Today is a special day here at Camp Timberlake! It’s Sunday, a day in which we slow down a little bit and enjoy some fun Sunday activities. Reveille rang through the mountains of camp an hour later today as campers enjoyed an extra hour of sleep on this wonderful Sunday. Then, we raced down to the Tuck for the classic Sunday breakfast: cinnamon rolls, bagels, and chocolate milk! After the morning yell we made our way to chapel where we sang “Arise, My Soul,” “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus,” “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks,” and “Amazing Grace-Eagle Style.” Then, after one counselor from each cabin prayed for their respective cabins, campers raced off to cabin cleanup and to take their cabin photo.

We had two trips go out today. Our youngest cabin, Huckleberry, took a cabin trip to Huskins Brach. Huskins is a really pretty hike with an awesome waterfall at the end. The guys enjoyed the hike and really loved splashing around at the base of the falls. The cabin of Huckleberry consists of Smith B, Jack C, Gehrig C, Brooks D, Blake F, Patrick H, Charlie H, Billy Luke I, Dash W, Jameson W, Stewart W, and Mac W. The other trip was a kayaking trip to the Tuckasegee River which included Wilson F, Thomas M, Carter W, and Matthew D. The Tuckaseegee is one of our most popular rivers, providing a great learning run for beginner kayakers but with enough nuance to it to allow our older paddlers to really hone their skills as well. The guys crushed 

One aspect to this Sunday that made it special was we hosted our first ever Timberlake Triathlon. Nine boys competed in one of the most challenging races camp has to offer and traveled over 5 miles of water and trails. Oliver G, Grant S, Landon K, Ben A, Davis O, Matthew A, Reid S, Thomas R, and Will S all started on one side of the lake where the triathletes swam across to the beach exiting the water to the first transfer station. They then threw on shoes and took off on the mountain bike section of the race. Riding up Spyglass Hill and onto the Crooked Mile, the bike section was a total of 2.8 miles throughout the Timberlake trail system. Crossing over the bridge and back over to the transfer station, the boys hopped off the bikes, threw down some gatorade, and entered the final running portion of the race. Following the route around camp, the run was 2.15 miles and in dramatic fashion finished up at the Chapel. The podium finishers were Ben A, with a time of 46:05, Davis O, with a time of 46:04, and our winner Grant S, finishing with a time of 45:53.

Our Sunday activities were in full swing today. There was a sandcastle building contest, a fort building contest, frog catching, cards at the chapel, and “a tradition unlike any other,” Sunday at the Masters, where Ford B and Declan Q took home the win on the disc golf course. In the afternoon, a 3v3 basketball tournament and a pickleball tournament took place. 

Dinner tonight was a camp favorite, the Sunday Cookout. Everyone enjoyed some burgers, hot dogs, chips, watermelon, cookies, and lemonade up on Spencer’s Green. After we had our fill of food, we made our way down to the chapel for Vespers for a time of songs and skits performed by both staff and campers. GAME AFTER??? Happy Sunday everyone!

Until Tomorrow,

Ethan Persons

Stomper’s Knob Counselor

Beach Volleyball Instructor

Proud Black Bear