It has been yet another fantastic day here at beautiful Camp Timberlake! The campers truly took advantage of all camp had to offer, making the most out of their sixth day of the session. The day started out in style with a delicious breakfast of French toast and sausage patties, and then it was off to the morning yell. And in a rare and controversial switch, Counselor Drew took over for Counselors Charlie and Rusty, and the Ole Miss student proceeded to try and whip the crowd into a frenzy with a stirring speech. Drew spoke from his heart, and the crowd rewarded him with a yell that was as loud as “one thousand horses stampeding across the mesas.” Or at least that’s our best guess.

After everyone was all yelled out, we all hustled off to Chapel, where Adam Boyd encouraged the camp that God “changed the currency” when he sent his son Jesus into the world. Adam emphasized God’s unfailing love for all his children, including the 104 great campers we have here at Timberlake. After chapel and cabin clean up, it was off to a busy day of activities, where the morning swimming class had a little bit of everything.

Counselor Chris taught the class the art of the backstroke, Josh H and Cooper D combined for an epic victory in the backstroke relay, and then it was time for a little “free swim.” And the undisputed highlight of free swim was the action on the blob, which featured one particularly high-flying camper, Wes H. First, Wes jumped onto the blob, scooted out to the edge, and braced himself. Then, it was show time. One of Wes’s classmates uncorked a massive jump onto the blob, making and made perfect contact. The contact morphed Wes from a boy into a plane, soaring way up into the air. Everyone marveled at Wes’s flight, and he emerged from the water with a gigantic smile on his face. Cooper D summer up swimming class this way, “At the start of class, the sun was put away behind a curtain of clouds, but at the end, those curtains unfolded, and revealed the sun.” Now that’s a deep thought right there.

Elsewhere on the water, Henry S learned and mastered his “roll” on the kayak on the very first day he attempted the difficult skill, a feat that kayaking counselor Andrew called “extremely rare.”

Moving over to team sports, the class took on a new game today, team handball. In this sport, participants throw and dribble around a soccer ball in an effort to ultimately throw the ball into a net. The game in the morning was as close as they come, and it came down to the final point, with the score all tied at 14.  Everyone was exhausted from the intense match and the participants were running out of steam when, all of a sudden, Trevor C busted through the defense. Trevor uncorked a howling shot from around 10 yards away, scoring the winning goal, giving his team the win, and everyone else in the class a much needed rest.

Following the first two activities was a wonderful lunch of meatball subs and curly fries, which prompted all of Timberlake to chant, “THANK YOU KITCHEN!” until the kitchen staff came into the dining hall to receive a well-deserved round of applause.

Cabin clean-up scores were announced at the end of lunch, and yet again, the youngest cabin of them all, Tomahawk, came away with the win. And in a stark contrast to Tomahawk was the second youngest cabin, Little Piney, which came in dead last with a putrid score of 6.5 out of 10. Yikes.

After lunch, 19 soccer-crazed campers, eager to combat World Cup Fever, traveled to the Grey Eagle Indoor Soccer Complex in Black Mountain. The boys were split up into three teams and competed hard for around 2 hours in a “winner stays” style tournament. Standout player Caoi D said the trip was “spectacular, joyful, and exhilarating.” Now that’s some high praise!

 There were some other standouts performances in activities throughout the day. Parker B and Jack E summited a difficult climb on the wall in “The Mike”, punctuating their climb by snagging a Snickers Bar and a bag of Sour Skittles that were perched at the top of the wall.

Trey F exceled in backpacking class by executing a technique known as “the bear bag.” “The Bear Bag” consists of tying a bag filled with food to a tree about 20 feet above ground, as to protect it from a bear. Learn something new everyday!

After all activities were completed, the campers had a very special treat. Beloved maintenance employee Berman has been hard at work preparing, smoking, and pulling pork for the better part of the past two days.

And his work came to fruition at Spencer’s Green tonight. The campers got their fill of pork, Berman’s homemade BBQ sauce, and Mac&Cheese until none of them could eat anymore. It was the perfect way to end a great day!  There were so many other things happening around camp today, but that’s all I’ve got for you today!

Counselor Brandon

Little Piney

Soccer Instructor