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 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

Don Gentle, Liz Walker, Will Leverette, and Sam Sommers at Adventure Education Conference

I just got back form Brevard College’s Adventure Education Conference.  Each year BC along with Western, Montreat, and Warren Wilson rotate to host a small conference in the fall focusing on adventure programming and outdoor experiences.  They target a number of small area colleges and universities.  Students from Warren Wilson, Western Carolina, Mars Hill, Montreat, Southwestern Community College were in attendance.

Camp High Rocks’ own Will Leverette was the opening keynote speaker.  Will did a presentation on his new book, The History of Whitewater Paddling in Western North Carolina.  For those of you who do not know it, Will is a family member of High Rocks.  His Aunt and Uncle started Camp High Rocks and his grandfather started Camp Mondamin.  He spent many years growing up and working at camp, mostly the paddling program. 

Of course, Camp High Rocks, along with Mondamin, Green Cove, and Camp Merrie-Woode were the pioneers of organized paddling on many of our area rivers, including The Nantahala and the Chatooga River.  It was great to here Camp High Rocks come up so often during this presentation.  I felt part of something larger than myself and proud to be part of the paddling history here at camp.

Liz Walker, who was our Assistant Head of Mountain Biking for the summer of 2009, was also a presenter at the conference.  Liz is a senior at Brevard College and presented a session on “Sustainability in Outdoor Programs.”

Finally, Sam Sommers just happened to be in town for a couple days and decided to come over and see Will’s presentation.  Sam is currently living in Rochester, NY and was looking into the possibility of an outdoor job down here in Western North Carolina.  Sam has over 10 years at High Rocks, both as a camper and staff. His tenure spanned the late seventies, through the nineties.  He was an avid paddler when he was here, so he was very excited to see Will’s presentation.

It was great to have such a wonderful High Rocks representation at this small conference.  I enjoyed meeting several students who may be interested in working at camp for the 2010 summer season.  What a great way to spend my Friday!

take care,

Don

Rafting on the Nantahala River!!!

Our last program of the 2009 camping season just left on Friday, Oct 23^rd.  Camp High Rocks hosted ten different middle and upper school programs during its spring and fall LEAP seasons this year.  We host some of the best private and charter schools from throughout the southeast!  School programs this year included:

• Ravenscroft School, Raleigh, NC, 8^th Grade
• KIPP WAYS Academy, Atlanta, GA, 6^th Grade
• KIPP Believe, New Orleans, LA, 6^th Grade
• Pace Academy, Atlanta, GA, 9^th Grade
• Trinity Prep, Winterpark, FL, 9^th Grade
• Durham Academy, Durham, NC, 10^th Grade
• The Summit School, Winston-Salem, NC, 9^th Grade
• St. Andrews School, Savannah, GA, 12^th Grade
• The O’Neal School, Southern Pines, NC, 7^th Grade
• Ashley Academy, Johnson City, TN, Grades 5-8
• Tampa Prep, Tampa, FL, 6^th Grade

Each school participates in its own custom designed program that focuses on particular goals and outcomes based on our own philosophy and the needs of the school.  Activities include backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, whitewater rafting, high and low adventure course, stream ecology, and a number of other fun events.  We use our 1100-acre facility along with nearby Pisgah National Forest, and beautiful Dupont State Forest.

 The 2009 season was an amazing group of programs and an incredible staff of caring adults!  We look forward to next spring when we will start it all over again!  For more information about the High Rocks LEAP program, visit http://leap.highrocks.com.

Don Gentle

don@highrocks.com