Director Jud's Blog

On July 3rd, 2023 every camper and staff member woke early and had a cold breakfast which would give us the fuel we needed for the day ahead.  We loaded into our camp vans and began the road trip that would take us from Stone Mountain Adventures to Ohiopyle, PA.  Home of the might Youghiogheny river (aha The Yough).  Here we met our Wilderness Voyagers White Water Guides, got geared up for the day and did a in depth safety briefing.  Our guides were all So Excited as it had recently stormed and the water levels rose from a shallow 1.5ft to an excited 3.5ft (see photo):

We can't believe it's already All Camp Day for Session 1, 2023! We started off this summer with an enthusiastic group of 47 campers, 13 Camp Counselors and 4 AOP's and we are loving having so many staff and campers from all around the globe. Whether it is new campers or returners, we are on our way to making lifelong friends and memories. We are halfway through the session and have already sent out six overnights which include the much-anticipated rock climbing and wakeboarding overnights.

This morning we had an awesome mountain biking activity session at Stone Mountain Adventures and we mad a video!

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures are thrilled to introduce the SMA Staff Team of Summer 2023

Pam Hayes-Houldin co-founded Stone Mountain Adventures in 1983 with her husband (my dad) Biff. Since then, Pam has been the Equestrian and Horsemasters Director at camp.

A Little Bit of “Herstory”

Pam has been a horse lover her entire life. She grew up on a dairy farm in “Big Valley” (where the Amish Market is) named “The Heide” as the second oldest of six children (two boys and four girls). Her first love was showing cows, which she did with some success at Harrisburg Farm Show and eventually to Chicago.

Pam’s father Reed Hayes had a deep love for horses and competed in “Harness Racing” when Pam was a child. Pam and her brothers and sisters each had their own horse; they would ride deep into the mountains connected to their family farm. Riding and training with 4-H, Pony club and many instructors has allowed Pam to hone her balanced seat teaching skills to work with both children and adults.

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) are excited to announce that for the SMA Summer of 2023we will add a new unground piping system to to deliver steaming hot coffee from The Rhino Dining Room to each cabin.  Each cabin will feature a Caffeine Faucet and campers will each be given a personal mug that they will store in each cabin.  For campers who want more variety the Rhino Dining Room will have a Caffeine Café offering campers and staff specialty coffee drinks including:

• Espresso
• Americano
• Long Black
• Cappuccino
• Flat White
• Macchiato
• Latte
• Mocha

This is Camp Director Jud Millar and I'm posting to let you know that a pair of ravens have built a nest in the rock face of Damnation Wall (the wall above the upper parking lot).

Our Donation Rock Access Fund Ambassador, Ken Hull  recently met with a bird expert from Penn State's Shaver's Creek Nature Center at the wall to determine what, if anything to do about it. Collaboratively we have made the decision to close off the Damnation Wall area until we at least see if the pair lays eggs.  Damnation Wall is the wall furthest up the hollow that makes up Donation Rock Climbing Area.

Riding bikes is fun. Whether you are riding a bike on a paved street, a gravel roadway, a logging road or a single track trail you can’t help but have fun riding a bike. Something magical happens when you are moving (flying) through the world on 2 wheels not evening thinking about balance and agility, just feeling the wind in your face and enjoying the scenery as it flies by.

Season Greetings!

Here is the incredible Stone Mountain Adventures Session 4 Slideshow... what an fantastic summer!

Stone Mountain Adventures Session 3, 2022 was an incredible experience for all involved. We had so much fun rock climbing, wakeboarding, going on camping overnights and white water rafting.  We are thrilled to share with you the SMA Teen Camp Session 3 Slideshow:

Stone Mountain Adventures Session 2, 2022 was an amazing session full of fun and funny moments. We had so many incredible adventures including camping overnights, canoeing, wakeboarding, mountain biking white water rafting and SO MANY MORE!  All of us at SMA Summer Camp are thrilled to finally share the Session 2 slideshow with you and your family!

All of us at Stone Mountain Adventures are SO EXCITED to share the Session 1, 2022 Slideshow:

WPSU TV is the Central Pennsylvania Public Radio and TV Station based out of State College and has a viewing area of 29 PA counties.  Each year WPSU films, directs and produces a show called Our Town which "highlights the heritage and spirit of our local communities as told by the local citizens themselves." 

SMA Teen Camp Director Jud Millar was recently interviewed by WPSU and will be one of the Raystown Lake community members featured on the show.  Here are the details of how to watch the show on TV or Online:

When: Thursday, September 8th at 8pm

What: Our Town Raystown Lake

How to Watch:  www.live.wpsu.org or tune into WPSU TV

It was an action packed summer at Stone Mountain Adventures and there are now officially 0/8 weeks left at Summer Camp.

On Wednesday, August 17th everyone in Stone Mountain Adventures Session 4-2, 2022 traveled to Ohiopyle, PA and went White Water Rafting on the Lower Youghiogheny River.  Our guides with Wilderness Voyagers were amazing... AND we have photos in a video:

            Although we were sad to see session 3 come to an end, we were very excited to kickstart session 4! This session has been full of excitement and eagerness to try new activities while having fun. We have the first week of 4^th session under our belts with some campers coming and going today. It is hard to say goodbye to people who have to leave but we are ecstatic to have new smiling bright faces join us at SMA. There a fewer campers this session compared to last, but the energy is still through the roof.