TimberTales Blog

SUMMARY - Answers to parents' frequently asked questions about going to summer camp.

IMAGE - Photograph of a campers on the mountain top.

IMAGE CAPTION - What a view! What a summer! Come join us at Timberlake!

The Mt. Mitchell Marathon

February 26th, 2010

17474_1217507960945_1326263743_30561985_1995055_n

The Mt. Mitchell marathon has camp representation once again!  A camp Timberlake legend, James Michael Wilson Sanders, is going to do battle with the elements and run from Black Mountain to Mt. Mitchell (and back) in what is forecast to be around 5 degrees and running through what is said to be almost 3 feet of snow!  (Maybe we should all observe a moment of silence to lift up our crazy brother, James Michael!)

Last year our beloved Ryan Carlson the director of Black Mountain Expeditions placed second in the marathon.  (Which I am still amazed by) The conditions were really bad then as well, pouring rain!   He decided not to run this year due to the fact that the much needed training time was replaced with time spent on home renovation work on a new house he and his wife Annie have purchased here in Black Mountain.

Go James!  We’ll be praying for you.

Director Dan

Posted in News, camper update by Dan | (0) Comments

The newest camp addition!

February 18th, 2010
The layout of our new pavillion

The layout of our new pavilion

Our new Pavillion at Spencer's (name pending)

Our new Pavilion at Spencer's

So here are the proposed plans for our new camp pavilion!  We are especially pleased with this for a few reasons.  Not only is this another great location for rainy day activities, but it takes fencing indoors (where it is traditionally practiced) and takes more pressure off of the Mike for programming in both daily and evening activities.  It will have a fire pit off to the side of it for tribal ceremonies and a flagpole to hoist the flag of the previous night’s evening activity winner!  We plan to dive back into the history of Timberlake and carve the banner winners of each year’s first and second session in the timbers that surround the fire.  Oh and Will Long is designing some really cool flags to raise.  Get ready boys, this is going to be a huge addition to our camp traditions!  Below is the layout that we have for the new building.  Did I mention that the view is breathtaking from it?  It makes me want to wrestle and fence!  (I am terrible at both)
-Director Dan

Posted in New Construction at camp, News by Dan | (2) Comments

Why Single-Gender Camping?

February 11th, 2010

Most people agree that boys and girls develop differently.  In general girls develop language more quickly while a boy’s develop in their visual/spatial abilities.  Other studies show that boys focus when under stress while girls tend to take less risk in stressful situations.   So it is no surprise that children consistently perform better in single-gender schools.  Settings focused on their particular strengths are simply going to be more effective.

Camp, however, is different.   We are not making our campers better students (though I suspect they are), we are making them happier, more adventurous people.  Our strength is that camp is both an intensely social (we live together!) and a low stress setting.  The result is a place where it is safe to try new things.  It is a place where the boys live together in their cabins as families, and like a family, it is a place where they can cheer for each others’ success and encourage each other when they fail.   This is why boys who attend single-gender camps are more likely to develop a healthy sense of adventure, make life-long friends and return year after year.

Adam Boyd

Merri-Mac Director

Posted in How to choose a summer camp by Dan | (0) Comments

How about a staff update?

February 10th, 2010

I will start with the returners (in no particular order): Parker Kempf, John Menendez, Steven Menendez, John Andrews, Will Andrews, Connor Carrigan, Stewart Knight, Sean Brady, Spalding Spence, Hunter Spurgeon, London Lewis.

Now to introduce the new counselors:

Will Stokes

Will Stokes

Will Stokes-  A freshman at Vanderbilt who will be teaching canoeing and archery.  He is originally from Memphis, TN

Tyler Lohse

Tyler Lohse

Tyler Lohse- Also a freshman at Vanderbilt who will be teaching swimming for us this summer.  He is originally from Houston, TX.

Taylor Lankford

Taylor Lankford

Taylor Lankford- a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville.  He will be teaching guitar for us this summer.  His sister was a counselor at Merri-Mac.

Sam Kercheval

Sam Kercheval

Sam Kercheval- a sophomore at Auburn University Sam will be teaching kayaking for us this summer at Timberlake.  He is originally fromPeachtree City, GA.

Garrett Wilkerson

Garrett Wilkerson

Garrett Wilkerson- A freshman at Millsaps in Jackson, MS.  Garrett will be teaching tennis for us this summer at Timberlake.  He is originally from Woodville, MS and his sister also was a counselor at Merri-Mac last year.

Daniel Condon

Daniel Condon

Daniel Condon- A former Timberlake camper and sophomore at Georgia Tech will be teaching backpacking for us this summer.  He is originally from Sautee, GA and his sister also worked at Merri-Mac.

Joshua Ragan- A junior at Carson-Newman, he will be teaching mountain biking for us this summer at Timberlake.  Joshua is originally from Bluff City, TN.

Mikel Corporaal- A sophomore at Auburn University, Michael will be teaching Minor Sports this summer at Timberlake.  He is originally from Elberta, AL.

This is still in process, but we are fired up about the counselors we have for the summer!

-Director Dan

Posted in News by Dan | (0) Comments

Camp Timberlake’s Battleball Skills Represented in Black Mountain

January 19th, 2010
From worst to fourth!

From worst to fourth!

Ask any Timberlake camper or counselor which evening activity is their favorite.  The answer will likely be one of two things: Sock War or Battleball.  And there’s no question why–they are two of the most intense games you may ever play, especially with the Tribal Banner at stake!  I’ve only recently acknowledged Battleball as my favorite after years and years of reflection and some real self-searching.  Matt Layton, another counselor living in Black Mountain, was a part of a local dodgeball league last year, so when teams started signing up for the next season, we quickly put together a group of five Timberlake staffers: Matt Layton, Alex Deckard, Stephen Owens, Stewart Knight, and myself.

Matt made it a point to inform us that it can get pretty competitive, but we were confident that we were about to turn the world of Black Mountain dodgeball upside down.

We were wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in News by Dan | (0) Comments

« Older Entries
Camp Timberlake
1123 Montreat Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Directions | Google Map
828.669.8766
SEO Powered by Platinum SEO from Techblissonline