Action Packed Final Week!

Glenn Breazeale | Jul. 30, 2026

This final week of camp has been a blitz of action from one day to the next! My apologies for not writing sooner.

Monday night we honored our 34 Chief 2’s at Council Ring, this their final summer as campers. Council Ring is an old camp tradition that we have adapted some over the last few years. It’s under the stars at our outdoor amphitheater, ringed by a giant boulder cliff as a backdrop. My favorite new tradition takes place when we introduce each camper and ask them to call our their number of summers. By the way, this group represents over 200 Alpine summers all total. So now when we introduce them I also call out an attribute or character trait that has been assigned to them by their counselors. The chiefs hear their words for the first time publicly in front of the group. It’s a poignant moment where we publicly thank them and recognize a unique gift that the Lord has given them.

Tuesday night most of us happily loaded the yellow school buses for an evening trip to Camp Desoto, where they invited us to perform our Glee Club songs for them in their lovely camp gym. First we had the pleasure of listening to them sing some of their camp songs. Boys sat on the floor mesmerized by the singing from the balconies above them. At the end we had a bit of social time together to cap off a wonderful evening. Some boys in each age group chose to stay back here at Alpine for a movie night and special store treat with Roderick and a cadre of staff.

Last night held the final “regular” night program for each age group. Everyone got to play one final game of Slaughterball in the gym (Alpine’s version of dodgeball). Roderick calls last night Slaughterball Plus! You get to play that plus another evening activity like capture the flag or spotlight or extreme 4 square. The one exception being our 2nd year chiefs. Carter and I hosted these young men and their counselors at our home for a steak dinner. We feasted on freshly grilled ribeyes, Mrs. Gail’s hershey bar pie, and plenty of other sides. Carter spares no details to honor these guys (even down to the flowers on the tables that one day they’ll appreciate!). Each boy receives a framed version of the pre- Appalachian trail photo we took just prior to their departure. We talk and laugh and tell stories into the evening. And evening last night complete with a beautiful display of stars and a full moon last night I might add.

This morning we awoke to low humidity and cooler temps, almost fall like. We spent the morning taking care of necessary items like passing out lost and found, packing, and going over travel details. I’ll remind you here that pickup tomorrow is from 7:30-10:30. There are no dedicated arrival times like Opening Day and you are welcome to drive directly to the cabins when you pull in. We do ask that if you plan to stick around for a while that you grab the luggage and then pull to one of our designated parking spots in camp. Parking staff will be available to direct you. Please do let your camper walk you around camp and show you all the places he loves. And stop by the Store and Dining Hall if time allows for some camp gear and coffee and scones.

As you may know we have had a fairly wet July here in Mentone. We have given very specific instructions on packing. Today we passed out small baggies for wet clothes to be packed in, in hopes of mitigating mildew. But being right here next to the river, in a mountainous and humid environment, some of mildew is probably to be expected. The other common occurrence I’d like to make you aware of is impetigo. If you are not familiar, impetigo is a very common skin infection that is very common in hot humid environments and thrives especially in communal places like school locker rooms and camp bathhouses. It often looks much worse on your camper’s skin than it really is. Please know we are very aware of this and take several steps to mitigate it. Our nurses have done health checks twice in these last 10 days. They personally visit each cabin and check each boy for various common health issues. Mostly it’s to get boys to the infirmary to treat any skin issues or bug bites that have been scratched and might lead to impetigo. As you might imagine with your own child, many times boys are having too much fun to be bothered with going to the infirmary for something! If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by the medication tent on your way out and speak to our nurses. One final medical note - we will not give out any medications in the morning. Please stop by the medication tent, pick up extra meds, and distribute any morning meds to your son.

I have just returned from a walk around the gym, field and surrounding areas where Roderick is finishing Second Term with a bang. The final day Activity Extravaganza is something he dreamed up with a few staff members several years ago. Camp is divided up into 30 or so groups and rotates through as many activities in this area as possible in the afternoon. Shifts are 3 minute intervals. Some obvious stations include playing kickball, ultimate frisbee, and various other sports on the divided up field, for 3 minutes at a time. A game of knockout basketball in the gym, king of the court in tennis, and playing the road hole of the Frisbee golf course (hole 15) add in more activity. Others a more sedentary for a break, like lanyard making and a game of Mafia on the porch of the Climbing Barn. Boys are climbing in the barn, playing Gladiator Ball in the Mountain cabin area, and Extreme 4 square on another unused tennis court. This is the most fun way to end a memory filled 2nd Term!

Tonight we’ll celebrate our Term with our Final Banquet ceremonies. We’ll begin in the Dining Hall with a banquet style dinner of fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Then we’ll move to the gym where we will sing some traditional end of camp songs and recognize our award winners. Boys who have been at Alpine for 4 summers or more will receive their “Years at Alpine” award. Winners of final activity competitions will be recognized and congratulated. And Roderick will announce our points winner for the whole term. I’ll wrap it up with a brief devotional and few words about the term before we sing our traditional end of camp song, The Farewell Song. It’s where the well known Alpine line comes from, “I’ve got 11 months to dream about next year”.

Thanks again for allowing your boys to join us this summer at Alpine. It is a privilege to partner with you as your raise your boys. Thanks for reading, Glenn

Glenn Breazeale
Glenn Breazeale

Like his own father, Glenn grew up as a camper at Alpine for six summers, coming from Jackson, MS each summer. He has served on staff at Alpine since 1997, working full time as Assistant Director from 2003 to 2005 and Director since 2006. Prior to that he gained experience serving in various capacities including cabin counselor, Head Counselor, Head of Project Adventure (Ropes course), Horseback instructor, and Program Director. Glenn’s love of camping and his desire to preserve the traditions of Alpine drew him back to camp to offer young boys the same opportunities he experienced. He met and fell in love with Carter during a Square Dance with Camp DeSoto.