It has been another incredible week of growing together on Great Pond. Balmy summer days have been much appreciated and having a lake to cool off in is such a treat. Camp Runoia is bustling from morning until night with the sounds of happy campers.
Campers have been so busy participating in all that camp has to offer. From activities, to day trips, climbing mountains and sleeping in tents to crazy fun evening programs and quiet rest hours the days are crammed packed. Free time has seen a lot of blueberry picking as our campus wild blueberries are abundant this summer. 7th shack were practicing their life skills of throwing them up and catching them in their mouth. There is so much to do and being outdoors all day is the absolute best!
After a challenging prep hike at Tumbledown mountain our first overnight camping trip of the session headed out to Katahdin. Senior Village campers and a couple of our CIT’s were eager for their chance to hike Maine’s tallest mountain. It was a successful ascent and a fabulous trip for all. Ocho will be rolling out next week. It is a capstone event for our adventuring hikers. Juniors will be heading out hiking too this week. Harmony Land Camp submitted ‘The Mountain’ in Belgrade Lakes and everyone else will be off to Camden Hills State Park. Meanwhile our two JMG candidates are off at testing camp and we cannot wait to hear the stories that they have to tell.
Our friend Matt from World of Change brought the change truck in on Sunday – second session campers brought in almost double the amount of loose change that first session did. The grand Runoia total in change was over $600 and our campers were very thoughtful about where they would like the money to be spent. We will also be delivering our collected food to the local food pantry this week. Supporting our neighbors and showing up in our community is important to us and we are grateful to all those that chipped in.
Where to even start with EP! Highlight of the week so far was ‘dress your counselor’ – the goal is that you have to get as many items of clothing as you can onto the on duty counselor. Lucky for Alex she was on with Ocho! They fought hard seeking a win and she was wearing 81 items; they were sadly narrowly beaten by the 7th shack. Counselors were great sports with sweat pouring down their faces and barely being able to walk. There was also a beach party, lipsynch, powder fairies and our Sunday night campfire. The theme for the campfire was a ‘letter to our planet’ and campers shared how they feel they can make a difference protecting resources and helping our world stay healthy.
We look forward to the cooler nights coming up and the long days that we can fill with friends and fun. The time is going by too fast, our HLC campers depart tomorrow (and a surprise tea party this afternoon- shhh!) after such a successful session. We hope to see them all back on Great Pond next summer.
Bobos from camp
Aionur