Finding Courage Outside
Finding Courage Outside
This week’s theme is courage, and you can spot it everywhere in Junior Camp. Sometimes it is a boy stepping into a new activity with no idea how it will go. And sometimes, like last night, it is packing your bag, grabbing your sleeping gear, and hiking into the woods for a night away from the cabin.
For half of our Junior Camp cabins, that was the challenge they met head-on. Some campers practically skipped down the trail, already seasoned in outdoor sleepovers. Others took slower steps, unsure how it would feel to drift off to sleep in the open air.
A Cabin Adventure
Cabin Overnights are part of the rhythm here. Counselors lead their cabins to one of the shelters tucked around camp, some hidden in groves of rhododendron, some with views you cannot get from anywhere else. The walk might be 20 minutes or closer to 45, but there is plenty of laughter, stick-collecting, and "are we there yet" questions along the way.
When they arrive, everyone pitches in. Firewood gets stacked, food is unpacked, and sleeping bags roll out under the shelter roof. Supper is simple but unbeatable, chicken fajitas, chips and salsa, and the kind of s’mores that somehow taste better after a hike.
My counselors Christian and Erik made fajitas and they were delicious! Afterwards, we got to have s’mores. We even got to have extras. I like to make my marshmallow golden brown and a little burnt. After it gets good and hot, I peel the outer layer off and eat just that part first. Going camping with my cabin has been my favorite part of camp so far.
Teddy R., Charlotte, NC
Courage in Small Steps
Courage at camp is not always about big leaps, it is about doing something when you are not completely sure you can. For some boys, that meant walking into the woods after dark with only a headlamp. For others, it was speaking up in the glow of the campfire.
Every counselor here is trained to lead these overnights, making sure the trip is safe and the group works together. As Marisa Pharr puts it, "It's a shared experience. The boys and their counselors learn to rely on each other and on the supplies they have for the overnight. Our Falling Creek boys are strong and capable."
I was nervous to come to Falling Creek. I’ve never left my mom and dad before. But now I have new friends in my cabin. We just camped out and we got to be near the horses! I’m getting to do things I’ve never done before.
Cort A. Raleigh, NC
Two Evenings, One Camp
While half the cabins camped Tuesday night, the rest stayed back for a high-energy evening of dodgeball and waterfront fun with their Cabin Line groups. Last night, they traded places, meaning this morning, every camper will have their own overnight story to tell.
By breakfast Wednesday, the first group was back in the Dining Hall, sleepy-eyed, a little smoky from the fire, and grinning over their plates. Some will remember the crunch of the trail, some the taste of perfectly golden marshmallows, and some the simple fact that they did something they were not sure they could.
In the cabin it’s just a brown color when you wake up. But in the morning on the overnights, you see so many colors! You get to go on adventures with friends and find new things. I found a mushroom!
Yogi P., Raleigh, NC
Why We Make Space for It
Cabin Overnights are more than just a fun night out, they are often a camper’s first real taste of outdoor living. Once a boy has carried his own gear, helped cook a meal over a fire, and fallen asleep to the sound of crickets, it changes the way he sees himself.
That is the heart of this week’s theme, learning that courage can start small, grow quietly, and follow you long after camp is over.