Director Jud's Blog

Sessions one and two have passed in a blur of fun, memories, and just a few tears on the last days and now session three is already halfway done! We have some campers headed home in the coming days and even more joining us for another week of fun. It has definitely been one of the hottest weeks of the summer, but we’ve made the most of it and are ready for what may come!

Some of the activities our campers have been enjoying are climbing down at Donation Rocks, lots of hikes including the 1000 steps hike, the Hawks Overlook hike, and the Shingletown hike. We’ve also been in the water a lot with this weather including many floats down the river on canoeing, lots of paddleboarding and kayaking on SUP & sail, and water sports off the boat both for wake masters and non-wakemasters. Our masters kids have been having a blast this session as well. With a smaller group of bikemasters, they’ve been able to try some new trails and really focus on honing in their skills.

Our wake masters have been out on the boat almost every day and have been working on going in and out of the wake, jumping the wake, and every now and then some silly belly womping. And our horse masters have spent almost every morning in the barn learning all about how to care, tack up, and ride the horses. Everyone loves seeing them out in the ring riding when they come back from activities.

This session so far, we’ve also sent three overnights out. The wakeboarding overnight, a crowd favorite, was a success and some of the highlights included everyone getting heaps of time on the boat to learn and improve their skills, a great night with many mountain pies, and a glassy 6am session with no one else out on the lake.

Another overnight that went out was the adventure hiking overnight. The group hiked about 4 miles through beautiful forests full of stunning views and bubbling brooks. They then set up camp for the night in one of the darkest spots in the state where, between some rain clouds, they saw the most incredible shooting stars. Though they did get a little wet, morale was high and there were lots of laughs and memories made on that trip.

The last overnight that went out was the climbing overnight which is a newer crowd favorite. The kids traded in the typical harness for crash pads and spent the day bouldering and exploring the forest. With both of our rock climbing instructors, Chase and JJ on the trip, the kids really got to develop their skills and implement what they learned!

Last night, the kids got to break out their bunk junk finest, and go roller skating. There was a whole lot of dancing, skating, and just a little bit of junk food. This morning, the kids had a late wake up then entered the dining room through the Tunnel of Love and grabbed a bagel and donut. After we had our lost and found rodeo where many lost shirts, shorts, towels, and whatnot found their way home. Currently, the kids are cleaning up their cabins (which was very much needed) then the whole camp is headed to Canoe Creek state park for the first time to hang out and have our all camp day barbecue. Tonight, we’ll end the day with our small candle light ceremonies where the campers have the opportunity to reflect on this session so far and set goals for the rest of the summer.

All and all it’s been a great week so far and we can’t wait for what’s to come. This is going to be the best session ever!