Amongst the craziness of life back home, a session at camp creates a constant atmosphere of excitement and adventure that slowly but surely transforms into an unforgettable experience. By now, the session has truly evolved into full swing and this fact only amplifies the excitement of day to day events even more. As reveille sounded off this Wednesday morning, the consistency of camp only served to provide more and more fun. Campers were welcomed with a fanfare of waffles upon waffles upon entering the Tucker Inn. With hands still sticky from the abundance of syrups, we scurried outside to raise those hands in the air and proceed with the morning yell.

This morning at chapel, Winston H. told an amusing account of his shortcomings during his time as a young unkempt adolescent. He drew a major parallel from this experience to describe Who Man Is and how we will often fail all on our own. As everyone knows, the conclusion of chapel might as well be the firing of a starting pistol to an extremely competitive race, Cabin Cleanup. Campers rushed to their cabins to try and impress the cabin cleanup judges by heartily sweeping and scrubbing until they could hardly bear it for any longer.

Once we all felt satisfied with our cabins, it was off to the morning’s activities. By this time in the week, everyone is a seasoned veteran, and activities have just become a part of life here at camp. The morning’s mountain bike class took to the trails around camp, while also turning and burning on the gravel. Garrison B. managed to make a cross camp trek, all the way from Spencer’s Green to the Totem Pole! On the other end of the thrill spectrum, rocketry is now beginning to put necessary touches on their rockets. Khari D. was even helping Charlie M. with his rocket.

One of the beautiful things about camp is just the sheer quantity of activities that is available. It’s so hard to choose which is each camper’s favorite because each activity draws you in from across camp. For instance, you could smell the pizza Aidan K. made in cooking on the new outdoor grills a mile away. Yum! At the same time, you have the sweet melodious tones of Jacob P. shredding the guitar drawing you in all the way from the guitar hut.

Before we even knew it, the bell for lunch had rung and we had found ourselves filing in to the Tucker Inn like clockwork, ready to chow down. Trays of food came funneling to the tables of ravenous boys and everyone enjoyed the delectable flavoring of Greece, relishing in the taste of the pita pockets and chicken. Now that the plates were licked clean, everyone expectantly awaited the results of the cabin cleanup scores. Much to the dismay of most of the cabins except for one of course, the eldest cabin of Greybeard once again swept the competition away with their cleaning aptitude. The second place cabin, Big Slaty, was closely following though, losing by only .1 of a point. It is only a matter of time before we will see Big Slaty come out on top. We also heard the results of the winner of last night’s evening activity, “Stealing Skins.” In typical fashion, the roaring drumroll eagerly brought in the result that the Iroquois came out on top. As a Seminole myself, this was not ideal, but you win some and you lose some, it seems.

After lunch comes the necessary period of rest time, which seems to end much too quickly. The eagerness picks up promptly nonetheless, with trading post and free time giving a much deserved break from the programming of camp. Campers lined up to play Thunderball and tetherball or simply lounge on the benches around the trading post. From there it was on to the afternoon activities. This afternoon was a time of honing each camper’s individual craft. In tennis, campers sought to practice new skills and perfect already learned ones. Michael W. demonstrated his budding proficiency and was awarded his bronze bar on the courts. Across property on Spencer’s Green, Team Sports had started up a enlightening lesson on the basics of Ultimate Frisbee. Fox S. learned the very important skill of “flicking” the Frisbee as a way to throw it. Afternoon activities came to a close, leaving campers wanting just a little bit more. Good news for them: camp is far from over! As we filed down to dinner, the vans of campers that had gone on waterskiing and fly fishing trips pulled in, the campers ready to eat a hearty dinner and tell the stories of the experiences they had had that day. You could hear how Max C. crushed it while fly fishing and had a great roll cast or how much fun Harry D., Jake S., Grayson L., Will B., Adam N., and Andrew D. had waterskiing! Campers enjoyed a home cooked meal pot roast, mashed potatoes and corn (off the cob) , offering much needed nutrients to replenish so many tired bodies. The dining hall then was overjoyed to abruptly learn that they would be closing out their day playing one of the most ultimately beloved games here at camp, BATTLEBALL. My ears are still ringing from the outcry of delight upon hearing the news.

Campers stormed out of the dining hall more than ready to move forward in tribal activity. Tomorrow we’ll find out the outcome of one of the most popular evening activities camp has to offer. I predict a Seminoles Win. But I’m a little biased. As today comes to a close let it be known that another wonderful day on the marvelous grounds of Camp Timberlake has come to successful conclusion at last.

Signing off,

Amongst the craziness of life back home, a session at camp creates a constant atmosphere of excitement and adventure that slowly but surely transforms into an unforgettable experience. By now, the session has truly evolved into full swing and this fact only amplifies the excitement of day to day events even more. As reveille sounded off this Wednesday morning, the consistency of camp only served to provide more and more fun. Campers were welcomed with a fanfare of waffles upon waffles upon entering the Tucker Inn. With hands still sticky from the abundance of syrups, we scurried outside to raise those hands in the air and proceed with the morning yell.

This morning at chapel, Winston H. told an amusing account of his shortcomings during his time a young unkempt adolescent. He drew a major parallel from this experience to describe Who Man Is and how we will often fail all on our own. As everyone knows, the conclusion of chapel might as well be the firing of a starting pistol to an extremely competitive race, Cabin Cleanup. Campers rushed to their cabins to try and impress the cabin cleanup judges by heartily sweeping and scrubbing until they could hardly bear it for any longer.

Once we all felt satisfied with our cabins, it was off to the morning’s activities. By this time in the week, everyone is a seasoned veteran and activities have just become a part of life here at camp. The morning’s mountain bike class took to the trails around camp, while also turning and burning on the gravel. Garrison B. managed to make a cross camp trek, all the way from Spencer’s Green to the Totem Pole! On the other end of the thrill spectrum, rocketry is now beginning to put necessary touches on their rockets. Khari D. was even helping Charlie M. with his rocket.

One of the beautiful things about camp is just the sheer quantity of activities that is available. It’s so hard to choose which is each camper’s favorite because each activity draws you in from across camp. For instance, you could smell Aidan K.’s pizza he made in cooking on the new outdoor grills a mile away. Yum! At the same time though, you have the sweet melodious tones of Jacob P. shredding the guitar drawing you in all the way from the guitar hut.

Before we even knew it, the bell for lunch had rung and we had found ourselves filing in to the Tucker Inn like clockwork, ready to chow down. Trays of food came funneling to the tables of ravenous boys and everyone enjoyed the delectable flavoring of Greece, relishing in the taste of the pita pockets and chicken. Now that the plates were licked clean, everyone expectantly awaited the results of the cabin cleanup scores. Much to the dismay of most of the cabins except for one of course, the eldest cabin of Greybeard once again swept the competition away with their cleaning aptitude. The second place cabin, Big Slaty, was closely following though, losing by only .1 of a point. It is only a matter of time before we will see Big Slaty come out on top. We also heard the results of the winner of last night’s evening activity, stealing skins. In typical fashion, the roaring drumroll eagerly brought in the result that the Iroquois came out on top. As a Seminole myself, this was not ideal, but you win some and you lose some it seems.

After lunch comes the necessary period of rest time, which seems to end much too quickly. The eagerness picks up promptly nonetheless, with trading post and free time giving a much deserved break from the programming of camp. Campers lined up to play Thunderball and tetherball or simply just lounge on the benches around the trading post. From there it was on to the afternoon activities. This afternoon was a time of honing each camper’s individual craft. In tennis, campers sought to practice new skills and perfect already learned ones. Michael W. demonstrated his budding proficiency and was awarded his bronze bar on the courts. Across property on Spencer’s Green, Team Sports had started up a enlightening lesson on the basics of Ultimate Frisbee. Fox S. learned the very important skill of “flicking” the Frisbee as a way to throw it. Afternoon activities came to a close, leaving campers wanting just a little bit more. Good news for them, camp is far from over! As we filed down to dinner, The vans with campers that had gone on waterskiing and fly fishing trips pulled in, with excited campers, ready to eat a hearty dinner and tell the stories of the experiences they had had that day. You could hear how Max C. crushed it while fly fishing and had a great roll cast or how much fun Harry D., Jake S., Grayson L., Will B., Adam N., and Andrew D. had waterskiing! Campers enjoyed a home cooked meal pot roast, mashed potatoes and corn (off the cob) , offering much needed nutrients to replenish so many tired bodies. The dining hall then was overjoyed to abruptly learn that they would be closing out their day playing one of the most ultimately beloved games here at camp, BATTLEBALL. My ears are still ringing from the outcry of delight upon hearing the news.

Campers stormed out of the dining hall more than ready to move forward in tribal activity. Tomorrow we’ll find out the outcome of one of the most popular evening activities camp has to offer. I predict a Seminoles win. But I’m a little biased. As today comes to a close, let it be known that another wonderful day on the marvelous grounds of Camp Timberlake has come to successful conclusion at last.

Signing off,

James C.

Proud Seminole

Big Piney Counselor

University of Tennessee, Class of 2019