Good afternoon!

By now you’ve probably heard all of the campers’ fun stories, but I’m so excited to tell you about these past sessions’ adventures. I got to go on the Survivor and Paddlers trip—AMAZING! While I was gone, we had a new batch of bright and shiny campers arrive. Over the weekend we had Horse Lovers, Forest Friends, Sierra Safari campers, Lead On, and Camp Quest as well as our continuing Get the Scoop campers, Survivor and Paddlers of course, and CITs as well. Though we did have some clouds as the new campers arrived on Friday, the weather was pretty much perfect for the rest of the weekend and every camper got to try their hand at all of our camp activities.

I had the pleasure of joining Survivor and Paddlers for their 4-day, 3-night trip to the Utica Reservoir and I had an absolute blast. Though we had some rain the first two days, all the girls were troopers and we set up camp, scavenged some dry firewood, and told stories around the campfire while we waited for the clouds to part. The highlight of the trip for me was our hike to the top of a mountain near the lake where we had a glow-stick party and slept beneath millions of stars. We woke up to gorgeous clouds hovering over the pristine lake and the sun rising just over the mountains in the East. It was probably one of the most scenic sunrises in my life. Now that I’m back at camp, I miss the trip and my tough Survivors and Paddlers dearly. It was a truly spectacular journey for all of us.

While I was gone, camp continued on as usual and had much better weather than we did up at the reservoir. The campers competed in a Camp Olympics event with their programs and learned a bit about all our international staff at Sunday night’s International Meal. Yesterday morning we had one of our coldest Polar Bear Swims yet, but the slight wind and chill didn’t keep our courageous Girl Scout campers away. The water was nice and warm and I think I was colder up on the metal canoe than any of our brave swimmers were in the water.

Camp Quest headed off to Natural Bridges Sunday afternoon to swim through natural caves and tunnels and explored the unique geology of the Sierra Nevada. The Advanced CITs got to visit a camp in Tahoe called Wasau II and I’ve heard grand stories of the enormous lake there, the indoor dining hall complete with a huge fireplace, and even a camp store! It sounded like a pretty awesome trip to me. Get the Scoop traveled to historic Columbia and took a tour around the time-preserved Gold Rush Town. They also ventured to Mercer caverns to hear the story of the underground tunnel system. Want to read Get the Scoop’s camp newspaper? Check it out here. Great job, Girl Scouts!

It was tons of fun with all our campers this session and I have a particular soft spot for our Survivors and Paddlers. As the summer rolls on I can’t help thinking it’s gone by way too fast and I’m not nearly ready to leave yet. I hope everyone is having a great time at home getting ready for camp or reminiscing about her time here. Until next week, happy trails!

~Aster