Tuesday, late in the day, Sara informed me she had taken no photos due to toddler issues. I hopped on it and took an album’s worth of evening photos featuring after-dinner sponsorships and Closure at the stage area.
In the afternoon we had a very short downburst of rain, followed by not only a clearing trend, but much cooler and drier air. What a relief. Interestingly enough, the mood after dinner was quite laid back instead of gung-ho, as often is the case when the humidity is kicked out.
Maybe everyone was hypnotized by those gorgeous colors of the sky late in the day. Almost better than a photographic sunset are the ambient colors of the evening and we have had many such compositions all summer long. I am against global warming like everyone else, but the weather up here in the north country has never been so good for such a sustained period. The grass is still very green and Spanky can barely keep up with his mowing chores. All good.
Of course there were pockets of high energy and a touch of mischief here and there, but it was a tame night on the whole when Spanky and Swampy (Oliver Satola, so named by hailing from DC, which was built on a swamp) called for a general assembly at the Theater in the Pines (so named as the pine trees grow up through the stage.)
I adore Closure as it tends to settle everyone down just before bedtime. The aforementioned colors are awesome from this vantage point and everyone accepts the outcome of the performances – be they professional, rookie or simply hack jobs. Last evening’s selections were terrific, two songs by the S Team and one ukulele tune by Levi Steadman. Great camp!
Today we awoke to a New England Sparkler, capitalized as a proper name due to their sensational quality. As luck, or perhaps brains, would have it, the program guys have scheduled four trips for today. The biggest challenge is the 9 mile hike up Mt. Chocorua, the most photographed mountain in the Whites. A few of the boys are armed with the story of the Legend of Chocorua, who leapt to his death from the summit boulder.
Another heavily subscribed group will be tackling the ledges of Webster Slide Mountain on the northeastern side of Lake Tarleton. The summit campsite is one of our very best and the boys are eager to traipse over to the section of the ledge that affords an unobstructed view of Kingswood. They will wait until dusk for this short trek, so they can point flashlights in our direction and we, guaranteed, will shine our lights right back at them.
The day hike to Mt. Percival in the Squam Lakes region was another sell out. The lure here are the caves one negotiates near the summit and the view towards “more water than hills.”
Lastly, I overheard Todd giving pointers to the fishing team heading off to the Connecticut River for the day. “Have your gear in 100% good working condition so you can cast a distance into those sweet spots,” he was urging them.
To conclude, some notes on the counselors’ photo album that Sara found time to put up: Good photos here include the very old Lime Kiln on Black Mountain, several fishing photos from the successful outing on Indian Pond, the Adams/Madison hike in near white out conditions (which should have received greater acclaim, as these are very rugged peaks,) and views from nearby Mounts Piermont and Cardigan.