Greetings from Camp Timberlake!As the sounds of reveille echoed over the hills this morning and campers began emerging from their restful slumbers, it was apparent that today would be another glorious day at Camp Timberlake. Campers hustled down to the Tucker Inn for breakfast and were delighted to see that the morning’s fare consisted of sausage, eggs, biscuits, and breakfast potatoes. The perfect nutritious breakfast for a day full of activities!

After breakfast, the campers raised their voices to the heavens as a part of the cacophonous chorus that we like to call the morning yell. Chapel followed directly thereafter, and worship featured the song “Sing! Hosanna,” a favorite among campers. We then enjoyed hearing a message from counselor Austin S. who related a story of needing his dad’s help to get his truck out of the mud to describe our need for God – our heavenly father who can help us when we are stuck. Greybeard then headed off for their annual cabin trip while the rest of the campers headed off to clean their cabins with the hope of cabin inspection glory.

Morning activities proceeded with excitement as campers begin to work for bars in classes where they have excelled. Jack G. won a 2 vs. 1 in airsoft and is well on his way to achieving silver. CIT Dane T. reports that “backpacking was lit,” and I do think he means that literally since campers were working on starting fires with wilderness materials. Later in backpacking Chase R. and Drew J. learned the taut-line hitch and helped lead 7 others in setting up an 8-person tarp. There was also a water-skiing trip in the morning, and Clark W. was able to get up on skis on his first attempt. Second period came to a close and campers began to congregate on the Back Green in eager anticipation of lunch. While they were waiting, an impromptu game of Jackpot materialized, and Gresham C. emerged victorious, corralling a 200-point toss as the bell sounded to begin lunch.

Opa! It was Greek day for lunch! We enjoyed chicken pitas with olives and other various accoutrements and were thrilled to receive oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert. Counselor Harris C. met with campers who were interested in kayaking the Tuckaseegee River. Afterwards, cabin inspection scores were announced, and Little Slaty was devastated to learn that they had come in second with a perfect 10 because Tomahawk scored a never-before-seen 10.1 on cabin cleanup. The previous night’s result of battle ball was announced, and the Seminoles were exultant as they basked in the glory of a hard-fought win. After the uproar had abated, campers headed up to the cabins for the best time! Rest time!

Campers rushed down to the TrayPo at 1:00pm to recaffeinate and rehydrate for their afternoon activities. Epic games of Thunderball commenced with strong performances coming from Alexander E. and Eiji T. In kayaking class Ben A. stepped up and began teaching his peers how to do hip-snaps and T-rescues. Andres D., Sam H., and Daniel Y. began to throw on the wheel in pottery class, and other campers began to put the finishing touches on their pottery pieces. Chase R. was on fire in archery, and he and others hit so many bullseyes that counselor Will A. had to do 100 pushups. Up on Spencer’s Green,  led his team to victory with the game winning catch in ultimate frisbee.

Dinner consisted of chicken alfredo and cauliflower, and dessert was vanilla ice cream. After dinner, it was announced that tonight is cabin night – everyone’s favorite evening activity. Tomahawk took a trip to see a sunset at Craggy Pinnacle. Little Piney and Big Piney went to a free swim at Lake Doris and opened up the water slide for the first time this session. After that, I heard rumors that they planned to raid the Trading Post (gasp!) and have a sleepover in the Mike. Stomper’s Knob took a trip up to the Mark where they played games and put the puppies to bed. Little Slaty made their way up to the Shelter where they will sleep tonight after roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. Big Slaty made pizza with our very own professional chef Colby and enjoyed a tasty night in the cooking kitchen. Greybeard wrapped up their day of activities with Cici’s Pizza and a trip to Blue Cone for ice cream. As you can tell, today was a busy day here at Camp Timberlake, and we are going to sleep well tonight. We’re looking forward to the last week of fun at camp!

Cheers,

Andrew Renshaw

Steward of the Slums

Proud Seminole

Anchor Down