This Week in Adventure

Last week, more than half of camp spent time away from Falling Creek on an adventure trip. This week, more than 44 trips headed to rivers, trails, climbing areas, and mountain biking routes across Western North Carolina and beyond.

Trips ranged from one-day outings to two- and three-night adventures, with five-day trips coming next week. Throughout the session, each out-of-camp adventure activity offers an on-ramp prep every two or three days. That gives boys repeated chances to learn the necessary skills, complete progressions, and become ready for longer trips.

Outdoor Adventure Director Will Wilson said those opportunities build on one another over several summers.

It takes real tenacity and work, year over year, to join these big trips. The boys who leave camp are part of the bigger adventure.

Here is a look at where some of the boys went this week.

Backpacking

• DuPont State Recreational Forest: A 16-mile day hike past Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, and High Falls, known at camp as the DuPont Crusher.
• Panthertown Valley: A two-day trip with waterfalls, wild blueberries, and a campsite near Big Green Mountain.
• Black Balsam and Tennent Mountain: Two days across the open balds, returning along part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
• Art Loeb Trail: A three-day, 21-mile trip through Shining Rock Gap and Deep Gap.

Trip leader Derek Schweitzer from Columbus, Ohio, led a group into Panthertown Valley. The boys picked wild blueberries to drop into their water bottles and found waterfalls where the angled rock allowed them to sit directly beneath the water. Near the end of the trip, thick rhododendron closed in around the trail.

We had to hunch down to get through it. We had just a few feet of clearance.

Edward S. from Charlotte completed both the DuPont Crusher and the three-day Art Loeb trip. He added another nine miles late at night and early the next morning to earn Ranger in Backpacking. Now he hopes to join next week’s five-day trip and continue working toward Warrior.

If you want to say you’ve really done something at camp, you have to come backpacking. These were hard trips, but very fun!

Paddling

• Lower Green River: A day trip for paddlers ready to take their lake skills onto moving water.
• Tuckasegee River: A two-day canoe trip, known at camp as Tuck-Tuck.
• French Broad River, Section 9: Two days on the river with an overnight near Hot Springs.
• Lake Jocassee: A three-day trip to boat-in campsites, Laurel Fork Falls, and swimming areas around the lake.
• Nolichucky River: A two-day trip for more experienced paddlers.

Connor G. from Charleston earned Yaklet this week after he and his brother passed the canoe buoy course on their first try. That opened the door for them to paddle the Lower Green River, where their canoe struck a rock in Carolina Double Drop and Connor was shifted forward into the bow.

I was scared a little, but it was fun!

On the Tuckasegee River, Connor was thrown from the canoe in a rapid. He tried to climb back in, but the boat began filling with water, so he held onto a guide’s kayak until they reached calmer water. The next morning, the group returned to the same section.

I was scared because we went right back to the same water. But this time it was okay. We handled it really smoothly.

Connor came away with a lesson he will remember on his next trip.

If you get launched out, don’t try to climb back in. It can seem scary at first, but paddling is really fun. You may swim rapids, but that is okay.

Next week, some of Falling Creek’s most advanced paddlers leave for a five-day trip on the Nolichucky, New, Gauley, and Kanawha Rivers known as Big SKITA.

Rock Climbing

• Gilbert’s Rock: Day trips focused on climbing, rappelling, and progressions.
• Looking Glass Rock: Two-day trips to areas including the Nose and the South Side.
• Cedar Rock and Stone Depot: A two-day mountaineering trip combining hiking, camping, and multi-pitch climbing.
• Stone Depot: A day trip to the north side of Cedar Rock.

Winston R. from New York City, who is entering sixth grade, joined the two-day mountaineering trip to Stone Depot. Their campsite was only five minutes from the rock, so the boys had plenty of time to climb and belay one another. The group completed a four-pitch route covering about 300 feet, reached the summit with views toward Looking Glass Rock, and even climbed after dark.

I love rock climbing and being in nature because I live in NYC. I never get sick of it. We got to belay each other and just climb all day. Rock climbing always challenges you. New rocks, new conditions, new adventures with your best friends.

Mountain Biking

• DuPont State Recreational Forest: A 12-mile day ride with flowing trails and options for riders at different levels.
• Grandfather Mountain area: A three-day trip covering about 40 miles.
• In-camp preps: Two additional groups worked on the skills required for trips and the Falling Creek Ironman.

Bry J. from Lake Forest, Illinois, rode both the three-day Grandfather Mountain trip and the DuPont trip.

Both trips felt like being in a bike park. Everyone had a great time because there was something for everyone, with options and variety from beginner to advanced.

Henry G. from Hendersonville, NC joined the DuPont ride.

We rode lots of miles and had fun and friendly trails, so we got ‘steezy.’ It’s great to get out of camp and experience all of Western North Carolina.”

Mountain bike guide Tessa Greep from California said four groups left camp on mountain biking trips this week, while two more completed in-camp preps. Passing a mountain biking prep is now required for campers participating in the Falling Creek Ironman, which gave even more boys a reason to get on a bike.