Summer 2025 is officially underway! Camp Timberlake is in full swing and things couldn’t have started off any stronger. The sun rose on an absolutely picture perfect North Carolina day this morning as campers rolled through the gates to start another summer of growth through friends and adventure. 

“Welcome to camp!” echoed over the hills all morning as campers got moved into their cabins and started to settle into life here at Timberlake. In the afternoon we got to cool off with a quick dip in Lake Newcomb for our swim check and then it was off to tribal initiation. We have two tribes here are Camp Timberlake and they make up one of the most fun and impactful traditions we have here at camp. The Golden Eagle Tribe and the Black Bear Tribe have been battling for the banner every year since 1983 and this summer the competition is sure to be fierce. Our tribes give us the opportunity to model great competition and great sportsmanship, and they also are a fantastic way to give every new camper an immediate sense of connection and belonging. 

Our initiation ceremony is a special time to welcome the new guys to their tribe and today we initiated a great group of warriors, faithful to their tribe. 

Our new Black Bears are: Juelz A, Davis B, Eric B, Maverick C, Iain H, Case H, Grayson L, Whit R, Bo S, Dax S, Cooper T, Christian W, and Raegan W

Our new Golden Eagles are: Jayse B, Sewell B, Asa C, William G, William K, Kai L, Robert M, Trevor S, Ben T, Brennan T, Michael V, Benjamin W, Trey W, Grayson P and Beckham P

After initiation we enjoyed a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, broccoli, dinner rolls and apple turnovers for desert. Some campers opted for the salad bar or rice and bean bar instead, but one thing is for sure, everybody left the dining hall with full bellies and ready for our first evening activity of the summer…Sock War! 

Sock War is a large scale, capture the flag style game where opponents get each other out by throwing balled up socks at each other. It’s an iconic game here at Camp Timberlake and tonight’s edition did not disappoint. We’ll have to wait until lunchtime tomorrow to find out which tribe emerged victorious.

As camp winds down for the evening I could not be more grateful for the start of another amazing summer. Please be sure to check back in every night to hear all the updates from camp. Until tomorrow!

John

Director, Camp Timberlake

Proud Golden Eagle