Vajda Wind 415 C-2

We just finalized the details for three brand new C-2 slalom boats for the High Rocks paddling program!  The boats come all the way from Slovakia produced by leading composite boat company, Vajda, where many Olympic racers get their boats.  Our paddling head, Fritz Orr spent some time talking with Olympic Champion, Joe Jacobi about design and construction before ordering the boats.  Joe is the U.S. distributor for the company and has a lot of experience with these boats.  Jacobi has also offered a training day for High Rocks on the Nantahala River sometime this summer.  He wants to get the campers excited about these new boats and show them some tips for success.

2004 USA C2 Olympic Team: Joe Jacobi and Matt Taylor

The order includes three Vajda Wind 415 whitewater slalom C-2 composite canoes with a durable racing construction made out of carbon/Kevlar fiber.  The canoes will come in the following color patterns: one in red with yellow swirl stripes, another in blue with green stripes, and finally and third in blue with silver stripes.  For those of you not into the paddling “lingo,” a C-2 is a two person decked canoe.  If you look at the pictures, these guys are using a single-bladed canoe paddle while kneeling in the boat.  Although the boat resembles a kayak, it is most definitely a canoe.

Our paddling program requires everyone to have a strong basis in tandem canoe before moving on to a solo boat (kayak, solo open canoe or C-1).  We want to continue the emphasis on canoeing in our paddling program.  We realize a lot of the guys enjoy moving into a kayak after the tandem canoe training.  Our hope is to get the kids very excited about paddling one of these boats on the river.

Stay tuned for more details about the paddling program!  I can’t wait for the summer!

Isabelle Gentle, Hank Birdsong and Grace Gentle on Hank's 55th Birthday

This past Wednesday, Hank Birdsong turned 55!  Many of you who were around camp five years ago may remember the black “Hank is 50″ T-shirts that everyone had.  Maybe you remember the “Hank is 50″ chant lead by Lewis Lovett during the two-week session that summer. 

We had the opportunity to take Hank out last week.  When he arrived at Zoob and Don’s house, the Gentle girls were all too excited to show Hank their new outfits!  The “Hank is 50″ shirt lives on; with a little adjustment, of course!

He still climbs rocks, leads Boy Scouts, works 60+ hours a week, loves camp, and is our fearless leader.  Way to go Hank!

January Snow at High Rocks

Over the last several days we have had some bitterly cold days, which froze the lake completely for the first time this winter.  A light snow this morning on top of the ice gave us a rare opportunity to see the camp lake covered with snow!

Nearly a year ago the hemlocks at Camp High Rocks were in big trouble!  A tiny fluid-feeding insect known as the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) infested the trees and began a slow feeding death on most all of the hemlocks here at camp. 

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid growth

The HWA larvae live at the base of the needles, feeding on the tree and destroying existing foliage as well as suppressing new foliage.  The tree begins to lose its green, becoming first grayish, then barren, and finally dead.  High Rocks has hundreds of Hemlocks, mostly along the banks of our many streams.  The most notable hemlock in camp is the one that holds the sign at the base of the camp road.  The roadside tree, as well as many of the hemlocks on our property, were in bad shape!  The future of our hemlocks would have been certain destruction. 

Dr. Patrick Horan, is professor at UGA, who has been developmental in the biological control of the woolly adelgid.  He has been working with many people in the Southeast to help save the hemlocks, mostly through the introduction of a beetle known as the Sasajiscymnus tsugae, aka Sassie beetle, which feeds primarily on the HWA.  While chemical treatment may work if you have a hedge or small group of trees on your property, you cannot treat every tree in the forest every three years and we were not a big fan of all that synthetic chemical in the forest soil.

Hank and Dr. Patrick Horan

So, last spring Patrick and Hank decided on several spots to release the Sassie beetles.  These spots would allow for plenty of beetle production, as well as HWA destruction.  The beetles work their way down stream feeding and breeding.  Patrick came back about a week ago to see how our experiment is going. He was very impressed with the new growth at the crown of the hemlocks and the reduced amount of HWA egg sacks at the base of the needles.  The beetles will never completely get rid of the adelgid, but it will keep it under control to allow the tree to flourish.