As another beautiful Black Mountain morning dawned here at Camp Timberlake, the campers were greeted with a hearty breakfast of biscuit sandwiches and prepared for a full day of activities and achievements. The trip of the day was a kayaking one, with Andy Leshaw, Trey Fowler, Jackson Singleton, and Harrison Carmichael embarking immediately after breakfast for the Tuckaseegee River. The campers braved the class 2 rapids as Jackson and Harrison worked on advanced kayaking skills while Trey and Andy improved on their basic skills and are quickly becoming great boaters.

But so much of the glory of camp would be missed if we stopped there. Back on property, sparks were flying as well. While we’re on the topic of kayaking, we would be amiss not to mention Andrew Spicher, who in a few short days has embraced and excelled in basic kayaking skills here on Lake Doras. He has mastered T-rescues, shown strong promise with his strokes and braces, and is well on his way to learning the coveted roll.

Also on the lake, David Fryman achieved his silver in swimming, the dynamic duo of Ryan Craig and Alex Atherton showed great promise on the canoe, and Griffin Powell caught a nice blue-gill fish on his first-ever cast with a fly-rod. May the rivers and lakes ever be fruitful for you, Griffin. Also in fly-fishing, Tyler Snively and Danny Ball earned their bronze. Danny also learned the song “River of Life” in guitar (did you catch the irony?), which makes me wonder if from now on he’s planning to serenade his fish before he catches them. Also in guitar Carter Boone and Trevor Brown learned their D, A, and G chords, and Cooper Denning earned his bronze. Over in Big Slaty, Quinn Martin learned the song “Wagon Wheel” on the guitar, and now I get the catchy tune out of my head.

Up at fencing, Brad Screnci won an epic battle of Five-Musketeer free-for-all with the new fencing gear, while just a few skips over from there Hache De Sola learned how to throw a flick in Ultimate Frisbee AND threw the winning pass. Hache also earned his bronze in climbing- the range of talents among these boys never ceases to amaze me.

Across camp Ryan Craig, Cole Hoffman, Christian Spicher, and Henry Stout played their first-ever game of tennis 4-square, and just above them the entire Tomahawk cabin hiked the new, grueling Tomahawk trail- a feat not for the faint of heart.

Speaking of hiking, the Greybeard cabin will be taking quite a trek themselves tomorrow. Starting at 9 in the morning, these fearless conquistadors will bush-whacking up Greybeard Mountain and hiking the seven sister peaks back down. A day of spectacular views, gritty sweat, and brotherly camaraderie is undoubtedly in store for these young gentlemen.

That about does it for your daily update here at camp. The sun rises, the sun sets, and every moment in between is precious on this beautiful mountain among such amazing people.

 

Cody F.