Cruisin' Into the Third Week

If you signed up for our new text alert system before camp, you may have received a subscriber text today from a 256 number. This was inadvertently sent by the company unbeknownst to us. There is no message we were trying to send and no emergency at camp! All is well. If you did receive it then it confirms you are opted in. And this is how we would communicate if we had more timely messages to get to you.

Today has been the best weather of the term by far. Virtually no humidity and the temps hovered in the mid 70’s all day. Some folks still had on sweatshirts at lunch! The 10 day forecast for the end of the term looks splendid, with sunshine and little or no chance for rain each day. If you are one who follows the weather you probably know we did have some storms roll through our area yesterday afternoon. We were monitoring them all day. In fact, we have a new weather monitoring system at camp. On top of the gym is an entire weather apparatus that measures local wind speeds,temperature, rain amounts, and lightning strikes within several radii. We get real time alerts and localized radar tracking. Thankfully all of the severe weather tracked north of us yesterday. Amazingly, we barely even received any rain and it did not interrupt our activity day at all.

The third and fourth weeks of camp are what make Alpine what it is, in my opinion. Besides the counselors, of course. It is these weeks where boys feel truly settled and at home. Friendships deepen. And sometimes tensions break out, similar to siblings at home, tensions that can be avoided with surface level and shorter interactions. Boys learn to repair friendships, to show patience with those that are different. And the fun just gets better!

I heard a story today about a cabin of Warriors, boys finishing 6th grade, camp friends from multiple cities from Texas to Tennessee, and parts in between. Sunday night they put on an SNL like comedy sketch show for their counselors and the head counselor. Skits about airport TSA and dinosaur adventures I’m told, complete with SNL like ads in between sketches. Boys are so creative and hilarious, especially when you unplug them.

I walked around a few activities today. Disc sports is playing practice rounds on our main 18 hole course in preparation for the upcoming Alpine Masters. I noticed a group of Braves had put down their frisbees and were staring at something intently on a rock. A cicada was actively molting out of it’s exoskeleton shell, a slow yet awe-inspiring act of God’s creation. Braves are 12 and 13 years old. Teenagers stopped playing frisbee to watch a cicada molt!

A wide ranging scavenger hunt was set today for Wilderness. Points were awarded for dozens of natural finds around camp. Boys were excited to show me their bugs and leaves discovered. Physical training played a creative, competitive game to get some high intensity, short interval cardio. Fugitive is the game. One runner wears a neon jersey and basically a giant game of chase tag commences. He runs, they chase, and once he is tagged the one who tags becomes the fugitive. The funniest part about the game is that every other activity knows it. So anytime the yellow jerseyed runner passes by all the boys scream “fugitive” at the top of their lungs to give away the whereabouts of the runner.

I have just returned from the Canyon cabin area where our Hunters, Trappers, and Scouts live. Using a PA, I read the adapted poem, Twas the Night Before Mountain Day, written a few years ago by Merrick McCool. That’s right, tomorrow is the most looked forward to day of the term - Mountain Day! Stay tuned to the website for the best photos of the term - costume clad boys at breakfast in the morning to kick off the day’s celebration.

Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn