Greetings from Hilltop. Today is a big day in Camp, as the seniors return from their trips. We’ve already got three groups back in camp. The rest will arrive over the rest of this afternoon. The three groups that have already come back are proving to us once again why we do these trips in the first place. They did something that was hard. They had long days paddling or sailing, sometimes in imperfect conditions (the backpackers are not yet back, as is usual – they have a long drive from Olympic National Park). They made crossings when they wanted to take a break in the middle, but the trip leader told them they had to keep going. There were likely meals that couldn’t happen exactly on time. They faced this adversity while exploring one of the most beautiful places in the world in the best possible way. To quote Edward Abbey, “A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.” I’ll add to that canoe, or kayak, or sailboat. Abbey was a desert guy, after all. While exploring and facing some adversity, they had conversations, shared jokes, found new friendships and deepened old ones.
The pride and depth of experience that comes from these adventures, combined with the reunions the seniors feel seeing their friends from other trips, and the wholeness in our camp community having the seniors back, makes today a truly extraordinary day.
It also marks a moment where it’s really time be aware that there are only a few days left of this session. Not counting today or departure day, we’ve got four full days left together, and those four days will fly by. We all need to encourage each other to make the most of these last few days, set aside any negative stuff, and savor these last few days together. There will be plenty of opportunities for celebration and reflection. We always end the session with the same four evening activities – Talent/No Talent (our talent show), Pins & Slides (where we award activity area pins and have a slideshow of the session), the CT Dance, and our final Evening Fire. Plus, there will be many Gypsy Jewelry ceremonies, where we’ll appreciate each other and share lots of love, not mention all the informal connections and conversations that will happen. It will be great.
The week that was was also great. While the Seniors were gone, the Juniors and Intermediates had the run of camp. We had Sports Night on Monday, a counselor hunt run by the CTs on Tuesday, and Moonraker followed by sleeping out on the sports field on Wednesday. On Thursday, we had Burger Bar, a well loved evening activity that we always do when the seniors are gone. We give the kitchen staff the night off, and the heads team dresses themselves and the lodge up in a theme (this time, it was Spongebob Squarepants) and makes burgers, fries, and shakes for the whole camp. For evening activity, we watch a movie in the boat barn projected onto a sail, the only video of any kind these kids will watch all month. This session, we watched Coco, and it was very well received. We had a Folk dance on Friday, and last night, we had Craftapalooza, an evening centered on the Craft Courts. Tonight, we’ll have Age Group Night, in particular for the seniors to facilitate their reunions, and then tomorrow we’ll kick off our series of evening activities that end every session.
This session has flown by. As I write that, I realize that while it’s true, it simultaneously feels like these campers arrived ages ago. Camp has that tendency to warp one’s sense of time. It’s the intensity of the experience, our focus on the here and now, and the fact that it seems like so much can happen in a camp day. I take it as just one more small sign that this experience is a worthy one.
Thank you for sharing your children with us, once again. We will make the most of these last few days with them, and send them back to you on Friday having the pride and confidence that comes with having done something remarkable. I will blog here on Friday, as the campers are on their way home, and as usual, post daily on Twitter.