Director Jud's Blog

            Stone Mountain Adventures was excited to welcome our much anticipated first session of campers back to the farm on Saturday afternoon after ten days of staff training! We started off the week with the first ‘Nuke ‘Em’ game of summer and a swim at Greenwood Lake, which we affectionately (and accurately) call Freezewood here at SMA. After a delicious meal, some ultimate frisbee in the rain, and a wonderful evening meeting, we were off to the bunks to get some rest before the first full day of camp!

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures are excited to introduce our 2018 All Star Staff Team:

Introducing Matthew Dyer (aka Flat Matt)

Age: 23

Home Town: Perth, NY

Recently graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, this particular counsellor can often be found shredding the gnarly bike trails as one of our mountain biking instructors. If he isn’t living up to the self-proclaimed title “the songbird of his generation” or being mistaken for Jimmy Hendrix, you may find him skiing or instigating search parties for his sister with reindeers in blizzards. Matt’s life aspirations include, but are not limited to, living within walking distance of a Chipotle and Chikfila, performing 6 continuous backflips on a bike, and riding the whole Encilada.

As a vegan, eating away from home can be a worry, as you wonder whether you and your family’s needs will be catered for without causing a fuss. Many teen summer camps now provide proper, nutritionally balanced, vegetarian and vegan meals, essential for when your kids are at camp without you. It's important to communicate with the camp director their camp camp can accommodate vegetarians and vegans because kids need healthy snacks and packed lunches for days out. When kids are on camping trips, where physical activity and fresh air can work up an appetite very quickly.

Convenient meals

The convenience of a vegan diet lends itself well to camping and eating on the go as you can eat plenty of raw fruit, nuts, and vegetables and there is no need to think about storing perishable dairy and meat products and worry about them becoming contaminated. For a great start to a busy day, just add water to an oatmeal or pancake mix. Pita bread filled with salad and homemade hummus makes a nutritious lunch and, in the evening, your kids can cook delicious grilled soy dogs and veggie burgers with beans or organic ketchup. Keep meals interesting with plenty of variety and taste as well as nutritional value. Grill vegetable kebabs or put some corn on the cob on the campfire and, for a tasty and filling late night supper, place some foil wrapped baking potatoes in the embers.  

Stone Mountain Adventures is excited to announce that we are offering an  Teen Day Camp this August!

We are thrilled to offer a new Explorers Teen Day Camp this August for 12 to 16 year olds.  Each week campers will experience adventure activities, water sports, traditional sports, and creative arts.  Explorers will have the opportunity to challenge themselves on activities while making new friends. Transportation will be provided from State College. 

Stone Mountain Explorers Dream Day Camp (8 to 11)

We welcome your child to join us this summer at the Stone Mountain Explorers Dream Day Camp!  This program is designed to introduce younger campers to everything that is Stone Mountain Adventures. Campers will explore the wonders of the natural world around our camp and be exposed to many of the summer camp activities that we offer for older campers. A daily lunch will be provided while campers will need to bring a daypack, a full water bottle, sunscreen, and their sense of adventure!! Dream Day Camp activities may include:

• Team building activities and events
• Disc Golf
• Arts and Crafts
• Horseback Riding!
• Rock Climbing
• Traditional Sports
• Stream Exploration
• Hiking
• Scavenger Hunts
• Biking
• Swimming
• Shelter Building
• Day trips to Greenwood Furnace and/or Whipples Dam State Parks
• Parents are invited to join us for an ice cream social on the closing day of camp - Thursday, August 17 from 2 to 4pm

Dream Day Camp Ages: 8-12

Dates: Session 1: Monday 7/23 to Friday 7/27

            Session 2: Monday 8/13 to Friday 8/17

Times: 9am to 4pm 

Transportation Provided from State College at no extra cost. 

   - Pick up and Drop Off will be at the Uni Mart on the corner of White Hall Road and Route 26

 Cost: $385

Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp is excited to announce we will once again host a youth ride on Sunday morning of Dirt Fest! We are excited to be able to share the magic of mountain biking AND the incredible Allegrippis trails with the kids and teens who attend Dirt Fest.

Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) is a co-ed, overnight summer camp for teenagers (12 to 16) located in central PA offering:

• Adventure Activities (Including Mountain Biking)
• Water Sports
• Traditional Sports
• Creative Arts
• Community Service.
• We also have a specialized Mountain Biking Program for kids who want to ride the Alligrippis Trails everyday 
  

What: Kids and Teen Mountain Bike Ride at Dirt Rage Dirt Fest PA       

When: Sunday, May 20th from 9.30am to 1pm

Where: (Option 1): Meet at 9.30am at the SMA Both at the Expo to catch the shuttle up to the Bakers Hollow Lot

             (Option 2): Meet at the Bakers Hollow Parking Lot at 10am

It is hard for me to believe that it's already May 4th, 2018.  My son Wyatt packed his school backpack because it's "May the 4th Be With You" day.  As I looked closer at my calendar this morning I realized there are only 50 days until the Grand Opening of Stone Mountain Adventures Summer Camp for Teens 2018!

That means we only have 4,320,000 seconds until SMA Teen Camp begins.

72,000 minutes until the first Party Wash Crew of 2018.

1200 hours unitl the first "Evening Meeting on the Front Lawn".

Just 50 days until camp begins - it's So Exciting!

                   - Camp Director Jud Millar!

We are excited to announce that SMA Teen Summer Camp is now a sponsor Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour hosted by the Moshannon Sierra Club. This will be the 15th year the Mashannon Group is hosting the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour in State College!  Come see Camp Director Jud Millar at the Banff Mountain Film Festival!

What: Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 

When: "Friday The 13th" of April: Doors Open at 6pm

Where: The State Theatre in Downtown State College

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures are excited to announce that for the summer of 2018 we are starting an "Adopt a Possum" Program. This program will replace the very popular "Adopt a Bunny Rabbit" Program which has been operating since the founding of Stone Mountain Adventures in 1983.  

Penn State Outing Club and Appalachian Outdoors are hosting a Rock Climbing Film at the HUB next Thursday!

What: Reel Rock Film Tour

When: Thursday, March 15 at 7 PM - 9:30 PM

Where: HUB Flex Theater

Check out this awesome trailer:

According the the description on YouTube this is what we have in store for you at the Reel Rock Flim Tour:  "We’ve been following the world’s most exciting climbers, documenting their gripping tales and groundbreaking sends. REEL ROCK 12 brings you stories from the edge, featuring big names and breakout stars. Starring Margo Hayes, the first woman to climb 5.15; Brad Gobright, an up-and-coming free soloist with a donut addiction; the return of Chris Sharma to the deep water soloing stage; and introducing Maureen Beck, a one-handed crusher who's gonna knock your socks off."

Tickets will be $4.99 for students and $8 for community members, and will soon be available at Appalachian Outdoors on Allen Street and at Outing Club meetings on Tuesdays at 8pm.

Calling All SMA Alumni and Friends in the Centre County Area: Come see Jud Millar at the State College Summer Youth Fair!

SMA Teen Summer Camp Director Jud Millar will be in Arlington, VA for the Summer Activities Fair:

What: Arlington, VA Summer Activities Fair

When: Friday, February 9th from 6-8pm

Where: (New location this year) Kenmore Middle School (200 S. Carlin Springs Rd. Arlington, VA 22204

This is a great time to get ready for summer by exploring the available summer activity programs throughout the region and the various enrichment programs they offer to children of all ages. 

I am Super Excited to be traveling to the UK today to attend the Camp America Staff Fair in Manchester on Thursday 1/25/18. 

While I am in the UK I plan to connect with veteran SMA staff from years past including:

• Beth Clewes

• Josh Lucy

• Jemima Strang

• Babs

• Hannah Layland

• Ceit Bannon

• And More!

We will soon ring in 2018 with firecrackers, confetti, laughter and Happy New Year wishes to all!  The New Year brings with it a fresh start, new opportunities and an exhilarating sense of rejuvenation. We will make New Year’s resolutions in an attempt to improve ourselves and to be better towards others.  One thing we at Stone Moutnain Adventures resolve not to change this year are the meaningful and fun summer camp expereinces we provide for our campers and staff. 

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures 2 Week Summer Camp enjoyed sharing our 2017 adventures at camp: rock climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding, white water rafting, wakeboarding and hanging around camp.  It is special for us to be able to share so many incredible summer camp experiences and memories with so many year after year.

Thank you for being part of our extended summer camp family and we hope that 2018 brings many new adventures.

Best Wishes.

         - Jud and Anne Millar

          Owners of Stone Mountain Adventures

 Isabelle Kough:

4th session was amazing- all the overnights, meeting new people, my cabin, the activities, and just everything made me want to come back. The counselors have made everything more fun. The camp itself didn’t change me but the people did. Darius taught me not to care what people think. Ben the counselor made me realize to laugh. On the overnight was fun because Will was fighting everyone with lightsabers. I had an amazing session with everyone especially Adi and Jordyn. I can’t wait to come back next year! I love Jem (because she made me write this).

Matthew Weitzel:

This was my first summer camp that is an overnight, as it was the longest time I’ve been away from family. It started to feel normal after about 2-3 days. By for this is the most outdoor activities I’ve done this summer. The adventures beheld a mass of emotions including the happiness of belly whomping to the pain of falling off my bike and cutting my arm and leg. Overall, I think I learned a lot and became a lot tanner which I’m happy about, but in all seriousness I will leave a better person and with a lot more skills (and scars).

Jack Weiman:

I like Ben. Ben is cool. So is Jay. Jem is cool. Will is one of my favorites. He used to look like a cool Viking warrior but then he was lame and shaved off his beard and now he looks like a British person. Helen is cool because she is majoring in what I want to major in. I also love Connor and myself. Ben is my favorite. I learned how to wakeboard and had a lot of fun on all the activities. My favorites were sailing, mountain biking, white water rafting. I made a lot of new friends and I really enjoyed my time here.

Mary Zaher:

Coming to camp, I was excited and relieved to have finally made it here. The moment I stepped into my cabin, I was greeted with friendly faces. I got to know my cabin mates better, and tried several new activities with them. Some of my favorites activities were the Amish market, the fair, white water rafting, and overnights. The Amish market and the fair were both opportunities to learn more about the Amish culture. White water rafting was exciting as well as scary, and it required teamwork and cooperation as well as the ability to listen to instructions. While I was on my overnights, I had to learn to coexist with the critters and bugs living in the forest. I had a lot of fun learning how to get up on the kneeboard and hiking through the woods. Overall, I had a great time at camp. I made new friends and tried new activities. I was an unforgettable experience and I hope that I will be back again next year.

Ruben Matell

This session at SMA was probably the best two weeks of my life. Last year, I was so shy and insecure when I came here. This year however, I felt instantly at home when I stepped out of the car. SMA helped me to completely come out of my shell and be who I really am. I am so happy that I was able to be myself, be happy and be confident for the most part. I hope I am able to take it home with me.

As far as activities go, I had so much fun on the wakeboard and I was far better at it than I expected. I also really enjoyed the Yough; it was such a crazy experience with the water that high. I also really enjoyed getting to know everyone here. I made such close friends. It always astounds me that in two weeks I am closer to the people here than I am to people I’ve known my whole life. I love this place with all my heart 

Aiden McAleer

My time at Stone Mountain was amazing, I will 100% be coming back for next year. I found my better self. I have went outside of my comfort zone so many times, I have taken care of a bunny during my time here, I don’t know if I’m taking him home with me but it was fun! I stood up on a wakeboard for the first time and it was the best thing ever! I have met many people at this camp that I will never forget.  Im not very good at writing but this is the best I could do to explain my time here! If  you could draw a line for how good it was, the longer the better

Meghan Lewis

I could not have asked for a better last session. I got to meet many new great people and spend time with old friends. There was not a single time this session where I was unhappy. All of the amazing activities and people made this a session I will never forget. I am going to bring home with me all of the memories I have made and the happiness of myself and others around me!