Celebrating the Longest Day of Summer
Today is the Summer Solstice! What better way to enjoy summer than being nestled into 400+ acres of dense woods in the cove of Gwynn Valley? Today our campers had more time to romp, explore and create lasting summer memories. The bounty of summer has also welcomed new baby goats and vegetables sprung from the ground. What started out as a chilly morning, ended up being a warm, classic summer day with a nice breeze and drizzle in the afternoon.
Our main campers started off the morning with the first day of B Day Discoveries. These allow skill building and longer lessons in our program areas. Campers familiarized themselves at the Stables with horsemanship, campers learned different parts of the bike before setting off onto the green and some campers started their 3 day pottery and weaving creations! My favorite part of discoveries is that campers alternate between days, often bringing new perspectives to their creations or skills, making new friends along the way.
Mountainside finished up their Mini- Adventures; sampling four of the 5 adventures offered. Early next week they’ll embark on a 3 day and 2 night adventure into the wilderness of Western North Carolina. Here they will make new friends and focus on technical skills of biking, whitewater paddling, flat water canoeing, backpacking or climbing. There is so much to learn being off site with skilled staff, your vessel of exploration, food for the trip and essential items. The grit and collaboration campers experience first hand to reach the end of the river or the trail relies on strong leadership and willingness to try. Soon, our Mountainsider campers will head out on their adventure and come back with stronger skills and stronger friendships to match.
Talking of adventures, our Riverside campers enjoyed a day on camp before embarking on their final adventure of the session. Their final outdoor endeavor will be Backpacking in Pisgah Forest. They started the day by doing rotational training for backpacking skills. Learning all things backpacking; how to pack a pack, how to carry a pack and what could go wrong with a pack. This trail preparedness is important for the mental adventure that backpacking can be. The shared experience of romping through the wilderness is one campers this age don’t come across often. The joy in learning trail games, carrying your friends extra fire wood for a mile and sharing site chores make for a cohesive and smooth trip, come rain or shine.
All of our campers closed out the evening by attending the Summer Solstice Campfire on the Gatehouse Green. We listened to an Estonian tale about Dusk and Dawn meeting at the solstice hour, listened to beautiful oboe music, learned what the Solstice represents around the world and closed by singing “ This Pretty Planet”. The few times during camp that we have all of our campers together is always a magical evening. Gathering on the longest day of summer with campers made it even more special, to have them in a home away from home at Gwynn Valley.
