Cabin Overnights On the Mountain
Falling Creek sits on 890 acres of beautiful mountain-top land. However, the main area of camp is only a relatively small portion of that, which means that many boys don’t get the chance to explore all the miles of trails and dozens of shelter outposts scattered across this mountain. During Cabin Overnights, boys have the chance to not only get to know their cabin-mates better, but also see a little more of Falling Creek than they would otherwise see in their daily activities.
Just one of our cabins ready for their overnight!
Throughout the hundreds of acres, there are shelters located in a variety of different settings. Some are up high on the mountain like “Chief’s Lookout,” which has a great view down into the Green River Valley, and faces the mountains for perfect sunset watching. Some are nestled into the valley like “Chainsaw Gulley,” with plenty of rhododendron thickets to explore and build forts in. Some are next to creeks, or even at the base of Falling Creek Falls like “Copper Cave” and “Otter’s Den,” where you can fall asleep to the sound of the water. When cabins take their overnights to these shelters, they get a quick glimpse into the beauty that this mountain has to offer, enticing boys to come back year after year until they’ve seen all the trails and corners of this property.
Last night, half of camp headed out on their Cabin Overnights, and tonight the other half is doing the same. Just like yesterday, they’ll be taking ingredients for chicken fajitas, chips and salsa, and s’mores, while the rest of camp has their make-your-own pizza picnics. Dixon was looking forward to his Cabin Overnight tonight, and was especially eager for the s’mores. “I did an overnight last year at Junior Camp, but this one will be different,” he said excitedly, ready to head out and start making dinner.
Hiking is fun when the scenery is pretty and the company is this good!
Rhett from cabin Washakie was playing foosball under the Dining Hall with his backpack on, all packed and ready to go. He was so excited for the overnight that he didn’t want to take his backpack off while he waited to head out. This is his third year, and the past two years he’s camped at the same shelter. “I don’t remember what it was called, but I hope we go there again tonight.” I asked him what made that particular shelter fun enough that he wanted to camp there three years in a row. “There was a lot of space to play and we could collect sticks and stuff. We made a fort last time,” he told me. No matter where his cabin is camping tonight, I’m sure there will be some great fort-building potential.
Michael had been to camp last year, and said that so far this summer was even better than the last. Hopefully that means that this overnight will also exceed his expectations. I asked him how many s’mores he had last year. “Just one,” he told me, clearly displaying some admirable self control. Maybe that means that if he gets two s’mores this year, the overnight will be twice as sweet.
Nothing like some s’mores and campfire stories to top off a great overnight
With our increasingly urban societies and daily reliance on technology, there is a growing number of boys (and youth in general) who don’t have the opportunity to go camping. Though the activities offered at camp are undoubtedly fun, the opportunities for camping out in the woods are invaluable. Some boys who come to camp have never had the chance to sleep in a primitive campsite, or spend time away from “manmade noises” like cars and machinery. Even if going on a trip off camp property is out of a boy’s comfort zone, he can still have the experience of camping outdoors with the cabin overnight. It might even make him realize how fun camping is, and that he has what it takes to sign up for a trip when he returns!
In the morning, we’ll welcome everyone back and share breakfast together before another fun day of activities. We had some rain this afternoon which ended before any cabins headed out for their overnights, which was perfect timing. It cooled everything down and left that sweet “just rained” smell in the air as boys hiked to their shelters. We’re looking forward to another great day tomorrow!
-Annie Pharr
More Highlights From This Tuesday:
- Tuesdays are Green Vs. Gold days! Each cabin is either Green or Gold, competing for points throughout the session during Morning Assembly, in activities, All-Camp-Games, and Evening Programs. Today at Morning Assembly we had a silly minute-to-win-it competition, where boys wore pantyhose on their heads with a ball in the toe of the stocking, swinging their heads around to knock over cups with the ball. Since tonight was Cabin Overnights we didn’t have an Evening Program for Green and Gold points, but we usually have some friendly competition during those all-camp-game events!
Green vs. Gold challenge got silly during Morning Assembly!
- We celebrated Spencer S’s birthday today at lunch! We also celebrated Baylee’s birthday, one of our barn heads!
- Breakfast: Biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs, a grits station, and a fruit, granola, and yogurt bar.
- Lunch: Tuesday Tacos! Ground turkey, cheese, salsa, sour cream, corn, and beans were on the table with tortillas. Broccoli and cheese soup was on the bar, plus a fully stocked salad bar and churros for dessert.
- Dinner: The same as last night, with each cabin having the meal they didn’t have the night before. Chicken fajitas with salsa and cheese, plus s’mores for our boys on overnights. Custom pizzas and carrots with ranch for the Pizza Picnic cabins.
Day hike to Falling Creek Falls!
Identifying trees in Nature today