The second full day of Camp Timberlake, and this day did not disappoint! A hearty breakfast of fried chicken and buttery golden biscuits glazed with syrup greeted the campers this morning as they rushed to breakfast! 

Fueled with a warm, nutritious breakfast in the Timberlake campers’ stomachs, the campers’ adrenaline carried them through their second morning yell of the year. Afterward, we treated ourselves to another fantastic message from Winston Horn at the Chapel. Today’s chapel message was about his unique biking skills with 1st John 1:9 as today’s scripture reading. After chapel, the boys rushed off, eager to make better scores than yesterday on cabin cleanup. With Turtleback in the lead for first, Finches Landing made an impressive win today, securing almost a perfect score in today’s Cabin Cleanup. 

While the boys were making their cabins look like five-star cabins, a group of boys set off on two different trips for the day, including a splashtastic French Broad rafting trip and a thrilling day hike to Huskins Branch. Case H., John L., Solomon P., Christopher C., Alston M., Andrew T., Nathan W., Brennan T., Parker J., Carson B., Asa C., and Luke T.,  were soaked in fun on the French Broad rafting, where teamwork meets the turbulence of the French Broad. Braving Huskins Branch on foot were William G., Grayson S., Tobias C., Eric B., Rhodes R., Sutton G., and Hayes W., hiking through lush natural sights and the beauty of the North Carolina Mountains. 

At camp, the campers found themselves busy with a plethora of fun-filled activities. Ryan H. challenged collegiate tennis athlete, Bryant Furman, to an exciting pickleball matchup. The tennis courts weren’t the only thing busy today for camp activities. Riflery started off booming with Banks P., who achieved his 0.5-inch prone grouping for gold in riflery, which I’ll say is a super impressive thing! George S. also got three 1-inch sitting groupings for silver in riflery. Graeme W. achieved a bronze 2-inch grouping in riflery while Pace W. shot a 1-inch grouping for silver in riflery. In paintball, Tucker C. and Ryker R. earned their bronze bar. Boy, do we have an impressive group of sharpshooters at the ranges! At the waterfront, Case M. and Andrew K. earned their bronze in canoeing. Robbie G. carved an impressive route in mountain climbing, making his way up the tower only using natural holds. 

The Golden Eagles stirred a huge buzz themselves as they managed to make an impressive comeback in Search and Destroy, securing a 1-1 tie for the Banner. The race for the golden banner is tightening as both the Black Bears and Golden Eagles have elected their tribal leaders for the first session. Leading the mighty Black Bears from the marsh is Case M. as Black Bear Chief and Mason S. as Elder, and the Lookouts are William L. and Bo S. Over to the tribe in the Florida Everglades the Golden Eagles selected Henry O. as Golden Eagle Chief and Banks P. as Elder and the lookouts being Sebastian P., and Roman R-F. New chiefs, elders, and lookouts were elected to represent their tribe with courage, humility, empathy, and grit. 

Tonight, the Black Bears are looking for redemption in the tribal game of Mission Impossible! Will it be impossible or possible for the Black Bears to win tonight’s game and potentially the banner? Or will the Golden Eagles strike with their talons for the banner? Only time will tell in tomorrow’s blog! 

Signing off 

Joey D

Golden Eagle 

No-nonsense basketball enthusiast