Sandwiched between riverbanks and graham crackers

Wednesday morning started with campers in helmets and life jackets putting their boats in the cold water of the New River for the awaited canoe trip. Laughter could be heard from those stuck-on rocks and sticks. As campers went down the rushing water of rapids, there was a frisson of excitement. At different stopping points, some campers swam or floated down the white water. Others searched for critters, finding a snapping turtle at one stop, and to the fascination of campers and staff, a rock pool full of tadpoles at the final stop. The fun continued after everyone returned with skit night, where campers and staff preformed a number of cabin-developed shows. Staff preformed a few covers of popular songs like John Denver’s “Country Roads.” Stone Mt. kicked off skit night by reenacting how inflatable men at car washes react in different weather. They swung they arms and twisted around as they endured different types of weather and storms, ending the skit by falling forward to show what happens when the inflatable men are unplugged. Mt .Rogers followed with a skit taking place within a Spanish class. First-year Hugo played the role of a teacher of rowdy students, exclaiming “I quit! I’m going back to Guatemala!” as first-year Avi went “loco” in the classroom. A favorite was the performance by Camp Director Jim Hussey and Counselor Claire Keel singing a cover of Aladin’s “A Whole New World.” Keel played the role of Aladin, serenading Jasmine (Hussey), telling the princess of all the wonders that (s)he could be shown. The crowd exploded in laughter as Hussey stepped onto the grass stage in Jasmine’s blue dress and they burst into applause as Hussey hit the high notes. The night ended with a neck and neck s’mores cooking competition. Mt. Rogers served a classic s’more, completed with a roasted marshmallow and a Reese’s peanut butter cup as their chocolate. Pine’s s’more was served with shortbread cookies in place of graham crackers, with classic s’more ingredients in between. The runner up was Hoffman Mt. who served up a triple-decker sandwich with a pretzel garnish and a caramel drizzle. “We also had a charred marshmallow and a golden one, which made it a double,” said third-year Merritt. “We both had the idea that we wanted it to be savory and sweet, and we both saw the pretzels and knew that was definitely the way to go,” first-year Evan added. Their s’more was completed with milk chocolate in-between the two marshmallows and three graham crackers. The first-place winners were the campers in Stone Mt., who served an impressive display of a s’more, along with a side dish of gummy bears. They called their s’more the “Pot of Gold Over the Rainbow,” the idea for the name stemming from the rainbow sighting of the day prior. “It was a golden-brown marshmallow with cookies and cream chocolate, Oreo, and pretzels,” said first-year Nylie, who helped create the winning s’more. “And the side was the rainbow gummy bears, and the layers were made out of flat wafer bread cookies,” explained first-year River. “We made the gummy bears a rainbow, and the s’more as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.” For winning the cook-off, the winners will receive an ornament centered around s’mores, like the one of Mt. Rush-s’more. They will also cook their marshmallow-chocolate sandwich for all the campers instead of just the three judges. Nylie said that she is really excited for the rest of camp to try their masterpiece of a s’more. The two said they knew, deep down, they were going to win since their s’more was appealing to look at and perfectly crafted.

• Authored by Orion Griffin