Hot day, cool river

The sun beat down on campers and staff during the Wednesday canoe trip, but the cold water of the New River served as the best remedy. During the first stop, campers stood in the water and skipped rocks, while others let the current carry them down stream for a short distance. One camper, a second-year named Boone, found a baby catfish inside an old shoe, which he excitedly showed to everyone before releasing it.

For some, like first-year Tanner, there was some uneasiness about the boat trip. There were some in this session who had never been on a canoe trip before. Despite the nervousness, they boarded the boats, grabbed their paddles, and by the end of the trip, they were all smiles, telling counselors how much fun they had and wished it were longer.

Towards the end of the night, the cabins presented a number of skits. Stone Mountain parodied their counselors, while Hoffman’s focused on traveling back in time, starting with the “distant” year of 2017. Mount Rogers’s skit took place in the woods, where one of their counselors were surprised over and over by gnomes from the north, east, south, and west. A fan favorite skit returned as Claire Keel and Camp Director Jim Hussey took to the stage and preformed Aladin’s “A whole new world.”

To wrap up the busy day, campers in each mountain went head-to-head in a s’more’s competition. Each cabin had to impress a panel of judges with a s’more that was judged by presentation, taste, and creativity. The crowd was silent as they awaited the judge’s final decision. Pine Mountain’s cheers broke the silence as the judges picked them as the winners, with the shouts of jubilation from the runner-up, Grandfather Mountain.

• Authored by Orion Griffin