An Outdoor Adventure Trip I'll Never Forget

Up first is a trip memory from Jackson Skelly. Jackson was a camper for 11 years (‘13-’23) and is returning for his first year on staff as a member of DASH this summer! One of his favorite adventure trip memories was from a 2021 paddling trip for three days on the Tuckasegee and Nantahala Rivers.

However, Jackson has participated in so many outdoor adventure trips over the years, that he said it was impossible to choose just one memory. He also shared a story from a favorite climbing trip in 2022, which spent five epic days rock climbing in the Red River Gorge.

“My goal of the trip was to send a route I had seen a counselor do a few years back. It was pushing my limits as a climber, but was totally my style—big holds in an overhanging amphitheater. I wasn’t strong enough to do the whole route without any big rests, so I got some beta (advice) from other climbers. Overcoming mental barriers and fear was also a challenge. The highlight was sending the route and hearing the cheers from the other campers on the trip. It was clear that I had inspired them to push themselves and climb hard!”

Gordon Harwell is a staff member who will be back for his 3rd summer at camp in 2024, teaching backpacking and rock climbing. What is his favorite outdoor adventure trip memory?

“My favorite trip was hiking the Art Loeb Trail with some of the best campers I know. We hiked around 40 miles in 3 days, it was one of the most physically challenging trips I went on that summer. On the first day we hiked up over 2,000 feet of elevation gain in under 2 miles. The last day was difficult too, we were hiking through a thunderstorm and had to divert our route to lower grounds to avoid the lightning which added an extra 2 miles to the day. We were all out of food and just powering through the weather to get to our pick up point. When we finally reached our destination the group immediately regained energy and we couldn’t stop talking about how fun it was and how rewarding it felt to push through those 3 days. We hiked tall mountains, saw beautiful views, and had great talks around the campfire.”

Scuba is returning for his 5th summer on rock climbing staff in 2024, and we asked him about his favorite trip memory from over the years:

“There was a big Looking Glass rock climbing trip in 2022 that got thundered out in the morning, so we went over to John Rock for lunch. The weather cleared up so we hiked to the top and did a mega rappel off the top of John’s - it was so cool! I went down last, and while on my way down, a massive thunderstorm rolled on top of us. We managed the situation so that we would not get struck by lightning, but once on lower ground we learned that we landed a bit off course.

“We had to bushwhack downhill through some treacherous terrain, filled with loose rock, tight bushes, and lots of thorns. We eventually made it back to the van, soaking wet, exhausted and absolutely stoked from an incredible adventure. I specifically remember asking the boys how they felt about the day and they said that trip was exactly the reason why they signed up for adventure trips with Falling Creek.”

Pete Curtis was a camper for 7 summers (‘12-’13, ‘15-’21) before returning to serve on staff in 2023. He taught mountain biking, and it’s no surprise that his favorite trip memory was during a mountain bike trip.

“A trip that I will never forget was my Dupont 2 from Main Camp in 2023. This was our first advanced ride we had taken during this session, and the trails we rode featured difficult and drawn-out climbing, leading into fast and technical downhills. Alexander Carroll and I, along with 12 boys, rode around 12 miles in a single day in Dupont State Forest, through the Burnt Mountain Loop, the Quarry Loop, up Cedar Rock, and down Big Rock Trail.

“The boys who came on this ride ranged from having ridden their whole life to only ever being able to ride at camp. The main challenge we faced was keeping everyone entertained and excited about the climbs. We liked to say, everything that goes down must come back up, so we had to earn the downhills with good, hard climbing!”

JR Wallace was a camper for 7 years (‘12, ‘15-’20) and we’re excited to have him back for his 3rd summer on paddling staff this year! He shared his memories from nearly a decade of outdoor adventures with Falling Creek.

“It’s hard for me to pick one trip because each trip manages to have something memorable happen. Adding to that both from a former camper and staff perspective, all the trips can combine into one because oftentimes I share the experience not only with my staff team but with groups of campers we have spent weeks guiding on rivers and in nature. That said, as a paddler, Big Skita is my most memorable trip. This is a challenging 5-day overnight paddling trip that happens annually during Main Camp, and the aim is to find the best, most challenging whitewater in the Southeast. These trips are usually thoughtfully planned out a few days in advance to make sure we get the best river conditions.

“It is also a great opportunity to learn skills off the river like safety systems and knots, which can be hard to teach on an overnight trip. As a camper, we went to the New River Gorge, Gauley River, and Kanawha falls. Last year on staff, we went to Columbus, GA to freestyle on the Chattahoochee River (Host of the 2023 ICF Freestyle Championships), and we went to Montgomery Whitewater for their opening week.

“My favorite part is the adventure. We can plan a trip out as much as we can, down to what we will be doing each hour. Somehow the plan always changes and it turns out better than we could have imagined. When you get a group of campers who desire the roaring of rapids and a group of staff who want to make those around them better, the spontaneity is off the charts.”