Pictures from June 22, 2010 (password required)
note: today’s pictures span several days

Paddling on the Chattooga River

 We had another active day at High Rocks! Seven trips were out & there is an evening horseback ride, so nothing is slowing down around here!! Pictures today include some that a few staff members have been taking over the last week, so the pictures today encompass several days.

It’s hard to believe there are just two more program days left in the session!  Be sure to check this blog tomorrow for the last day of pictures and information about parent’s day.

Parent’s day is FRIDAY, beginning at 10:00am; please plan to arrive between 9:30am & 9:45am.  Parent’s day will last until after lunch.  Please plan to stay for the morning & see your son demonstrate his favorite activities!  More details will be in tomorrow’s posting.

 Take care,

Hank Birdsong

Pictures from June 21, 2010 (password required)
note: today’s pictures span several days

Mountain Biking Across Upper Pasture

What a day at High Rocks! Six trips were out & we still had all of our regular activities too!!  This last week is the culmination of the skills our campers learned in the first few weeks.  Lots of trips will leave camp each day this week and in-camp activities will be continuing their skill progressions until the last day of camp.  For many campers just being away from home for three weeks is the biggest challenge.  For others the biggest challenge might be attaining a goal in an activity.  Our ongoing goal is to be sure that High Rocks contributes to the growth of our campers.  Fun and adventure are a big part of our program, but we have other goals for our campers that we hope they will carry with them into the future.  Taking a few steps towards independance, treating others with respect, developing self-confidence, being a contributing member of a community- these are some of our goals for our campers.  

Mail can be slow to arrive in Cedar Mountain. At this late date in the session, I recommend not sending any more letters.  Any letters sent after today probably will not arrive until after the session is over. We will continue to deliver letters, emails and faxes until Thursday.

Several camps in the Brevard area will end on Friday, which means full hotels and restaurants on Thursday evening. If you will be in the area on Thursday night, it would be a good idea to have supper reservations unless you plan to eat fast food. Here are some possibilities, most take reservations:

Nicer local restaurants (not chains), all are downtown, except Sora-

Sora – 828-883-9808 (Hank’s Favorite) Japanese / Sushi (near Wal-Mart)
Jordan Street Cafe – 828-883-2558 (Townsend’s Favorite for supper)
Falls Landing – 828-884-2835 (Seafood- we eat there often at lunchtime)
HobNob- 828-966-4662 (Don & Zoob’s favorite)
The Quarry- 828-877-2244
Marco Trattori- 828-883-4841
Square Root- 828-884-6171

Not fancy, but lots of food-

Twin Dragons Chinese Buffet- kids like it, lots of food, lots of variety
Cielito Lindo – Mexican- Fast service, no reservations needed

More restaurants are listed on www.brevardncchamber.org

You should be receiving a letter from your son’s counselor soon. Townsend was proofing them over the weekend & most went in today’s mail.

Wednesday will probably be the last day of pictures. We will all be fairly busy with numerous end-of-session details on Thursday and Friday.  Many of you pre-ordered a flash drive of pictures from the session.  The USB flash drive is a 4-gigabite drive with high quality versions of the lower-quality pictures we have included on this website.  If you did not preorder a flash drive we will have more available for sale on closing day as well.

Take care,

Hank Birdsong

Pictures from June 17, 2010 (password required)

Heading out to Sam's Knob, Pisgah National Forest

As we near the end of the second week, our guys are starting to see some of the returns from all the initial hard work they’ve been putting in. Campers that had never been in a canoe before this session made it onto their first Green River trip today and got a taste of a real whitewater river and the challenges that can present. The butterflies that build in each boy on the 45 minute ride over are in full frenzy when they first push off from the bank. Armed with new paddle strokes, counselor guides, and a partner to face the unknown with, each camper finds himself pushing through the nerves and slowly gaining the confidence in his own skills to face what lies around the next bend or around the next big rock. The excitement of the moment sometimes prevents each camper from realizing the boost such an experience can have, and it takes that same van ride back to camp or sharing stories in the cabin for the accomplishment to begin to sink in. This is that same bug that bites so many guys here, and can set them on a path for a lifetime of enjoyment in all sorts of endeavors.

This afternoon saw a group of tired, grubby guys show back up to camp after two days of mountain biking with a campout in between. Having ridden six miles in several hours, the group said they staggered in to their shelter for the evening where their gear had been dropped off earlier that day. Not only did they get to feast on a full Mexican dinner in the middle of the woods, but they also had a treasure note waiting for them which directed them into a nearby, ice-cold mountain stream where eventually a treasure trove of sodas was found floating in a pool. Fueled by stories of the day (and some sugar) the group stayed up into the night playing a Greek Mythology game of Mafia, a favorite around the campfire. The next morning they crushed a breakfast of pancakes before heading back onto the trail, and then back to camp victorious, and needing showers.

Two more 2-Day trips went out today. The hikers headed up into High Pisgah where the weather is cool at an elevation around 6000 feet and the views are amazing. Sam Knob is a spectacular two – peaked mountain rising above the clear waters of Flat Laurel Creek and the surrounding meadows. A group of climbers were off to spend a couple of days climbing in the Obed Wild and Scenic River area. Boasting world class sandstone climbing, campers will have many different routes and levels of difficulty available to them in a very popular destination. With so much of the climbing occurring on private land, or tracts owned by the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy, the campers also get a chance to appreciate the work and effort the climbing community puts into maintaining the sites, in the hope that they will continue to remain accessible.

The last trip today was a huge group of soccer and tennis aficionados who descended on a nearby girls’ camp, Camp Illahee, for an afternoon of co-ed doubles on the courts and a high energy game of soccer with the mixed teams constantly rotating. The buzz surrounding these inter-camp visits usually makes the trip before it starts, but everyone was all smiles and stories rolling back into camp.

Today in camp was one of the prettier days in a while with no rain or thunderstorms threatening, but the weather stayed cool enough to encourage lots of exuberance. Horseback riding did numerous trail rides through some of the rhododendron tunnels and open meadows of camp while climbers on the tower learned how to place gear to protect themselves while climbing on real rock. Fishermen continued to have success on the banks and some from canoes so they could track down the big bass hiding in the deeper areas of the lake. Improvisational comedy instruction was offered later in the afternoon for cabin groups looking to prepare for Skit Night on Friday. Lakeside and Foxhollow ate an early dinner before blasting off to Sliding Rock to commence their Chill Night. All in all, a busy day throughout camp and beyond with some tired fellas dragging themselves off to bed after a snack of large soft pretzels.

Check in tomorrow for more pictures, more news, and more fun!!

Woody

 Pictures from June 10, 2010 (password required)

Our first trips on the French Broad River for the beginner and intermediate paddlers headed out today.  After three one-hour sessions on the lake the first groups headed out to begin their paddling progression on the moving water.  The French Broad begins its journey just south of Brevard and continues all the way up through Asheville and into the Tennessee River system, before it finally dumps into the Gulf of Mexico.  Our beginner and intermediate paddlers put-in just below the steep headwaters to practice their new skills on gentle moving water. Today they practiced essential skills like eddy turns, peel-outs, and ferries. These maneuvers will help them work with the water to put the boat where they want it to go on the river. Our goal is to have these boys continue to master and enjoy the sport one step at a time, until after several summers the boys are paddling some of the best whitewater in the Southeast. 

We had two groups head out on the river today; one in the morning and then another group in the afternoon. The morning group is featured in today’s photos, be on the lookout tomorrow for the afternoon group.  Many of these guys will progress on to the lower Green River next week for their first all-day trip.  Keep an eye out next week for more river pictures.

Our climbers headed over to Cedar Rock in Pisgah National Forest for some great climbs.  The Mountain Bikers took their first out of camp trip to Dupont State Forest.  Again, most of these guys will head on to bigger and better trips in their respective activities as the session progresses.

Tonight is the last night of cabin overnights.  Blaire and Townsend were out with their camera again tonight.  However, they got back late so you will have to wait until tomorrow until you can see those.

Tonight’s age group activities:

“Juniors”- (Hillside & Connestee) are participating in canoe fill-ups.
“Middler 1”- (Lakeside & Foxhollow) are playing capture the flag.
“Middler 2” – (Flattop, Holiday & Chalet) Holiday & Chalet are headed out on a cabin overnight. Flattop is playing capture the flag.
“Upper Middlers” – (Windswept & Outpost)  are headed out on a cabin overnight
“Seniors” – (Halfway) & “Upper Seniors” – (Lookout) are going off the water slide.

Have a wonderful night and enjoy the pictures.  There are some great paddling shots as well as some High Ropes Course pictures.  Tomorrow is another day in paradise!!!

Don Gentle
Associate Director
don@highrocks.com

Summer is here!  We are just ten days into our June Session and everything is in full swing!  Every camper has already been out on an overnight on the property.  There is a climbing, paddling, hiking, and mountain biking trip about every day the rest of the session. It sure is a lot of fun!

Fishing on our 11 acre lake!

As we embark on our fifty-second summer, it is fun to see how many things have changed but what is compelling is how much it has stayed the same.  We still focus on the same philosophies that started camp over a half-century ago.  Our mission still focuses on the individual, independence, and encouraging teamwork.  Even though we have added some new activities, many of them are still the same just a little better with changes in technology and the advent of risk management.

A little "Capture the Flag" with a cabin group!

It is still amazing to me to see how much these boys get out of camp.  These guys learn so much.  They are aware of a lot of it, but it’s fun to see the little things.  For example, I don’t think there is one camper here that says “gee, I sure am excited to share a room with five other guys.”  Nearly all of our boys here have their own bedroom at home.  Learning to live with five other guys is such a great experience.  They all have to clean up, share, and even “put-up” with one another; but they also get to enjoy, learn, and respect one another.  Some of these guys come back year after year and request to be in the same cabin.  One of the first things they ask is “who is in my cabin this year?”  Of course, with boys, they are best friends for a few weeks, and then they will not talk again for 11 months until they see each other at camp again!

A lifetime of friendships!

I can’t wait to see what this summer has in store for all of us.  I am certain we will all learn something and have a whole lot of fun!