Happy Tuesday Camp Timberlake! Today, we awoke to a misty morning in the North Carolina mountains and were greeted by the smell of scrambled eggs, biscuits, and sausage. The campers also enjoyed some cereal, milk, and yogurt to fuel up for the second day of activities. After breakfast, we did the daily morning yell to assert our dominance over the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then, we headed up to chapel to hear a message from camp director John about the faulty nature of man and our redeeming God.

The campers had a chance to go to their first day of Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday classes today, and it was a blast all around! The morning was full of campers getting acclimated to their new activities and returning to old favorites. Kayakers learned wet exits and strokes, swimming learned the important basics of the freestyle, tennis learned proper forehand and backhand technique, and pottery started on their clay masterpieces. From my post at the lake, I also heard the guys up at improv playing some fun games to get in tune with their inner actor. In second period fishing, Will V. caught a 3-pound bass, stunning the whole dock and earning a mark.

After morning activities, we headed to the tuck to dig into a camp favorite. Mini corn dogs and mac and cheese had the campers nearly breaking down the doors of the dining hall with excitement. During lunch, the winner of El Presidente was announced: The Golden Eagles! Stuffed to the brim, the campers made the hike up to the cabins for the best time – rest time. Free swim, trading post, and spikeball galore ensued during free time, and from the dock, I got to see some truly epic blobs and rope-swings.

All too soon, it was time for afternoon activities. Lots of action happened this hot afternoon! Jack H. swam for his gold bar, and hit all the required times in each stroke on the first try. It is my third summer as waterfront director, and I have never seen such a feat. Neel S. and Francisco P. mastered their strokes in canoeing, and Elijah G. ran the mile in 5:44 in fitness. Six campers also earned their bronze in Fitness: John B., Sam G., Sanders H., Elijah G., Jude H., and Reid S. Way to go guys!

While we had an awesome day at camp, some guys had the opportunity to head out of camp on some wilderness trips. John B., Will P., Mac P., Jacob S., Noah V., Harrison W., Jaik W., Graham W., John David A., Braxton F., Cam M., and Julien A. all headed out to the Pigeon River for some epic whitewater rafting. Reid P., Jack V., Parker D., Garrett S., Benjamin P., and Noah V. used their kayaking skills learned here at camp on a whitewater trip to the Tuckaseegee! And finally, John David A., Elliot D., Charlie D., Kirk F., Sanders H., Gabe W., Powell M., and Hayden C. hit the trail today for some mountain biking. It’s always cool to see the guys progress in their skills at camp and get to use them in the wilderness that surrounds us here in western North Carolina.

Dinner quickly followed as we all had some barbecue chicken, potatoes, and dinner rolls while talking about the jam-packed day. We all enjoyed chocolate chip cookies and headed up to evening activity: copa del rio for junior camp and Ultimate Basketball for senior camp. The boys are playing hard for the chance at the banner as some much needed rain rolls through our
mountains. The soft thunder of the rolling mountain storm is the perfect way to end the day and lull us all off to sleep, anticipating another exciting day to come.

Lucie Christian
Waterfront Director
Timberwoman
Red Wolf for life