Pictures from July 21, 2011  (password required)

Today was another sunny day at camp.  It was a bit on the warm side but there were plenty of water activities to cool off.  During afternoon choice period we surprised the campers and staff with Coke Float’s.  The joy of a Coke Float has not been lost on this generation of campers.  It is amazing how quickly the word can spread all over camp when there is a surprise that involves food.  Campers were lined up and all served within 20 minutes of the first Coke Float being served.  Pretty impressive considering the size of camp and the number of campers.  It was a great way to beat the heat!

Today in activities the campers got to continue to hone their skills.  I was extremely impressed down and archery and riflery with the accuracy these guys have obtained this session.  I witnessed a couple campers shoot archery from 40 yards with amazing results.  In paddling today I watched as a couple of guys worked to roll a kayak and C-1.  They stuck with it and were successful after several tries.  It is always great to catch that ah-ha moment when a camper masters a new skill!

Today we had several trips out with Paddling taking a trip to the Green River.  The boys had a great day on the river and enjoyed cooling off in the water when they were not working on their skills.  The climbers had a great day at Cedar Rock in Pisgah.  The three day mountain biking trip to Tsali reported that have been doing some  “awesome rides” and even enjoyed a night ride while they were out.  We look forward to a full report upon their return tomorrow!  This evening many of our horseback riders got to enjoy an evening trail ride followed by dinner at Jane Williams (High Rocks founder) house on the property.  It is always a fun time and nice change of pace!

So another busy and fun day here at High Rocks!  We are enjoying the simple things in life here at camp- playing with friends, being outside, afternoon swims, rest time, learning new skills, and today -Coke Floats!  Another day of good clean fun here at High Rocks!

I hope you enjoy the pictures this evening!

Zoob Gentle

Pictures from July 20, 2011  (password required)

Yesterday I was lucky enough to wheedle my way onto our paddling trip headed for the Nantahala River and the annual Camp Cup. Armed with a camera, and accompanied by our real photographer Bryan Ham, our mission was to record the excitement of the day as our guys raced through class three rapids and negotiated a whitewater slalom course. When we arrived, our paddlers had already walked their boats to the top of the downriver race section. For the first race, paddlers attempt to finish nearly a nearly half-mile stretch of whitewater including the biggest rapid on the whole river, Nantahala Falls. What would already be a challenge is made even more difficult with the nervous excitement of being timed as well as the crowd of people gathered to cheer at the Falls. Fritz Orr, Chris Hampson, Zach Nichols, Will Johnson, and Rob Pingry were all busy checking in with each boat to make sure that lines had been picked, questions answered, and tension diffused. Bryan and I had just found our vantage points on boulders along the river when the first of our crew rounded the corner upstream. The next 20 minutes were consumed with trying to capture the High Rocks boats as they flew by. I think the pictures will show the intensity that every camper was feeling as they approached the drop into the Falls, caught a load of freezing whitewater in the face, and then slowly realized that survival was imminent. The joy, relief, excitement, and then refocusing on the remainder of the race was awesome to watch.

After the rush down the top portion of the race, it was time for all of the camps to gather for a big pizza lunch. In between mouthfuls all the campers took time to both socialize with other groups and to scout out the harder parts of the upcoming slalom race. The bank was lined with young paddlers debating the merits of ferries over peel outs or running in faster water through a big hole compared to slower currents over safer shallow rocks. Once everyone was confident in their lines, they again carried their boats to the start line and began the afternoon. This section of the day was a much different focus from the race straight down the river. Boats had to pass through gates going downstream, coming back upstream, and sometimes ferrying directly across the currents. All while handling themselves in the same water that will host the 2013 Freestyle World Championships. Needless to say there were strokes of brilliance and abrupt learning moments that had everyone watching intently. It was great to see campers and counselors from every camp cheering each boater on in succession, offering pointers as they passed or just providing loud encouragement. All of the racers did an excellent job of pushing themselves against the river, but not once creating an atmosphere of competition between camp groups. By the end of the day, our guys were exhausted, happy, wearing new shirts, and psyched for a dinner out before getting back to camp. Another year, another Camp Cup, and another very successful day on the river. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Woody

Pictures from July 19, 2011  (password required)

Gettin' Muddy in the Cave!

We are proud of the High Rocks program, including our in-camp program and our adventure tripping program.  It’s all about choice.

The strength of the in-camp program was evidenced recently when several campers opted to stay in camp rather than go on trips because they didn’t want to miss their regular activities.  That said, we had one of the biggest tripping days today with seven trips out of camp.  Mealtime in the dining hall is sparse on days like this, which means our trip packer, Pat Noland, is working overtime to supply the trips.  This is most definitely a team effort, and folks like Pat help keep camp running smoothly.

In addition to the 3-day climbing trip & 3-day hiking trip that departed yesterday, we had an all-day hike, a mountain biking trip to Pisgah Nat’l Forest, an evening horseback ride, and a trip to sliding rock for the Upper Middlers.  Our advanced paddlers attended the “Camp Cup” on the Nantahala River.  Woody will write more about that tomorrow, so I won’t steal his thunder now.  Suffice it to say that the paddlers had a great day!

The “Starter Campers” and “Mini-campers” that arrived yesterday had their first full day of activities today.  It was great to see the staff and four-week campers taking the new arrivals under their wings & help them get adjusted to camp.  You’ll see several of them in today’s pictures.

Keep the cards, letters, and emails coming; they are eagerly anticipated by the campers.  Enjoy tonight’s installment of pictures.

Hank Birdsong
Camp Director

Pictures from July 18, 2011  (password required)

What an awesome morning we had today!  We had about 18 new guys come in today with their families.  Twelve of these guys will stay for the rest of the session and six of them will stay for just one week.  It sure is a great new group of guys and I really enjoyed meeting all the parents today too.  They all had a busy afternoon that went right into activities.   Tonight, they met up with the boys of Connestee Cabin for their evening activity. Tomorrow all the minis and starters will have a full day of activities and fun!

Along with all the opening day excitement, we had plenty of trips heading out today.  As the four-week campers continue to hone their skills, the trips get better and better!  Hiking had a three-day head all the way up to the north side of Cold Mountain.  They will spend the next three days backpacking on the Art Loeb Trail.  Rock Climbing took off super early for a three-day trip to the New River Gorge and Summersville in West Virginia.  Along with those big trips, we also had another caving, paddling, mountain biking, and swimming trip all go out today!  Tennis had the girls from Rockbrook Camp over for a little fun a mixed doubles.

Things sure are fun as we head into the third week of July!!!  Have a great night!

Don Gentle

Pictures from July 17, 2011  (password required)

I know it is hard to break tradition, but after years and years of Olympics, we decided to try it a little different this year. Now before all you traditionalist start picking up the phone right now to call me let me tell you a little bit about the new format. It still has the same Olympic flair as the past, just a new twist and new games or “trials” as we call them.

As I mentioned last night, we started with an introduction for the boys with a cool march up campfire hill with tiki torches, music and mystery. Dan lead a “Council of the Elders of High Rocks” and explained how the boys would be training for “battle” and put through several “tests” that would help them with the potential future siege of their lands. It was super cool. We then started all the pageantry with skits and dialog (like past Olympics) that began after morning service. The “trials” began after lunch with events like jousting, mote crossing, the stone throw, the caber toss, dragon boat races, and even a castle siege.

The guys spent the rest of the morning making their flags and building their castles. Lunch was in pure medieval spirit with no silverware, and then the trials began after rest hour.

The pictures will tell the rest of the story. The day finished with a castle siege. The boys took three-person water balloon launchers, and loaded them with tennis balls to try to destroy the makeshift castles.

We also have some great pictures from the dance with Rockbrook Camp last night!  What a busy weekend!  Back to skill building, trips, and more camp fun tomorrow!  Have a great night

Don Gentle

Pictures from July 16, 2011  (password required)

The weather has totally flipped from earlier this week!  The first few days this week brought our hottest temperatures of the whole summer – we had more campers and counselors spending time in the water during free times than any other day.  Today we have been chilled and spent a good part of our day avoiding the drizzle outside.  This morning there was a roaring fire going on in the lodge’s fireplace, which was a welcome treat with the cool weather!

We had a wonderful morning with the Mini I campers and parents today!  We did a great tour around camp and all of the guys got to talk about their activities and all of the stuff they enjoyed!  We welcome in the new Mini’s on Monday!

Normally we don’t send trips out on Saturday, but today there was an exception.  The canoers went out for a little bit of practice before Camp Cup, which is coming up early this week.  Camp Cup is a whitewater paddling challenge at the Nantahala River that many area camps participate in each year.  The campers and counselors alike look forward to showing off their skills and being challenged by the series of events.  We have some campers who plan on paddling C-2s (a 2-person decked canoe) during Camp Cup – to get their practice in today they went to the French Broad River and paddled upstream!  It seems like quite a feat to me, and I sure hope they are proud of all the hard work they’re putting in.

Once again this Saturday, choice period was transformed into “Beautification Hour” and after dinner we had a square dance with Rockbrook Camp.  The square dances are always a lot of fun – it’s entertaining to watch all of the dancing as well as the few who avoid it at all costs. 

Also, I’d like to let you in on a secret – tonight we’ll be surprising the boys with a special event – instead of ringing the lights out bell at 9:30, we’ll be kicking off tomorrow’s all-day event – the Medieval Games!  None of the boys know about it yet, but they will be gathered and walk through camp with their cabin group, led by a tiki torch, until everyone has met on Campfire Hill.  Once there, we will be holding a dramatic proclamation of tomorrow’s events.  Should be lots of fun!  Stay tuned for more about the Medieval Games!

Crystal

Pictures from July 15, 2011  (password required)

The Minis on Their Chill Night! Sure was a great two weeks!

Who would have thought that this would create such excitement, upheaval, joy, and a pure feeding frenzy!  I feel like it was just a few days ago when Townsend was talking about how much time we spend on our food.  Remember her talking about all those “made from scratch” items, tons of real butter, lots of special sides and salads.  Well obviously, the mini corn dog does not rank up there as a culinary delicacy, or even a super healthy option, but boy to the guys get excited!

We cannot even announce when we are having mini corn dog day.  There has been many a camper that has postponed or even dropped out of a trip because of the rumor of mini corn dogs.  We had to go undercover because many of the activity heads including rock climbing, canoeing, and even mountain biking were complaining about guys bowing out of trips because mini corn dogs were on the menu. I mean we have things like pork tenderloin, homemade salsa, beef eye round, homemade breads, and even garden tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and cilantro, but what do they go crazy about… Mini corn dogs…kinda crazy…  Did I mention that the complimenting side was oven baked mac and cheese? Of course, there were other options, like this sweet bean dip, fresh salsa, a great salad bar.  It was another big hit and all were stuff to the gills with the MCD (mini corn dog).

Wow, two weeks almost done and two more to go for most of us.  We have a mini parents’ day for our mini I campers tomorrow, then our new guys come in on Monday!  Tonight it will be great to have everyone back in from all the trips and home for the weekend.  Saturday is always a ton of fun…  Climbing will have Pirate Day, and hiking is doing a little Americana event themed “Car Campin’ Day” complete with pie irons, hot dog sticks, jiffy pop, open fire, and a pick-up truck.  It should be a hoot!

Have a great night!

Don

Pictures from July 14, 2011  (password required)

The two-day hike enjoying a little more of the forest before heading to Dolly's

It was a much cooler day in camp today with cloud cover and temperatures in the high 70’s.  The cooler weather was a welcome change from the warm temperatures earlier in the week.  I know some of you will be jealous of our temperatures and I remind you that the mountains are a wonderful place to be in the summer- coming from a girl that grew up in Columbia, SC!

Today was another busy day in and out of camp.  The paddlers went to section 9 of the French Broad River near Hot Springs.  The climbers went to the nose area of Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah.  The mountain bikers road in Dupont this afternoon.  The two day hike in upper Pisgah finished with a foggy morning hike to their pick up point.  This afternoon we had a large group of boys that headed over to Camp Illahee for tennis and soccer with the girls.  It was a popular event and the boys enjoyed the mixed company!  In addition to all the trips out of camp it was an active day in camp with an evening horseback ride in addition to regular scheduled activities.  Another busy but great day!

I was struck today about how many decisions the campers get to make for themselves on a daily basis.  From the simple decisions on wardrobe selection and what they will eat at mealtime to more complex decisions about arranging their activities and trips out of camp.  Many of the older boys have become pro’s at making sure they are getting their goals accomplished while they are here.  The younger campers often need a little more guidance and support from their counselor while being offered so many choices.  It is great to see the campers maneuver through the choices and learn more about themselves and what they really enjoy!  The beauty is that no on ever gets closed out of an activity at High Rocks.  There is always room for everyone!

We are excited to see what choices that campers will make tomorrow!  Until then I hope that you will enjoy the pictures this evening. 

Zoob

Pictures from July 13, 2011  (password required)

Another toasty one in camp today!  I know it is not nearly as bad as many of you, but a little toasty for us.   We expect it to cool off later this week. We have been working hard to beat the heat!  Yesterday, we had an awesome rock hop in High Pisgah that allowed us to cool off at higher elevations (4-5000ft) and the icy cold stream of East Fork of the Pigeon River.  The waterfront hosted a “Big Splash” contest which brought out several participants.  Even last night for evening activity.  The older guys finished up their field game, then proceeded to float around in the lake for about thirty minutes before coming up for snack.

All three backpacking trips have stayed up high to keep it cool this week.  It was a full 20 degrees difference between Brevard and Sam’s Knob where I dropped off the two-day hikers (who’s packs were bigger than they were) and picked up the three-day hikes today.  Even here at High Rocks, we are able to save about 5-8 degrees from Brevard.  There is almost a full 1000ft difference between camp and Brevard, which typically equals cooer temperatures.

This afternoon we had a special relaxation time at the waterfront during choice period.  It was complete with some sweet island music, excellent island punch drinks, inner tubes, floats, and some awesome water activities.

I played my tennis match today against “The Olympians” as they have named themselves.  Counselor Will McDonough and his partner Turner were quite the team complete with spirit and sportsmanship.  In the end Nicolas and I pulled it out to move to the next round.  Will played in his suit of armor which might be the first time that has happened anywhere!  Great fun and that is the whole point.

We had a group on the Green River where we also saw some Camp Keystone girls rippin’ it up on the river.  We had another caving trip go out this morning.  Talk about beating the heat!  What a great plan to hike where it’s a constant 60 degrees and muddy.  We also had a climb to Rumbling Bald rock located in the new Chimney Rock State Park.

Tonight the mountain bikers are heading out for a moonlight mountain bike ride.  They use headlamps and bike mounted lights to show the way.  The group will head out this evening to DuPont State Forest and ride the trails in the twilight, then wait for to ride them in complete darkness.  Quite fun!! 

As I was in camp today I was struck by how many boys this session have practically grown up with us.  It is a powerful thing to observe our older campers mentoring the younger boys and teaching them not only the skills of the activities but also passing along the culture of High Rocks.  It is what makes our camper group so awesome to have for this session.  The younger boys thrive on the older boy’s attention and one day will be responsible for passing it on.

Until next time enjoy the pictures.  We are having a Blast!!

Townsend

Pictures from July 12, 2011  (password required)

Rock Hop in Pisgah National Forest

I love being a camp director.  Over the last few days I’ve been involved in several high energy four-square games during free time, played my annual tennis game in the camper-counselor tennis turnament (my partner & I were dispatched in a quick set), and watched campers building skills and having fun in their chosen activities.  As I visited cabins during rest hour yesterday it was unusually calm and quiet on senior hill.  Those campers that were not on trips were taking advantage of their down time to recharge a bit.

Out-of-camp trips are now in full swing.  Today we have seven special events going on, including a trip to the Nantahala River for the first time in quite a while.  Even though High Rocks has been paddling on the Nantahala since the early 1960′s we have been “locked out” for a few years since only a very limited number of outfitters have been granted permits.  It is unfortunate that camps that teach skills and were pioneers on the river have been pushed aside in favor of rafting companies.  The Forest Service has finally seen fit to allow camps to paddle the river again.  The Nantahala runs through a valley that is so deep, lightning has never struck the floor of the valley!  The Cherokee word “Nantahala” means the “Land of the Noonday Sun.”

The 3-day hike for middlers and upper middlers is on their second day of their trip & day trips are out climbing, mountain biking, caving, fishing, & canoeing.  The girls from Keystone Camp visited this afternoon for some coed tennis and soccer.  The active day culminates for many of our horseback riders with an evening ride.  As amazing as these trips were today, each day for the rest of the session is as jam-packed with adventure!

Tonight’s evening activities:

• “Juniors”- (Hillside, Connestee, & Holiday IV) are at the soccer field
• “Middlers”- (Lakeside & Foxhollow) are having fun at the waterfront with “Canoe Fill-ups” 
• “Upper Middlers” – (Flattop, Chalet & Holiday I) are heading off the waterslide and rope swing.
• “Seniors” – (Windswept & Outpost) are on the athletic field.
• “Upper Seniors” – (Lookout, Halfway, Pinnacle) are at the cabin field.

Enjoy the pictures from today!

Hank Birdsong
Camp Director