorite songs and another true story. 

Morning activities were a blast today. As a director, today is one of my favorite days in the entire session as it marks the second time campers go through their activity schedule. The boys really begin to see some improvement and pick up their skills on the second time through and the level of comfort and familiarity that comes with being at camp for almost a full week is palpable as they criss cross the property, heading from one activity to another with confidence and anticipation. 

On the archery range, Robert I recorded the best 10 yard grouping of the summer, and Knox B crushed it in climbing class. Our fencers worked on advances and retreats and lunges and over in Tiger Tooth (our craft pavilion) Peter S finished building his first ever rocket. 

At lunch we feasted on sandwiches, pretzel nuggets, pineapple and a yummy broccoli and cheddar soup. The campers were serenaded by a rousing rendition of “Ring of Fire” sung by our very own fencing instructor, Cameron H. The cabins waited with baited breath to hear which cabin had the highest score in cabin inspection. And today’s winner was…Greybeard! The oldest guys in camp took the prize with an impressive 9.75. It should also be noted, however, that Hawksbill and Little Piney also had strong days, both recording 9.25 out of 10. But the biggest announcement of all was when the Sultan of Fun reported the victor in last night’s tribal game of El Presidente…The Golden Eagles! High fives and chest bumps were exchanged all around and then (as is tradition here) the winning tribe sang their tribe fight song and tribe hymn to celebrate their victory. It was a big day for the Golden Eagles, but for the Black Bears, redemption was just a few hours away. 

In the afternoon, the boys were back at it in activities.  Up at the airsoft course Neil R and Mose C earned their bronze bar,  Noah P excelled in disc golf and Peter S had a MVP caliber performance in Ultimate Frisbee. 

In the late afternoon, we had two awesome trips return from a day of adventure outside of camp. Ben J, Knox B, Harris L, Kai J, Patrick M, Asher K, Luke R, Jack H, Charlie T, Myer S, and Andrew T all went on a water fall hike the the Huskins Branch waterfall. The guys made the hike in and then got to check out the huge waterfall at the end. Additionally, Wills A, Sean A, Andrew M, Carson B, Cody B, Loren C, MacRae E, Christopher C, Burton F, Elliot G, Andrew I, Alex J, David K, John L, Alston M, Max M, Connor T and Gus T enjoyed a huge day rafting on section 9 of the French Broad river. Enjoying perfect weather, the guys ferried, surfed and boofed their way day the rapids. “S Turn” and “Big Pillow” were reported to be the top rapids of the day, but the whole trip was one the guys won’t soon forget. 

Tonight we are playing The Great Escape, a fantastic large scale map and challenge game where our tribes have to discover 7 bases around the property and earn the 7 clues held there by completing different challenges. Once a team has all 7 clues they can solve to riddle to reveal the location of the flag. First one to the flag wins. It’s a close competition out there and we’ll have to let you know who wins tomorrow!

Thanks for tuning in for all the fun and facts from a great day here at Timberlake. And thanks for sharing your sons with us this summer. Until next time!

John

Director, Camp Timberlake

Former Big Piney, Big Slaty and Greybeard Counselor

Sultan of Fun Emeritus

Proud Golden Eagle.