Watch The Story Unfold

Another action-packed day here at Camp High Rocks! The first thing I heard as I made my way out to enjoy the peace of camp with my dogs was the beginning of the “mini men” returning from their adventure in the woods. The Hillside boys were the first back at around 7:15 am this morning! Biscuit was certainly excited about all of the commotion. It was another cool morning, but that was short-lived as some of the first significant heat of the summer was upon us today. While it only got up to 82 degrees today, it felt warm to us mountain folk.

There was plenty of excitement in the dining hall early as paddling was up early to head down to The Chattooga River today. During our morning meeting, the “mini men” continued to wander in from the wilderness still excited from the event. Later at breakfast, I was able to catch up with a few of the guys. As they talked all about their adventures, I could not help but notice the remnants of last night’s events play out almost like a story on his shirt. There was the greasy tomato sauce mark from dinner letting me know he ate well. The grey ash mixed with a little dirt let me know that not only did they get to explore, but they also got their fire started. Finally, the story came together all at once with the ashin’, marshmallow, greasy tomato spot all in one place. You could say they obviously forgot the napkins, but I say it was closer to “Man this is awesome so I need to wipe my face here so I can keep talking while I chew. Sometimes they don’t even need to tell you how it went. It’s all there already…

All sorts of trips today. In addition to the paddlers, the hikers had a trip out to Panthertown in the Nantahala National Forest. Our Climbers were still out on their three-day trip to Linville Gorge. Mountain bikers hit another trip off to Dupont Forest. Finally, our senior age group ate an early lunch and then left to go raft Section 9 of the French Broad. It is a wonderful class III section os whitewater. The boys will meet back up with a dinner team for pizza and snacks out in the forest before coming back to camp around 9 pm. Our evening program was busy with events all over camp tonight. There was a group on the waterslide and rope swing. Boys were sinking ships at canoe fill-ups. Others did some dodgeball in the gym along with various other field games going on.

It was another perfect day. Sun and clouds all day. We even set the boys up with an afternoon Gatorade station. They could take a cup of Gatorade or a coop for their water bottle. It was a great way to keep them hydrated today. I am so glad you all have decided to join us this summer. Your boys are great!

Have a Great Night!

Don Gentle

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