Good evening Camp Timberlake families and friends! This terrific Tuesday was another amazing day packed full of activities. There’s not much better than waking up to a delicious meal of bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns! A breakfast classic, enjoyed with a grit bar, yogurt, and some cereal, more than likely Lucky Charms. Immediately after breakfast, everyone got a little more woken up during the morning yell, where we all raise our voices to the heavens. Following this age-old camp tradition, we had two thrilling trips depart. Tuck Tuesday meant that today was the day for kayaking. Oliver G, Boone K, Geo P, Bay J, Declan Q, and Davis O put their skills to the test on the rapids of the Tuckasegee River, and it sounds like it was an amazing trip as always. Trail running also ventured off with Tommy F, Jacob R, Liam T, Steele G, Ben L, Edwin K, Eli V, David C, Turner B, Zach M, and McGinn M. What a great way to spend their morning.

With session 3B underway, the campers went to their second day of Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday classes. With safety talks out of the way, we all got into the fun stuff! In field sports at the Mark, campers worked on their soccer requirements for their bronze, silver, and gold bars. Right above the Mark at the fencing pavilion, EJ B and David C took down the legendary fencing instructor in each of their matches. This means they are one step closer to their next bars! Down by the ranges in riflery, Rigby K got one step closer to his bronze bar by shooting a 2-inch grouping of 5 pellets. Impressive!

Lunch today was one of my personal favorites. Chicken tenders and sweet potato fries. To quote Graham R, chicken tenders and fries never hurt a soul. Outstanding meal. After we finished eating, cabin cleanup scores were announced, leaving Little Slaty to win the day with a perfect 10! These past three days have already seen some remarkably clean cabins. 

After having the best time, rest time, campers flocked to the beach for free time to enjoy a snack and a drink from the trading post. Senior Camp had a free swim, and several activities opened up for campers to work on their bars. During this time, Franklin J, Cian M, Liam B, Liles F, Franklin P, Mcginn M, and Edwin K got their bronzes in basketball. Congrats to them! 

In the afternoon classes, Matthew A launched his gold rocket. This amazing masterpiece utilized the largest engine ever used at camp, sending it super high, faster than other rockets. It was awesome. Right next to rocketry, Sims R learned to throw on the wheel during pottery, a skill that takes lots of patience and practice. Backpacking classes today learned how to pack a bag that contains everything necessary for sleeping in the woods- a tarp, pad, stove, water filtration kit, and many other useful tools. 

For dinner, we chowed down on beef brisket! We topped that off with some delicious M&M cookies. After that, the words “AND NOW” were uttered by our friendly neighborhood camp director John Menendez, leading to the exciting announcement of senior camp cabin night and junior camp Copa Del Rio!

In Senior Camp Cabin Night tonight, Little Piney (the youngest of the oldest) participated in free swim and some more fun by the trading post! After a hot day, you can’t really beat a nice dip in Lake Wallen. Next up, Big Piney headed up into the woods to play airsoft, followed by s’mores at the backpacking hut. Little Slaty participated in an epic battle of the Hunger Games. After this epic contest, they all enjoyed s’mores together. Big Slaty ventured down to the lake, where they took part in the most intense water activity of all water activities: THE GAUNTLET. Using canoes, they put their teamwork to the ultimate test as they completed a series of time trials. Greybeard headed off camp to hike their cabin trail in Montreat. Check back in tomorrow to see who wins Cabin Night and which tribe comes out victorious in Copa Del Rio!

Signing off, 

Ben Coggins

Further Up

Canoeing

Proud Golden Eagle