Good evening Camp Timberlake parents and fans! Today was a nice bright and sunny day on property in which many exciting things happened. With the session going along nicely the campers head into their second day of their TTS (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) activities, so you know what that means, no more safety talks, it’s time to have fun! I know you did come here to read my ramblings, so let’s get into the action!

After a wonderful breakfast where we had egg and cheese english muffins for the first time in camp history the few, the brave, the gnarly men of mountain biking Jack L, Teddy M, Will M, John A, John N, Peyton N, Sanders H, Gabe W, and Braxton F went off and took a trip to the Hickory mountain biking trail. According to my man on the inside it IT. WAS. AWESOME. Let’s hope these bikers keep on shredding and progress in their skills throughout camp. 

Along with the mountain bikers, a little down the hill, the cabin of Hawksbill (Yes, the WHOLE cabin) went on a day hike to the serene waterfall of Huskin’s Branch where I imagine many shenanigans occurred. After a short hike the campers arrived at the towering behemoth of water, which to many, was a sight to behold.

Back on property, the rest of the camp went to chapel, and then into cabin cleanup where Big Piney earned a very impressive 9.75 (out of 10). Next, The campers went to their activities to start off the day. Starting at the top of camp, at the airsoft arena the campers played a new gamemode of hostage rescue, in which Cole R was our top man on both sides racking up an impressive seven eliminations and a rescue during our two matches of the day. 

Working our way down camp, at our very impressive basketball court and gym, The Mark, we had many strong hoopers, but the ones that balled out like no other were Simeon S, Matthew H, and Wait M who all earned their Silver bar today in basketball. On the outside of the gym Britt M completed a half murph with for those who don’t know is a workout in which you run 800m, then do 50 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, then run another 800m this time wearing a 20lb vest. To say this is impressive would be an understatement. Again today at the fencing pavilion our resident Knights of the Timber Order competed in King of the Court, in which slashing and stabbing his way to victory Aaron C took the title.

Continuing down camp we arrive at our Tennis and Pickleball courts where today Andrew R got his Bronze bar and almost his Silver in one go! By the end of camp he might even give pickleball pro JW Johnson a run for his money! Just down the road from our courts are the twin ranges of Archery and Riflery. At Archery a crew of sureshot archers, Gavin W, Rhett C, Barrett B, and Harrison W shot some mighty impressive groupings in an effort to earn their bars in Archery. Across from the Archery range lies our Rifle range where today, two deadeye snipers, Oliver R and Charlie A scored groupings. Oliver scored at Bronze grouping whereas Charlie scored a near impossible Gold grouping, well done to them. 

Down at the lakefront was where one of our campers most favorite things took place… A FREE SWIM!!! That’s right during free time junior camp had a free swim in which John V pulled off a stunt that was daring, a backflip off the rope swing. With teeth clenched and hands together our jaws hit the floor as he landed it. Speaking of epic tricks, in our diving class today Harris N showed off his aerial prowess earning a well deserved Bronze bar. Also at the lake today, Canoeing class built… Am I reading this right? THEY BUILT A DEATH STAR??? That’s right folks, according to my lake front reporter there was the construction of the second great battle station in canoeing.

As you heard last night the race for the banner is neck and neck, both tribes competing to seal their name in camp history. As we figured out today the Golden Eagles advanced one step closer by winning Ultimate Basketball last night. Basketball was tied and came down to a last minute buzzer beater to seal the deal on that front. Whereas in frisbee both teams were tied going into the fourth quarter where the Golden Eagles found their second wind and ended up winning by an astonishing seven points, well done to them. Junior Camp cabin night went swell as everyone enjoyed what they were doing. The winner of Junior Camp cabin night ended up being the cabin of Further In who did lego building and cereal eating, at the same time. I still think Huckleberry deserved it with their record breaking slip n’ slide runs but it’s not up to me. 

Tonight the Golden Eagle and Black Bear tribes Junior Campers duke it out in a game of Bandits Rancheros, while Senior Camp enjoys their cabin night, more on that tomorrow.

Until next time! This is your writer signing off.

Spencer Marchant

Proud Golden Eagle

Professional Huckleberry Wrangler

Airsoft / Paintball Hotshot