Wow, our last full day at Mountain Camp for 2024 is here, and what better way to start the day than a polar bear plunge! After sleeping in yesterday we decided this morning we would wake up before 7am, get our swimsuits on, and head down to the lake for a morning dip. Polar plunges can positively influence our mood by increasing dopamine and endorphins, so we have 138 extra happy campers this morning! Once they head up to camp they get a warm welcome back with a cup of hot cocoa and marshmallows. At evening program tonight one lucky polar bear (out of 138 polar bears) who’s name is randomly drawn from a (very big) hat wins a paulie the polar bear stuffie (it’s limited edition, bigger than our usual stuffies, and highly sought after)!

Breakfast has increased that number up to ~250 extra super duper happy campers (which is everyone) because we are having sugar cereal for breakfast! We have the choice between lucky charms and cinnamon toast crunch! Additionally there is a hot breakfast also provided, which includes scrambled eggs, crunchy tater tots, and breakfast sausages. So many options to choose from… why not try it all!

For cabin activity this morning the Lakeside Blazer cabins plus Tam and Lassen are at the lake for their final tubing period! Hood, Granite, and Fuji are at arts and crafts finishing up their friendship bracelets. Pyramid have the water trampoline to themselves this morning for some launching time! Lassen and Ponderosa are getting some extra relaxation time chilling in the hammocks this morning. Tahoe and Tallac are down at the ropes course challenging themselves on all the components. Teton and Whitney are playing basketball at court sports. Everest are hosting their very own pontoon party on the pontoon boat with tunes playing and the slide set up, what an awesome party! Cedar and Redwood have the court sports to themselves for some games of name drop and volleyball. Aspen are at the mini tramp this morning, bouncing super high. Shasta and Sierra are at outdoor cooking making sweet treats over the campfire. 

Today is a bittersweet day full of lasts… last polar plunge of the summer, last full day of camp, last signup activities, last dinner at camp, last campfire, last everything. With last comes excitement and passion, everyone is giving everything their absolute all and more because we don’t know when we will get to do this all again. What an awesome end to the summer we have had this year. I want to talk a little more about the special things that happen at camp that make it such a memorable and unique experience. 

What better thing to start with than our energetic mealtimes. Each morning after announcements tunes are playing across the dining area, lifting the mood up for the day, and getting everyone into a happy groove. The campers can request songs and it often results in a singalong dance-a-thon. This is a bit unconventional of course, compared to meal times away from camp, but our loud goofy mealtimes are something that make camp so fun! At lunchtime and dinner we have no music playing, in order for the chants to take the reins, and they sure do! By this point in camp the chants go wild. Multiple at once, sometimes they change up the pace and do their age group chants in x2 speed, or they slow it down! Sometimes they sing it back to back to ensure no other age group can steal their thunder. We also have campers and counselors riding around on an imaginary pony EVERY mealtime! “Here comes ___ riding on a pony, riding around on a big ol pony” whilst they give us their best horseback impression to find their next rider. 

Speaking of mealtimes tonight for dinner we got to order our very own pizza, with toppings of our choice! The campers changed the pony chant to “P.I.Z.Z.A PIZZA PIZZA EVERYDAY, WHERE IS THE PIZZA AT,  THE PIZZAS OVER HERE!”, you’ll have to ask them to perform it for you tomorrow so it’s in key!

Community at camp is another huge factor that makes camp so special. There is so much space for campers to grow and be authentically themselves, they feel comfortable letting their goofiness run free because their counselors are the goofiest of all. It creates a fun and safe environment for everybody to have the most fun possible.

Evening program is another super special part of camp, which is funny because mealtimes and EP are the only times that the whole camp is together in the same place. Which means extremely high energy! Tonight for evening program it’s closing campfire. After dinner we headed off to the closing campfire, the campers had the opportunity to showcase anything they learned over the session or random talents/dances they wanted to highlight for the rest of the camp. Tonight we saw performances of Taylor Swift songs, to cabin directed skits to original choreographed dances, and a magic show! You can hear the cheers from all around camp when the slide show comes on, it’s such a nice way to reminisce on all the amazing things we have accomplished whilst we have been at camp, plus it’s pretty fun to see ourselves on the big screen too! 

To end the night the counselor visit every cabin to sing farewell serenades, the campers can choose any song from the songbook and we will sing it in harmony (we hope) to them before they are off for their final sleep on the mountain. This session has been so amazing. The campers are sad to say goodbye tomorrow but they are also so excited to see all of you again.

Until next time, thank you again for choosing Mountain Camp, and best wishes.

Signing out until next year.
-The Mountain Blogger. 

Today we started our day to the sound of the national anthem blaring across the dining area. Red, blue, and white streamers swayed in the morning breeze, the American flag is hanging proudly, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! 

Some of us started our day earlier than others, the lakeside Trackers (and everyone who lives at the waterfront) were awake at 6:30am this morning packing up from their overnight! I’m sure you (along with everyone who was camping at Northwind last night) will hear about all the “GIGANTIC BUGS”, and all the high pitched screaming that followed said bug’s appearance at the overnight.

This morning was a breakfast everyone goes a little wild over… we are feeling so lucky, for the abundance of lucky charms! So are the squirrels and chipmunks because half of them ended up on the floor. Some of the Blazers had the most colorful plates filled with marshmallows they hand picked out of the cereal bowl. The tunes were, of course, American themed this morning for the fourth! Party in the USA, surfin’ U.S.A, born in the USA, you get the gist! 

For cabin activities this morning Rainier and Hood are at the ropes course, defeating that rock wall, and running up the reverse zipline. Do you know the best time of year to buy new water trampolines? Well, Denali are hanging out there now and they said spring time. Granite and Sequoia also told me if you haven’t tried archery blindfolded, then you don’t know what you’re missing (disclaimer: they are at archery but they are not blindfolded!). Olympus and Tam are at courts sports playing games and listening to music. Pyramid and Diablo are making s’mortillas at outdoor cooking, somehow they still have space in their tummies after 5 bowls of lucky charms this morning. Fuji and Tallac are at LARPing. Tahoe are at sand sports. Everest said what’SUP to Teton at the SUP/kayak area as they both headed out for a morning paddle. Whitney, Sierra, Redwood, and the CITs also said “SUP” to them, however they said whilst flying past them on a tube attached to one of our power boats. Cedar are hosting a pontoon party, they have the slip and slide set up off the side of the boat and the tunes blasting. Pondy and Aspen are back at arts and crafts making their 10th friendship bracelet of the session, it seems like a lot of friendship bracelets but it doesn’t even compare to the number of friendships they have formed over the session.

On the menu for lunch today was hot dogs, with chili, pickle relish, mustard, ketchup, and cheese.

So I keep talking about all these activities that campers can sign up for but I thought maybe now I would explain them a little more in depth for you all.

At the lake campers can sign up for numerous activities. If they chose to sign up for ski/wake/knee they head out on the powerboats for the whole activity period to hang out and give the activity a go! If they chose to sign up for sailing they either head out with a counselor who will either teach them how to sail if they wish, or they can just hang out on the boat, lay on the bananas (hulls), swim off the boat, whatever they choose we always need helpers on the jib so they get a basic understanding of the wind! For SUP or kayak each camper takes out their own vessel, or if they wish to take a double kayak they can go with a friend! Initially they were paddling to jump rock a lot but as we know the water level halfway through the session dropped below our cut off point so now they are playing tag on the water and learning how to raft up whilst exploring the lake! We also offer fishing from the pontoon boat, often we head down to the creek and try our best to catch a rainbow trout which the kitchen will cook for our cabin for dinner (unfortunately this year we haven’t had as many bites but that doesn’t stop us from trying!). We also offer windsurfing for the Trackers, Alpiners, and the CITs, this is one of our most challenging activities, we have had some repeat sign ups from campers who can know navigate their way across the lake on their own completing perfect tacks and jibes (upwind and downwind turns). The last activity up for offer is dock activities, this is a popular signup because campers can choose to hang out in the swim area using any of the equipment up for offer. We have the water tramp, the dock, the mega sups and lily pads, and the surfboards. Alternatively they can choose to sit in the shade of the tree at the deck and read, or play spike ball, connect four.. any of the outdoor games around the place at the waterfront. 

At the lodge the campers also have plenty of options. We offer sand sports, which is hosted at the volleyball court, the games often played include volleyball, badminton, and name drop. We also offer court sports, hosted at the basketball courts, and of course basketball is often played. However we also play dodgeball, around the world, and knock out whilst listening to tunes. Speaking of tunes we also offer guitar, which is available to all levels of experience! Whether you are already a pro and just wanna hang out and play some tunes, or you are a beginner who wants to learn some chords, there is a place for everyone. Following along the lines of tunes, we also offer dance/yoga, some days we have a full on dance battle whilst blasting sing-a-longs and other days we play some more mellow music and stretch! For Blazers only we offer forts, which you have possibly seen on instagram already. The Blazers make the coolest shady structures to hang out in using resources they can find in the forest. Another activity we offer is stage and news, during this activity the campers collate information gathered from camp, including the future menu (which is always highly sought after information) and interviews/polls with campers and staff to create a newspaper that is hung at the lodge for all to see. Mountain biking has been a popular activity this session too! For the first half of the session bikers often rode to jump rock, swinging past the waterfront on the way to get a life jacket. However, as jumping was called off, this second half of the session has been spent exploring our mountain biking trail, which I can personally say, is super challenging, but that doesn’t deter the determined mountain bikers. Video has been another hit sign up this session, during this time campers can choreograph movies with our video cameras. Last but most certainly not least we have arts and crafts, we have been getting super creative this session so I thought I could quickly list off some of the things we have done thus far. Of course we have made friendship bracelets and lanyards; painted canvases and rocks; made stone bead bracelets, arrowhead/crystal necklaces, and hemp survival style bracelets; created door hangers, dream catchers, driftwood hangers, bookmarks, and wooden magnets; and tie dyed our very own Mountain Camp shirts!

At the outdoors there are MORE OPTIONS! One of the most popular signups is the ropes course. We offer high and low ropes, as a signup is two days the campers alternate between the two. At the low ropes course we have the vertical playpen, the rock climbing wall, the perch (trapeze), the reverse zipline, rope net course, and slacklines! The high ropes course is fully up in the trees, the campers are harnessed in and make their way through numerous obstacles such as tightropes, swings, and many more, before zipping back to the ground on our zipline! We also offer outdoor cooking, which again, is very popular! Some days we make our own ice-cream, other days we make s’mortillas, orange brownies, pizza pockets, we even had a masterchef day where campers could make whatever they wanted from the provided ingredients which were then judged by the counselors. Some campers want to learn more about living in the forest and off the land, survival is the perfect signup for them! They learn to build structures and fires, how to tie knots, and make survival bracelets! Everyone loves LARPing! LARPing is an acronym for live action role play for those who don’t know, this is a time for campers to use their imagination. They can take themselves back in time to knights fighting in royals, or place themselves into the area for hunger games. Of course the swords are foam, the battles are harmless, and many rules are in place but as I said, everyone loves it! Up the hill at Kimble field we offer Archery, we have multiple ranges with targets far and wide so everyone can challenge themself how they see fit. At science this session they have been making oobleck, slime, volcanos, and other fun things! We also offer rockets for the Blazers, they make and launch rockets into space, the next generation of engineers. 

For dinner tonight the kitchen served beef brisket, with gratin potatoes, broccoli, and dinner rolls! For dessert we are having chilled strawberry shortcake! 

For evening program tonight it’s the FOURTH OF JULY BEACH PARTY! The whole camp will be heading on down to the waterfront for all kinds of fun beach games! For example we have a cookie walk (think musical chairs with cookies!), spikeball, kuub, and a super fun game where you can try to knock your counselor off of a SUP and into the water using a mega tennis ball slingshot! We end the night by singing songs around the campfire while the sun sets across the glassy evening lake. 

The Tracker hillside campers are hanging down at the waterfront after the rest of us head back up to main camp because tonight is their OVERNIGHT! 

We can’t believe tomorrow is the last full day on the mountain this session, time flies when you are having fun. 

Chat again tomorrow, The Mountain Blogger.

 

This morning the wake up bell rang at 7:30am, followed by a beautiful melody of bagpipes from our counsellor Alex, almost loud enough to mask the sound of excited campers getting ready for the day! 

For breakfast this morning we had scrumptious scrambled eggs, delectable diced potatoes, and beautiful breakfast sausages. If the hot option isn’t for you there is a cold breakfast bar to choose from, with all the berries, fruit, granola, yogurt, oatmeal, cereal, and topping you could ever dream of. Our kitchen does amazing at catering to everyone’s needs and ensuring there is a wide selection to choose from, so everyone is happy with what’s on their plate (or bowl). Not to mention you could have both, if that’s what your heart desires. 

After breakfast the campers were headed in all different directions for an activity period with their cabin.  The Blazer cabins were off to the lake for tubing, the mornings at the lake are a dream scene with glassy water, low winds, and morning sunshine, making for the perfect tubing conditions. Whitney and Tahoe were making s’mortillas at outdoor cooking, and the smell of roasting marshmallows and melting chocolate travelled across camp. The delicious smell travelled all the way to the ropes course, where Redwood and Lassen are hanging out (literally) in the trees! 

For second period the Blazers are (still) at the lake, the activities sign ups were evenly spread with campers at dock activities playing on the water trampolines, SUP and kayaking, sailing, and ski/wake/knee-boarding. The Trackers were at the lodge, with sign up options such as arts and crafts, mountain biking, court sports, sand sports, and dance. It’s so nice to see what activities campers chose for the first two day sign up of the session. The Alpiners were at outdoor sign ups. There were over 30 campers LARPing, the camp transformed into an arena for the LARP version of hunger games, alliances were formed.. and broken, but spirits were high. 

For lunch today the hot meal was corn dogs with fries, the perfect time for campers to KETCH-UP with their new friends on all the fun they had this morning! (corny I know..). Once again there is options for everyone, with a salad bar filled with fresh veggies, protein, grains, sauces, and of course, everyone’s favorite.. CROUTONS! I’m still wondering if I am allowed to have a whole bowl of croutons for lunch.. anything is possible at camp! (Just kidding we do make sure they at least grab an egg too, call it a Caesar salad).

After lunch is rest time, the campers have an hour to chill out in their cabins and digest their food, I hope an hour is enough for you all to digest my jokes!

For third period the Trackers are at the lake, and fourth period is the Alpiners at the lake, both signups had all three boats in the water with campers showing their skills on the knee wake and ski boards. The Trackers had 7 signup for wind surfing, which is super cool as it is one of the most challenging activities at camp, and I can personally tell you, they all crushed it (I was their instructor and they were much better than I was my first time, they actually knew how to turn the board around.. but that’s a story for another time). 

At hang time today the Blazers were showering, it truly amazes me how dirty you can get here in one day, perks of living in the forest. The lakeside Alpiners went tubing again today! The hillside Alpiners were at the store, we’ve already almost sold out of our brand new mountain camp plaid pj pants! The Trackers had activity choice so they were spread out across camp, some hanging out in the hammocks, others were playing court sports or sand sports, some were at the lake!

For dinner tonight, it only makes sense that we had TACOS because it’s TACO TUESDAY today! Soft shells, hard shells, whatever you like, we had it all! If you’re like me, you use the salad bar to make a burrito bowl! I forgot to mention that we also have a PB&J station, or a PB, or a just J station, whatever you like, just down from the dinner table with a hand washing station to ensure the safety of our allergy friends! 

Evening program tonight was Clue Night, and someone stole all the sugar cereal… that does not go down well with the campers. THEY WANT THEIR SUGAR CEREAL. They spread out across camp heading from station to station, to figure out where that sugar cereal went. 

It’s been a huge first full day on the mountain, we are off to bed to make sure we are well rested for another fun filled day tomorrow! 

Speak to you then, the Mountain Blogger.