Director’s Reports

Bright Sunshine and Crisp Air (Very)

July 17, 2026

Bright Sunshine and Crisp Air (Very)

July 17, 2026

Yesterday, I was a bit flippant about the Canadian smokey air mass blowing southwards into the states. “Yeah sure.” Most of the dangerous air is far to our south and I just gave you a RIGHT NOW photo album to prove the point of today’s blog title.

You can be assured that if those winds shift direction and come our way, the program tsars are ready for it and already have auxiliary program blueprints on file. Lots of easy-effort activities. So, yeah sure, no worries. (And no more frantic emails or calls!)

There are tons of great photo albums for your viewing pleasure over that bonus cup of coffee on this day. A wind-shift front blew through here yesterday during rest hour and our wind level jumped to a true 6 with not a lot of warning. It was over and done with quickly whereupon the temperatures plummeted. That is yours truly in the golf cart with Ezra at Closure last evening; believe me when I tell you I had on three layers!

All day, Sara was traipsing about the grounds in full flair, capturing everything from pottery and boxing morning clinics to Tumo (a play on Sumo) wrestling on the large tubes after dinner. Cool.

Those cliffs on Mt Osceola are perfectly safe to ascend or descend unless one is totally reckless, which our boys are not. The east summit of this peak is quite inaccessible but Tom reported that a very strong group was eagerly engaged in a rapid conquest of this mountain.

Those are nice photos from yet another overnight campout at Pirates Cove. Not taken last night, the lake being relatively calm and skies a tad hazy.

I am happy to see that counselors are taking photos on trips or deep into the night when most of us are sound asleep. Don’t forget to hold your gaze for an extra few seconds on the photo of the stars beyond the dock tower. How tiny we are, really, and those Canadian wildfires add up to practically nothing in the big scheme of things.

We are off to the hills again today. While I write these words, two groups are packing up for the day, one to the Welch-Dickey summit in Waterville Valley and the other to the majestic summit of Mt.Chocorua, where the chief of the Pennacooks leapt to his death in the 1700’s from the gigantic boulder on the summit.

I am envious of their youth and stamina. Always wishing I were there, I said to Scott M., who was taking sandwich orders from campers going on these hikes, “I’ll take a lobster roll.” Yeah sure.