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 15, 2010 (password required)

Tonight I asked one of our newest counselors, Alex Gregor, to write the blog.  Alex is a graduate of Davidson University where he earned his degree in Anthropology.  Since his graduation he has worked at Davidson in their Outdoor Program and as an employee of their IT Department. In the upcoming days we will have more of our outstanding counselors contribute to the blog as well. –Hank Birdsong

Fun on the waterslide!!

You might have marked yesterday as Bastille Day. At High Rocks, we didn’t follow up on our July 4th fireworks display with another, but there was plenty of other excitement at camp.

Extended trips are in full-swing at this point. As soon as one group of campers returns to camp, another one is headed out the door. While climbers returned from three days at the Obed, a popular climbing area in Tennessee, a group of advanced paddlers prepared to depart for West Virginia’s New River Gorge. At the same time, another group got ready to head out for an overnight trip Worley’s Cave. The trip leaders, Ben Little and Elizabeth Thompson, had their participants take a look at a pair of coat hangers before they set out. The US Geological Survey says that if an underground passageway is as big as the space within a coat hanger, then it’s big enough to squeeze through. I was ready to take their word for it but several of the campers, who returned to camp today after spending the night underground, confirmed that a coat-hanger-sized tunnel is plenty big to crawl inside.

One of the things I appreciate the most at High Rocks as a counselor is the variety that each day offers. In my role as one of camp’s photographers, I spent most of my morning chasing the campers with the craziest hairdos, trying to get some photos worthy of sending home. I spent some time on the tennis courts, the archery and riflery range, and one of our pastures while horseback riders trotted past. Just a few days before, I was taking photos from an eddy on the Green River. Not long after that, I was hanging off our climbing tower from a rope, taking photos as guys screamed down the zipline. For a photographer who loves the outdoors, working at High Rocks is a dream job. I take photos all morning and then teach mountain biking all afternoon. It’s a great community of people to spend time with and I think one of the camp t-shirts pretty much sums it up: “If it’s awesome, we do it at High Rocks.”

When I got to camp for staff training earlier this summer, I was really impressed to learn that fellow counselor David Kirby loves to compete in ultra marathons, ridiculously long races that have him running up and down mountain trails for 50, 75, or 100km at a time. David organized High Rocks’ first triathlon, which took place yesterday afternoon. We decided to drop the “ultra” part and keep things short. A group of campers and counselors jumped into the lake for an aptly named “tri swim” (The name’s older than our triathlon but we’ll take it. And if campers do 10 of these in a summer, they get a free trip to Dolly’s…). After swimming out to a couple of buoys and back, we took off on mountain bikes for Chainbreaker Hill, a formidable climb that leads up to a grassy pasture and the top of Jaybreaker Hill, a rolling, grassy descent to camp below. Still dripping from our swim, we blasted down Jaybreaker but slammed on the brakes before we got to the bottom. A herd of horses was having dinner right in the middle of our trail. With a quick detour by foot, we were back on track, riding into camp to start our run around the Lake Loop Trail. About a mile and a half later, we were greeted with cheers and high-fives back at the dock.

We weren’t keeping time at all during the triathlon. All of us who participated stuck together for the entire event, starting and finishing as a group. Another group did the same today, mostly following the same route but doing an abbreviated mountain bike ride. It was a blast for all the guys who participated. One camper who cheered us on said tonight, “I want all of you who did the triathlon to talk to me after dinner. I want to make you shirts, which I’ll give you next summer.”

The whole event showcased the camaraderie, goofiness, and fun that I love about High Rocks. It was a great way to celebrate my 24th birthday, which was yesterday. I’m hard pressed to think of one I enjoyed more.

–Alex Gregor

(ps from Hank- Before the caving trip left yesterday, several of us tested out the “coathanger test” by going through a coathanger from head to toe.  Smaller campers had no trouble at all.  I was able to do it, but there was some grunting involved!!)

Pictures from July 14, 2010 (password required)

Just as breakfast was ending, the hair salon was opening!  Several of our staff created some wacky hairstyles for whoever wanted one; everything from small braids to BIG HAIR!   They sure looked hilarious!  Assembly followed to what was to become a beautiful day!  The weather was partly cloudy all day, high in the mid-80’s, and a great breeze!  What a wonderful day at Camp!

Holy cow are we ever busy!  These boys are running in so many directions it is amazing!  It sure is a lot of fun!  Yesterday was a big treat for some of our paddlers.  We arranged for a group of the guys to meet up with Wayne Dickert, former Olympian and Head of Instruction at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC).   They worked the river and received some top notch instruction at the gates.  Training that will set them up for success at next week’s Camp Cup event on the Nantahala River.  It was a great day!

Today was a huge day for our Mini II boys!   After breakfast they headed over to spend the entire morning on the high ropes course.  They spent the afternoon in their normal activities, and finally met up for a night in the woods formally known as their “cabin overnight.”  The guys packed up their backpacks and headed out to Lower Rocky Top Shelter, one of five Appalachian Trail style shelters we have on the property.  They will spend the night feasting on the favored “pita pizza” then wash it down with some good old fashioned s’mores!  We’ll get to see them roll in just before breakfast to get washed up just in time to eat.   I am looking forward to the stories.

Tennis had a special treat this afternoon as they headed down to town to enjoy some instruction at Brevard Racquet Club and experience the game of tennis on some top-notch clay courts.  Swimming also had an afternoon trip out.  The swimming staff took a group of guys out to Hooker Falls in Dupont State Forest.  It was a leisure event swimming below the falls and playing around in the huge pool. A perfect trip on for a sunny afternoon.

The cavers headed out after lunch for our first-ever “caving overnight.”  The guys will head into the cave tonight, then eat dinner, sleep, and hike back out!  Hopefully, we’ll have a few pictures to show you tomorrow.  The mountain bikers headed out for three days over in the Tsali National Recreation Area in the Nantahala National Forest.  Three full days of riding on some world class trails!  Our advanced paddlers head out early tomorrow morning for a two-day trip up to the New River Gorge in West Virginia.  The fun never ends!  Have a great night and feel free to leave some comments if you feel the urge.

Don Gentle

Pictures from June 11, 2010 (password required)

Friday got off to a beautiful start with some great trips heading out in the morning.  The cavers had the dining hall to themselves as they met for an early breakfast and then were off to Morril’s Cave (commonly called Worley’s) in Bluff City, TN.  It has more than 37,000 feet of mapped passages on two levels.  Worley’s is known for its voluminous size with rooms more than 75 feet wide and 250 feet long with high ceilings that can exceed 100 feet. It is noted for its beautiful formations within its eight to ten miles of passages. The lower level of the cave contains a perennial creek complete with various fishes, white crayfish, and salamanders that the guys love to discover.  The boys each take a pair of coveralls and a headlamp into the pitch black cave which remains at a constant 55 degrees year round.  The group adventures through muddy slides, tight squeezes, and creek wades.  Deep in the cave, they take a few minutes to shut off all their lights and not make a sound (or at least attempt!) to experience the total silence and such utter darkness your eyes never adjust.  Every camper gets a chance to go caving, and the best part of it is, the trip does not count as one of their five activity choices, it is bonus!

Climbers also had an early start to insure plenty of time on the rock before the afternoon thunderstorms made their appearance. They took off for Stone Depot up on Cedar Rock to put techniques to use that they have learned on the tower.  Mountain bikers took a crew over to Sky Valley in DuPont State Forest for a half day of great down hills and some seriously challenging grinds to the top of the next hill. The group did great, partly due to Don Gentle on the trip taking video of the guys. You have to pull out all the stops for the camera.

The paddlers had a full day trip over to the Green River, which is the first river on which campers experience some pushy water and technical turns to avoid rocks. There are several spots to practice “surfing” which involves pointing your boat upstream and balancing it on a wave in such a way that no paddling is necessary to remain in the same spot. Needless to say, it takes a lot of practice and the process always includes a lot of flips, splash downs, and laughter.  There is also the famed Super Man Rock where campers hold onto a perfect grip in the middle of some stiff current, thus “flying”, at least as long as you can hold your breath.

In camp, the weather cooperated nicely with many thunder rumbles heard but no serious storm materializing.  Bull’s eyes were hit profusely in archery and riflery as our shooters are beginning to move up the ranks.  Fishing mixed things up with a hike over to the Bottomless Pond where there was instant success with large bass hitting everything dropped in the water. After such a confidence boost, the counselors were made to guarantee a return trip in the near future. Wood working was in full swing with campers making everything from lacrosse sticks to doggie stairs for easy access to a couch for one “Elvis”.  Down at the barn, campers were finishing up their last lessons and trail rides for the week in preparation for the Gymkhana on Saturday, more details and pictures to come soon.

All in all, it was a great Friday with campers maximizing their first week here. The weekends have a different schedule and tend to focus a bit more on both goofy fun and time for reflection, allowing a breather before Monday kicks off another jam-packed five days.  With their first week under their collective belt, all of our campers are feeling much more comfortable with the rhythm of camp life and their personalities expand along with their comfort level. It looks to be an awesome group of guys and great next two weeks!!

Tonight’s age group activities:

“Juniors”- (Hillside & Connestee) are participating McCallie Ball.
“Middler 1”- (Lakeside & Foxhollow) are playing dodge ball in the gym.
“Middler 2” – (Flattop, Holiday & Chalet) are on the waterfront with canoe fill-ups
“Upper Middlers” – (Windswept & Outpost)  are going off the water slide.
“Seniors” – (Halfway) & “Upper Seniors” – (Lookout) are playing capture the flag.

Have a great night,

Woody Noland
Assistant Director