This morning while our boys were waking up to the sound of reveille, school buses rolled down the camp road with our Hawks (campers who finished third grade) who were returning from their first overnight camping trip.
The boys went to Swan Falls Campground in Fryeburg, Maine, along the Saco River. While the late afternoon sun hovered over the campground, the boys were eager to explore. The group took a short excursion until they came across a cool river where they took a refreshing dip. When they returned to the campground, they helped our staff assemble wood and build a campfire where they prepared hotdogs for dinner. There was plenty of time after dinner for more fun as the boys explored the campground, made s’mores, and took one more refreshing dip before retiring to their tents and snuggling into their sleeping bags.
In just a week, our older boys will take off on some pretty spectacular camping trips. Some will paddle down the St. Croix River, making camp along the banks. Other boys will climb Mt. Katahdin.
The curiosity for the outdoors starts when our boys are young in Warrior Camp. Those overnight trips give our boys exposure to the outdoors and, for many, they create the first opportunity to sleep in a tent and cook over an open fire.
Our intercamp schedule is winding down. Our 13- and 14-year-old boys competed in flag football and played in a beach volleyball tournament, returning home with just enough time to grab a hot shower before their socials with neighboring girls’ camps. The rest of our boys had the opportunity to watch the Major League Baseball All-Star game, where they got to enjoy refreshments and watch their favorite players just as if they were in the stands watching the game in person. Rumor has it we have one more day of intense heat and humidity before cool Canadian air makes its way into the region just in time for visiting day— fingers crossed…
